Presence of Azerbaijani Armed Personnel, Flags and Signage on Roads Connecting Communities in Syunik Has No Legal Basis: Human Rights Defender

The presence of Azerbaijani armed personnel, including flags and signage, on the roads connecting communities in Syunik province contradicts the foundations of the international human rights system, violates the rule of law, and is therefore devoid of any legal basis. This was stated by the Human Rights Defender Arman Tatoyan on his Facebook page.

The Human Rights Defender noted that their presence in these areas arose from several reasons:

1. Ethnic cleansing and genocidal policies were carried out against Armenians in Artsakh using terrorist methods.
2. Peaceful residents and military personnel have been tortured and subjected to inhumane treatment (decapitations, desecration of corpses, etc.).
3. Jihadists and ISIS terrorists were used against Artsakh, committing war crimes and atrocities against Armenians.
4. Civilian settlements in Artsakh have been subject to deliberate mass destruction, including with banned cluster munitions.
5. From the first day of the war, there has been a state policy encouraging hatred towards Armenians and instigating enmity based on ethnic identity (years of institutionalized policy).
6. More than 100,000 civilians have been displaced from their permanent residences during the war, and around 40,000 people have been left homeless as a result of the conflict.
7. The highest authorities of Azerbaijan and Turkey have openly spoken in genocidal threats against the Armenian people (for example, at the military event in Baku on December 10, 2020).
8. High-ranking Azerbaijani officials and public figures have insulted the dignity of Armenians and the entire Armenian people, openly encouraging this behavior.
9. The process of determining the borders of Armenia is taking place under the threats of war and the use of force.
10. Due to threats of war and the use of force, the determination of borders is occurring mechanically and at an unacceptable pace, without professional studies and gross violations of international norms.
11. The rights and legitimate interests of the border residents of Armenia have been disregarded.
12. This process is accompanied by serious violations of the ownership, economic activities, and socio-economic rights of border residents (people deprived of their property and left homeless).
13. The rights to life, dignity, physical and mental inviolability, and other vital rights of the border residents of Syunik and Gegharkunik provinces, as well as the entire population of Armenia, have been severely jeopardized.
14. For the residents of border communities, there is no predictability, and actions are uncertain, with no timeline available.

Therefore, the approaches described will not contribute to peaceful coexistence of peoples in the region. On the contrary, it will create fertile ground for the continued hatred and enmity towards Armenians in Azerbaijan, ongoing gross violations of human rights, and other dangerous manifestations.