Arman Tatoyan's Response to the Statement of Azerbaijan's Foreign Minister

The Human Rights Defender of Armenia, Arman Tatoyan, wrote on his Facebook page regarding the statement made by the Azerbaijani Foreign Minister during a press conference dedicated to the meeting with the OSCE Chairperson on March 15, 2021. The foreign minister stated that 'Azerbaijan has returned all prisoners of war to Armenia in accordance with its obligations.' The statement also noted that 'the armed individuals from the Shirak province of Armenia on November 26 are not prisoners of war.'

These declarations from the Azerbaijani authorities are recurrent. Considering that the issue pertains to the protection of the rights of Armenian servicemen and civilians held captive in Azerbaijan, and that distorted representations of facts to international bodies must not be allowed, the Human Rights Defender of Armenia deems it necessary to elaborate on these statements.

1. There has been an ongoing armed conflict both before and after the statement of November 9, and it persists to this day. This conclusion directly follows from international humanitarian law and indicates that all Armenian servicemen and civilians held in Azerbaijan are considered war captives and are protected by international law. They must be released immediately and safely returned.

2. The release and return of prisoners is a mandatory international requirement, not a 'goodwill' gesture or 'favor' from the Azerbaijani authorities. This requirement exists in international law regardless of its presence in specific conflict-related documents and must be carried out unconditionally.

3. The behavior and statements of the Azerbaijani authorities indicate at least the following:
1) They artificially delay the release and return of Armenian captives,
2) They abuse legal procedures and distort international legal requirements, initiating criminal prosecutions against the captives and using deprivation of liberty as punishment,
3) It is proven in the extraordinary report of the Human Rights Defender that this practice grossly violates international human rights standards,
4) They exploit the issue for political purposes. Reports from independent media indicate that Azerbaijani authorities use the issue of returning captives for territorial exchanges, bargaining, and other political purposes in Artsakh,
5) They deliberately cause psychological suffering to the families of the captives and the missing, playing with the emotions of Armenian and Artsakh societies,
6) Their conduct creates public tension in Armenia and Artsakh,
7) In blatant violation of human rights obligations, they do not disclose the actual number of Armenian captives held without any lawful basis in Azerbaijan.

4. Therefore, calling any Armenian serviceman or civilian 'terrorist' while held by the Azerbaijani armed forces is a gross violation of international humanitarian law and, generally, of international human rights law. This assertion particularly stems from the requirements of the 1949 Geneva Third Convention.

5. Statements from the President of Azerbaijan and the Foreign Minister regarding the captives directly contradict the intentions of the parties that signed the trilateral declaration of November 9, 2020, as well as its practical application. Specifically, based on the 8th point of that declaration, the Republic of Armenia has already transferred to Azerbaijan individuals convicted of committing crimes in Artsakh, including the murder of civilians. Azerbaijan has similarly transferred to Armenia individuals formally convicted in that country. Furthermore, there have also been returns of individuals captured after the trilateral declaration of November 9.

6. Consequently, the aforementioned declaration should be applied to all situations both before and after November 9, as long as there is an objective necessity for the protection of human rights and humanitarian processes due to the consequences of armed actions. It is fundamentally unacceptable to condition the issue of captives solely on the date of the trilateral declaration. Once again, we emphasize that regardless of the date of capture, all Armenian servicemen and civilians held in Azerbaijan have the status of captives. Such a mechanical approach is unacceptable.

7. Besides the above, credible evidence gathered by the office of the Human Rights Defender proves that the number of captured individuals is greater than what the Azerbaijani authorities have acknowledged. This also pertains to the prior return of a group of 44 captives and includes individuals captured during the phase of armed actions before the trilateral declaration of November 9. The Human Rights Defender has recorded numerous instances where, despite evidence through videos and other means, Azerbaijani authorities deny the existence of certain individuals in their custody or delay the process of confirmation.

8. The absolute urgency of the issue of releasing captives must also be viewed in the context of the state-supported policy of hatred towards Armenians in Azerbaijan, which has been repeatedly confirmed by the reports published by the Human Rights Defender of Armenia based on objective evidence. This fact has also been confirmed in several rulings by the European Court of Human Rights.

9. Therefore, the Human Rights Defender of Armenia once again calls for the attention of the international community and especially international bodies with a mandate for human rights protection to the statements of Azerbaijani authorities, particularly the Foreign Minister. It is essential to ensure the absolute observance of humanitarian and human rights international requirements and the immediate release and return of Armenian captives without any preconditions.

Arman Tatoyan
Human Rights Defender of Armenia