International recognition of de facto independence of Artsakh is urgent measure to be taken to prevent crimes against humanity – foreign ministry
02.11.2020,
11:09
The Artsakh foreign ministry has issued a statement in connection with the use of phosphorus bombs by Azerbaijan.
YEREVAN, November 2. /ARKA/. The Artsakh foreign ministry has issued a statement in connection with the use of phosphorus bombs by Azerbaijan.
“We strongly and resolutely condemn the continued employment by Azerbaijan of prohibited means and methods of warfare under international law in the course of armed aggression waged against the Republic of Artsakh on 27 September 2020. In particular, the Azerbaijani armed forces, in addition to cluster munitions, began to use phosphorus-containing incendiary ammunition in wooded areas close to the settlements of the Republic of Artsakh, where part of the civilians from nearby villages have been temporarily sheltering from the actions of Azerbaijani subversive groups,” the ministry says in its statement.
It also says that contrary to its claims that the Azerbaijani armed forces as if are targeting only military objectives, official Baku is actually resorting to terror tactics against the civilian population of Artsakh.
“First of all, in this context, it is necessary to consider the consistent refusal of the Azerbaijani side to observe the humanitarian truce, since the continuation of hostilities allows the Baku authorities to further terrorize the civilian population of Artsakh. It is for this purposes that the Azerbaijani side resorts to the use of prohibited weapons, deliberate attacks on the civilian population and civilian objects, including medical units, setting itself the main task of exterminating and forcibly deporting the entire population of Artsakh,” the ministry says.
In such cases, it says, as an effective measure to prevent mass violations of the collective and individual rights of an entire people and protect them from physical destruction, the international community has developed a practice of recognizing the rights of these peoples to remedial secession and to enter international relations as an independent state.
“Thirty years ago, the people of Artsakh chose the path of independence as a means of protection against Azerbaijan's deliberate policy of exterminating the Armenian population. We are convinced, that under the circumstances of the ongoing attempts of the Baku authorities to complete their criminal plan, international recognition of the de facto independence of the Republic of Artsakh is an urgent and mature measure of the international community to fulfil its generally accepted obligations to prevent crimes against humanity,” the Artsakh foreign ministry says in its statement.
As the Artsakh defense ministry reported on October 31, enemy forces used phosphorus munitions containing elements of chemical weapons in the Azerbaijani-Artsakh conflict zone, which is a gross violation of the norms and principles of international humanitarian law and customary law, the Geneva Conventions, provisions and documents of the relevant UN conventions, which , in addition to causing damage to the Armenian forces, they also pursue the goal of kindling large-scale forest fires and creating a real threat of an environmental catastrophe in this territory. Artsrun Hovhannisyan, special spokesman for the Armenian defense ministry, said on November 1 that Azerbaijan continued using phosphorus armament in Artsakh.
War in Artsakh
Since September 27, Azerbaijani troops have been carrying out military aggression along the entire length of the contact line in Artsakh, conducting artillery and rocket attacks, including against civilians and civilian infrastructures. Strikes were also carried out at civilian and military targets on the territory of Armenia.
The Azerbaijani side is supported by the Turkish Armed Forces and the foreign terrorist mercenaries recruited by it. The Turkish-Azerbaijani aggression encounters a decisive rebuff from the Armenian Armed Forces along the entire frontline.
According to the official reports on the Armenian side, Azerbaijan sustains huge losses in manpower. Its death toll since the beginning of the war is 6,997. Also 241UAVs, 16 helicopters and 25 aircraft have been downed as well as 669 armored vehicles and 6 TOS units have been destroyed since the beginning of war. More than 1,060 Armenian servicemen have been killed and several hundred people were wounded. As a result of the war crimes committed by Azerbaijan, 45 civilians were killed and 141 wounded in Artsakh.
Since the beginning of the war, there have been three attempts to establish a humanitarian ceasefire. All three agreements, which were reached on October 10 through the mediation of the Russian Federation, on October 17 through France and on October 25 through the mediation of the United States, were violated by Azerbaijan. -0-
“We strongly and resolutely condemn the continued employment by Azerbaijan of prohibited means and methods of warfare under international law in the course of armed aggression waged against the Republic of Artsakh on 27 September 2020. In particular, the Azerbaijani armed forces, in addition to cluster munitions, began to use phosphorus-containing incendiary ammunition in wooded areas close to the settlements of the Republic of Artsakh, where part of the civilians from nearby villages have been temporarily sheltering from the actions of Azerbaijani subversive groups,” the ministry says in its statement.
It also says that contrary to its claims that the Azerbaijani armed forces as if are targeting only military objectives, official Baku is actually resorting to terror tactics against the civilian population of Artsakh.
“First of all, in this context, it is necessary to consider the consistent refusal of the Azerbaijani side to observe the humanitarian truce, since the continuation of hostilities allows the Baku authorities to further terrorize the civilian population of Artsakh. It is for this purposes that the Azerbaijani side resorts to the use of prohibited weapons, deliberate attacks on the civilian population and civilian objects, including medical units, setting itself the main task of exterminating and forcibly deporting the entire population of Artsakh,” the ministry says.
In such cases, it says, as an effective measure to prevent mass violations of the collective and individual rights of an entire people and protect them from physical destruction, the international community has developed a practice of recognizing the rights of these peoples to remedial secession and to enter international relations as an independent state.
“Thirty years ago, the people of Artsakh chose the path of independence as a means of protection against Azerbaijan's deliberate policy of exterminating the Armenian population. We are convinced, that under the circumstances of the ongoing attempts of the Baku authorities to complete their criminal plan, international recognition of the de facto independence of the Republic of Artsakh is an urgent and mature measure of the international community to fulfil its generally accepted obligations to prevent crimes against humanity,” the Artsakh foreign ministry says in its statement.
As the Artsakh defense ministry reported on October 31, enemy forces used phosphorus munitions containing elements of chemical weapons in the Azerbaijani-Artsakh conflict zone, which is a gross violation of the norms and principles of international humanitarian law and customary law, the Geneva Conventions, provisions and documents of the relevant UN conventions, which , in addition to causing damage to the Armenian forces, they also pursue the goal of kindling large-scale forest fires and creating a real threat of an environmental catastrophe in this territory. Artsrun Hovhannisyan, special spokesman for the Armenian defense ministry, said on November 1 that Azerbaijan continued using phosphorus armament in Artsakh.
War in Artsakh
Since September 27, Azerbaijani troops have been carrying out military aggression along the entire length of the contact line in Artsakh, conducting artillery and rocket attacks, including against civilians and civilian infrastructures. Strikes were also carried out at civilian and military targets on the territory of Armenia.
The Azerbaijani side is supported by the Turkish Armed Forces and the foreign terrorist mercenaries recruited by it. The Turkish-Azerbaijani aggression encounters a decisive rebuff from the Armenian Armed Forces along the entire frontline.
According to the official reports on the Armenian side, Azerbaijan sustains huge losses in manpower. Its death toll since the beginning of the war is 6,997. Also 241UAVs, 16 helicopters and 25 aircraft have been downed as well as 669 armored vehicles and 6 TOS units have been destroyed since the beginning of war. More than 1,060 Armenian servicemen have been killed and several hundred people were wounded. As a result of the war crimes committed by Azerbaijan, 45 civilians were killed and 141 wounded in Artsakh.
Since the beginning of the war, there have been three attempts to establish a humanitarian ceasefire. All three agreements, which were reached on October 10 through the mediation of the Russian Federation, on October 17 through France and on October 25 through the mediation of the United States, were violated by Azerbaijan. -0-
