No Demarcation or Delimitation Has Ever Taken Place Between Armenia and Azerbaijan: Tatoyan

The Human Rights Defender of Armenia, Arman Tatoyan, made a post on his Facebook page stating that the process of determining state borders cannot disrupt the normal life of border residents or infringe on the rights and legitimate interests of the citizens of the state, including their physical security, the right of children to live safely, the ability to cultivate their land, and to fully utilize water resources, pastures, and meadows, among other rights.

“1) The Azerbaijani deployments near the villages of Syunik or Gegharkunik cannot be justified using maps and GPS data from the 1970s, 1980s, or 1940s (such as, for example, from 1975-1976, 1985, 1942) based on the boundaries of Soviet Armenia or Azerbaijan. As sovereign states, there has never been demarcation or delimitation between Armenia and Azerbaijan, and no international document has been signed regarding this matter.

2) What took place in the Soviet Union was not a determination of borders between two sovereign states—Armenia and Azerbaijan—but rather an administrative division of borders between two entities within one sovereign state, the USSR. The Soviet maps only reflect this. By the way, why are maps from the 1920s not being referenced in relation to the current boundary process?

3) The process of determining the state borders of Armenia cannot be linked to administrative territorial division. These phenomena are entirely different.

4) The borders and maps of the First Republic of Armenia cannot be disregarded in the process of determining the state borders of Armenia. This is a requirement to guarantee the rights of the citizens of Armenia and the population of the Republic of Armenia.

5) Today's Azerbaijani deployments have occurred in gross and massive violations of international law, including human rights demands, amidst the threats of war and the actual threat of force, and in the context of Azerbaijan's obvious genocidal policy.

6) The process of determining state borders cannot disrupt the normal life of border residents or infringe on the rights and legitimate interests of the citizens of the state, including their life and physical security, the right of children to live safely, the ability to cultivate their land, and to fully utilize water resources, pastures, and meadows, among other rights. These points are among the main factors that guarantee the rights and normal life of citizens of Armenia and border residents,” noted the Human Rights Defender of Armenia.