Armenia should use Rome Statute to have Azerbaijani war criminals detained and brought to responsibility- human rights activist

YEREVAN, October 9. /ARKA/. Armenia's efforts to bring to justice Azerbaijanis accused of war crimes committed against Armenians are insufficient, Siranush Sahakyan, head of the Center for International and Comparative Law and a human rights lawyer, told a press briefing today.

"Armenia should ask international organizations and Interpol to place Azerbaijani military officers, responsible for committing war crimes on the wanted list," Sahakyan said, recalling in this context the shooting and killing of unarmed Armenian soldiers, captured by Azerbaijani soldiers in Syunik.

According to Sahakyan, Armenia can also use the tools of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court to bring to justice the military-political leadership of Azerbaijan accused of war crimes.  

Sahakyan said against the background of the current geopolitical situation, the ratification of the Rome Statute by Armenia is a very positive fact.

"The Azerbaijani aggression against Nagorno-Karabakh and the mass exodus of its ethnic Armenian population is a serious motive for utilizing the instruments of this statute,' she said.

She said given Western governments' and international organizations’' statement that the exodus of Karabakh population is tantamount to ethnic cleansing, there is a chance that Azerbaijani crimes could be qualified within the framework of the Convention on the Prevention of Genocide.

In her opinion, Baku already fears the involvement of this mechanism. "Nevertheless, if the Armenian side does not start making active political efforts, the Rome Statute will turn into another non-working document," Sahakyan said.-0-