Armenian Red Cross Responds to Azerbaijani Red Crescent Statement

The Armenian Red Cross Society has responded to the statement made by the Azerbaijani Red Crescent Society on August 22. The statement notes that "the Azerbaijani Red Crescent Society violates the fundamental principles of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, primarily the principle of neutrality, and becomes involved in political processes by voicing its government's stance to keep the Lachin corridor closed (including by proposing so-called alternative routes). The involvement of the Azerbaijani Red Crescent in political processes contradicts the fundamental principles of the Red Cross International Movement, as it does not have the mandate to make political statements or serve a political agenda.

This is a gross violation and does not align with the principles and values of the Movement, nor with humanitarian agendas. Currently, Azerbaijan is using the Red Crescent Society to obstruct the activities of the ICRC as the sole international humanitarian organization in Nagorno-Karabakh. A clear example of this is the abduction of Vagif Khachatryan at the checkpoint while being escorted by the ICRC for transfer to Armenia for surgery. He was abducted while under the protection of international humanitarian law.

Since July 26, 2023, humanitarian cargo sent from Armenia has been stalled near the Hakari Bridge. The Azerbaijani Red Crescent could have utilized its "humanitarian potential" to persuade the side that closed the Lachin corridor and caused a humanitarian disaster to open it, respecting humanitarian principles. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has drawn the international community's attention to the escalating humanitarian situation in Nagorno-Karabakh with its statement on July 25, which was also presented at the UN Security Council by a representative of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

Thus, it becomes increasingly urgent to implement the decisions of the International Court of Justice of the United Nations made on February 22 and July 6, 2023. We urge the components of the International Red Cross Movement—the International Committee of the Red Cross, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, and the Azerbaijani Red Crescent Society—to strictly adhere to and remain committed to the principles of the Movement, fulfilling their complementary roles within their mandates for the effective realization of humanitarian missions."