Azerbaijan Violated Agreements on the Return of Prisoners of War, But Who Knows About It? Alfred de Zayas

Azerbaijan has violated the agreements on the return of prisoners of war. This was stated by Alfred de Zayas, a former independent expert on human rights and democracy for the United Nations, American lawyer, and historian, in a conversation addressing the rights of Armenians captured by Azerbaijan during the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, as reported by Tert.am.

“But who knows about it, and what do we read in the New York Times, Washington Post, and other media? I am convinced that those who follow the activities of the UN know that a letter was issued as a General Assembly document in six languages, directed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Artsakh, Davit Babayan, to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres regarding the situation of Armenian prisoners of war and peaceful residents captured by Azerbaijan. But who reads such documents? Who knows that military aggression against Artsakh constitutes a crime of aggression under Article 5 of the Rome Statute and the Kampala definition of aggression? Who knows that Azerbaijan has committed gross violations of international humanitarian law?” the renowned expert expressed his bewilderment.

He noted that we are living in an information war. “The situation cannot improve without accurate facts and joint obligations of the Geneva Conventions and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The European Union not only failed to prevent this Azerbaijani aggression, but it also did not condemn war crimes, terrorism against civilians, and the presence of Islamist mercenaries recruited by Turkey in Syria. And despite Turkey's chaotic involvement in the war crimes against the people of Nagorno-Karabakh, the EU wants to do ‘business’ with President Erdogan,” he added, stressing that we live amidst fake news and counterfeit laws, in conditions of war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide, and impunity that have so far been tolerated by the UN and well-known media outlets.

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