At a press conference pertaining to the March 15, 2021 meeting
with the OSCE Chairman-in-Office, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan
stated: "Azerbaijan has returned all the captives to Armenia in accordance
with its obligations." The statement said that "on November 26, armed
men from the Shirak province of Armenia (…) are not prisoners of war."
These statements of the Azerbaijani authorities are made regularly.
Considering that the issue concerns the protection of the rights
of Armenian servicemen and civilians held captive in Azerbaijan and the fact
that distorted presentation of facts to international organizations should not
be allowed, Armenia’s Human Rights Defender considers it necessary to address
the referenced statements in detail.
1. Both before and after the November 9 announcement, there is
an ongoing armed conflict on the ground.
This conclusion follows directly from international humanitarian
law, in as much as all servicemen and civilians of the Armenian side detained
in Azerbaijan are prisoners of war are subject to be protected by international
law, and they must be immediately released and returned safely.
2. The release and return of prisoners of war is a mandatory
international requirement, not an act of “goodwill" or
"kindness" of the Azerbaijani authorities.
This requirement applies in international law, regardless of
whether it is enshrined in specific conflict resolution documents, and must be
met without preconditions.
3. The behavior and statements of the Azerbaijani authorities,
at a minimum, attest to the following:
1) they artificially delay the release and return of the
Armenian captives;
2) abuse legal procedures, falsify the requirements of
international law, prosecute prisoners, and use deprivation of liberty as punishment;
The special report of the RA Human Rights Defender proves with
concrete examples that this practice grossly violates international human
rights requirements;
3) they use the issue for political purposes. This refers, for
example, to reports in the independent media that the Azerbaijani authorities
are using the issue of the return of prisoners for the exchange of territories
in Artsakh, bargaining and other political purposes.
4) they abuse Clause 8 of the tripartite declaration of November
9, 2020 as it relates to the return of captives, and they link it to other
points in the declaration, clearly taking advantage of the fact that it does
not specify the date of fulfillment of that obligation.
5) they deliberately cause continuous mental suffering to the
families of captives and missing persons, and hey blatantly toy with the
feelings of the Armenia and Artsakh societies;
6) they create public tension in Armenia and Artsakh with their
behavior;
7) they do not publish the true number of captives of the
Armenian side held in Azerbaijan, and do so without any legal grounds and in
gross violation of human rights requirements.
4. Consequently, calling any of the Armenian servicemen and civilians
captured by the Azerbaijani armed forces "terrorists" is a gross
violation of international humanitarian law and international human rights law
in general.
This assertion is particularly relevant given the requirements
of the Third Geneva Convention of 1949.
5. The statements of the President of Azerbaijan and the
Minister of Foreign Affairs about the captives directly contradict the
intentions of the signatory parties to the tripartite statement of November 9,
2020 and the practical application of that announcement.
In particular, based on the requirement of clause 8 of that
statement, the Republic of Armenia has already transferred to Azerbaijan
perpetrators of crimes in Artsakh, including two convicted Azerbaijani
murderers of Armenian civilians. Azerbaijan handed over Armenians formally
convicted in that country on the same principle.
Moreover, there took place a return of captives after the
November 9 trilateral announcement.
6. Therefore, the said statement should be applied to all
situations arising from before as well as after November 9, and so long as
there is an objective need for the protection of human rights and the
humanitarian process due to the aftermath of hostilities.
In principle, it is improper to condition the issue of prisoners
based only on the date of the trilateral declaration.
We emphasize once again that, regardless of the date of
captivity, all servicemen of the Armenian side held in Azerbaijan, including
civilians, are prisoners of war by their current status.
Such a mechanical approach is unacceptable.
7. In addition to the foregoing, the credible evidence collected
by the Human Rights Defender's Office of the Republic of Armenia confirms that
the number of detainees is higher than confirmed by the Azerbaijani
authorities. This assertion takes into account the return of 44 prisoners of
war in a single group, including those captured during the hostilities prior to
the November 9 tripartite declaration.
The Human Rights Defender has registered numerous cases when,
despite the evidence confirmed by videos and other evidence, the Azerbaijani
authorities deny the fact that those people are within their custody and
control, or delay the approval and processing of their release.
8. The absolute urgency of the issue of the release of prisoners
should be considered in the context of the Azerbaijani state supported policy
of hatred towards Armenians which has been repeatedly confirmed and based on
objective evidence contained in the reports of Armenia’s Human Rights Defender.
This fact is confirmed by a number of judgments of the European
Court of Human Rights.
9. Therefore, the Human Rights Defender of the Republic of
Armenia once again draws the attention of the international community and
especially the international organizations with a mandate to protect human
rights to the statement of the Azerbaijani authorities, and in this instance,
the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan.
It is necessary to ensure the absolute implementation of
international humanitarian and human rights requirements and, immediate release
and return of the captives of Armenian side without preconditions.
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