Azerbaijan Politicizes the Issue of Prisoners of War Return: MP

Today, the Chair of the Armenian National Assembly's Standing Committee on Human Rights and Public Affairs, Taguhi Tovmasyan, urgently addressed the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Polish Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau, and the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Special Representative for the South Caucasus, Viorel Moțanu, regarding the immediate return of Armenian prisoners of war held in Azerbaijan.

Taguhi Tovmasyan drew the OSCE Chair’s attention to the unacceptable politicization of the issue of returning Armenian prisoners of war by Azerbaijan and the introduction of new preconditions.

“Through this letter, I wish to inform you that three years after the 44-day Artsakh War in 2020, the return of prisoners of war remains the most urgent issue for the Republic of Armenia, requiring immediate resolution. In the current situation, without a strong response from international partners, we cannot achieve any real progress,” she stated.

It is known that the prolonged detention of prisoners of war and holding individuals for political and military bargaining is considered a war crime. Meanwhile, Azerbaijan continues not only to refuse their return but also to politicize this issue by proposing new preconditions. Azerbaijan is grossly violating its obligations under international humanitarian law and failing to comply with the interim measures set by the European Court of Human Rights, thereby concealing the actual number of Armenian prisoners of war and detained civilians under its control and unacceptably delaying their humanitarian repatriation, including women.

Furthermore, Azerbaijan is conducting artificial trials and subjecting captives to inhumane torture based on racial and religious grounds. By initiating illegal processes of fabricated criminal prosecution, Azerbaijan is trying to deprive Armenian prisoners of war and detained civilians of their status defined by the Geneva Conventions, not granting them the rights, privileges, and guarantees stipulated by those conventions.

I would like to remind that according to Article 118 of the Geneva Convention on the Treatment of Prisoners of War of August 12, 1949, “Prisoners of war shall be released and repatriated without delay after the cessation of active hostilities.” Article 113, Part 1 of the Geneva Convention Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War also states that “Detention must cease as soon as possible after the cessation of hostilities.”

The 2007 International Convention on the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance stipulates that no one shall be subjected to enforced disappearance, even in situations of armed conflict. Denial of the existence of captives or concealing information regarding the fate or whereabouts of a missing person constitutes an international crime.

Taking into account all the aforementioned circumstances and compelling arguments, I expect that the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, under your leadership, will exert significant political pressure on Azerbaijan to respect its international obligations. Armenian servicemen and civilians captured by Azerbaijani forces must be immediately released and returned to Armenia without any preconditions,” the message states.