The Hague Court Only Obliged Azerbaijan to Prevent Discrimination and Its Incitement

On December 7, the International Court of Justice of the United Nations issued decisions regarding urgent measures requested by Armenia and Azerbaijan in the context of the cases of Armenia against Azerbaijan and Azerbaijan against Armenia, under the framework of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.

These decisions clearly reflect the acceptance of several key arguments presented by the Armenian side and affirm our positions before the court. In its application for urgent measures, Armenia provided evidence of racially motivated killings and torture of Armenian prisoners of war and other detained individuals by Azerbaijan, along with ongoing policies of racial hatred against Armenians and the destruction of Armenian cultural heritage.

The court found that there is an imminent risk of irreparable harm to the rights of ethnic Armenians under the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, obliging Azerbaijan to:

1. “Protect from violence and bodily harm all persons who have been captured as a result of the armed conflict of 2020 and continue to remain captured, ensuring their safety and equality before the law,”
2. “Take all necessary measures to prevent incitement and promotion of racial hatred and discrimination targeting ethnic and national Armenians, including by officials and state institutions of Azerbaijan,”
3. “Take all necessary measures to prevent and punish acts of vandalism and desecration against Armenian cultural heritage, including churches and other places of worship, monuments, sites, cemeteries, and artifacts.”

It is also noteworthy that during the oral hearings on Armenia's application for urgent measures, the Court mentioned an official statement by Azerbaijan's representative, indicating that mannequins representing Armenian soldiers have been removed from the so-called “Strategist Park” and that displays of helmets worn by Armenian soldiers during the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War will no longer be shown in the future.

Significantly, the Court's ruling only obliges Azerbaijan to take all necessary measures to prevent discrimination and its incitement, “including by its officials and state institutions.” The persistent rhetoric of hatred against Armenians by Azerbaijan's highest leadership, inhumane treatment of Armenians under Azerbaijan's control or jurisdiction, and the destruction and desecration of Armenian cultural and religious heritage pose insurmountable obstacles for reducing tensions and fostering peaceful development in the region.

The Court's decisions on urgent measures recognize these realities and create legally binding obligations under international law to address them. Armenia will continue to pursue compliance with the Court's decisions by Azerbaijan and will inform the Court of any violations.

The Court's decision once again reaffirms the legitimacy of the Armenian side's alarms regarding prisoners and other detained individuals, endangered Armenian historical and cultural heritage in the territories under Azerbaijan's control, and the hate rhetoric emanating from Azerbaijan. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia calls upon the Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group and other international partners to pay attention to the International Court of Justice's ruling and to continue efforts to comprehensively address the recorded issues.