The UN Court Still Has Time to Prevent the Forced Displacement of Artsakh Armenians from Becoming Irreversible

The International Court of Justice still has time to prevent the forced displacement of ethnic Armenians from becoming irreversible. This was stated today by Armenia's representative for international legal matters, Yeghishe Kirakosyan, during hearings in the case of "Armenia vs. Azerbaijan" at the UN court.

"You can preserve the few individuals who remain in Artsakh, as well as those who have been abducted and imprisoned in Azerbaijani jails," Kirakosyan noted.

The Armenian representative emphasized that Azerbaijan has repeatedly shown its willingness to mislead the international community and is also prepared to misrepresent the court's rulings or attempt to justify its violations of the convention with them.

"In these circumstances, the rights of the Armenian population in Artsakh can only be protected through unequivocal international measures. This is the only way to prevent the ethnic cleansing that Azerbaijan is implementing, curb its continuation, and ensure the protection of the millennia-old cultural presence of Armenians in Artsakh, preventing its total erasure – something that has already occurred in Nakhichevan and is currently taking place in other parts of Azerbaijan," he said.

Yeghishe Kirakosyan is confident that the court’s interim measures could also protect the abducted military-political leaders of Artsakh from fabricated charges. However, he warns that if there is any ambiguity in the court's decision, Azerbaijan will exploit it to ensure the final eradication of the ethnic Armenian presence and history in Artsakh.

It should be noted that on September 29, 2023, the Republic of Armenia appealed to the International Court of Justice regarding the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh, requesting the application of interim measures and reaffirmation of Azerbaijan's obligations.