1. Armenian servicemen captured and held prisoners by the
Azerbaijani military must be released and returned to Armenia.
This must be done immediately and without any preconditions.
2. It is absolutely impermissible that Section 8 of the
Tripartite Declaration of November 10, 2020 does not specify a date for the
exchange or return of the prisoners of war or others who are otherwise detained
and are held in captivity.
But this does not mean that it is permissible for Azerbaijani
authorities to continue violating international human rights standards and
humanitarian agreements. The return of the prisoners of war is artificially
delayed; the accurate numbers are not disclosed; and, even attempts are made to
present a smaller number than the real number. All the while, the torture and
inhumane treatment of these prisoners continue to take place, as evidenced by
the purposeful publication of videos attesting to that; and, the recovery of
the bodies of the deceased are being circumvented.
The Human Right Defender already stated that the studies,
complaints addressed to Armenia’s Human Rights Defender, reports, as well as
24/7 of the Defender’s Office confirm that these acts are aimed at causing
mental suffering to the families of those still in captivity, intended as a
means of playing with the emotions of the Armenian society, and aimed at
causing Ans raising tensions in our country.
3. The statements of the Azerbaijani authorities that they are
not prisoners of war, but rather, they are terrorists who have been arrested,
grossly violate the post-war humanitarian processes and international human
rights requirements. These statements are in direct contradiction with the
requirement of Section 8 of the Trilateral Statement of November 10, 2020.
They are “Prisoners of War” by status, period!
Similarly, all these demands and adherence must also apply to
the exchange of the bodies of victims and for the search and rescue of those
who are still missing.
4. The Human Rights Defender of Armenia considers absolutely
condemnable the politicization of this humanitarian and human rights issue, and
even remotely connecting these matters of human rights related to any
territorial issue, or for that matter, the obvious attempts of the Azerbaijani
authorities to exploit these matters for political purposes.
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