It is Absolutely Inhumane to Have No Possibility for the Exchange of Bodies and Prisoners for 19 Days

The ongoing investigations by the Human Rights Defender of Armenia indicate that since September 27, Azerbaijan has launched numerous armed assaults against Artsakh and Armenia without distinguishing between military targets and civilian settlements, often directly targeting the civilian population.

“Civilians are being killed or severely injured by prohibited weapons. As I periodically receive information from the Human Rights Defender of Artsakh, those affected are located in various cities and villages in Artsakh, but due to the continuous aggressive attacks, medical teams are unable to fully reach these areas and provide the necessary assistance,” the statement reads.

According to my counterpart in Artsakh, the Azerbaijani armed forces have also attacked emergency medical vehicles and hospitals, where, according to official data, there were also civilian individuals. Casualties among military personnel are regularly reported.

Yesterday, I held urgent consultations with the relevant authorities in Armenia, and the Human Rights Defender of Artsakh did the same. In both cases, decisive assurances were provided that both in Armenia and Artsakh, they are ready to exchange bodies and prisoners at any moment and consider the lack of such humanitarian opportunities unacceptable.

The study indicates that this readiness is consistently expressed publicly in both Armenia and Artsakh. The current situation represents a continued gross violation of the fundamental requirements of international humanitarian law, particularly as enshrined in the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and customary international law.

This not only violates the rights of injured civilians but also shows disrespect towards the bodies of the deceased and inhumane treatment of their close relatives.

I join the concerns expressed by the Regional Director of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) for Eurasia on October 13 regarding the absence of a humanitarian ceasefire and the lack of conditions to carry out their humanitarian mission. Recently, I discussed all these matters with the head of the ICRC office in Armenia, Clare Maitrepo.

It is imperative to immediately cease this now absolutely inhumane treatment and provide the ICRC with the means to carry out its humanitarian mission on all sides. Moreover, such a mission must not only have formal but real opportunities to operate,” the statement from the Human Rights Defender of Armenia concludes.