Today, in an official letter to the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office,
the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs, the Council of Europe and the UN Commissioners
for Human Rights and other international bodies, I provided additional
information on the urgency of the return of Armenian captives from Azerbaijan,
the real situation, the protection of their rights and missing persons.
The letter primarily indicates that there is an ongoing, open
armed conflict. From the point of view of international [humanitarian] law,
this means that regardless of whether or not they were taken prisoner after the
November 9, 2020 tripartite declaration, they are prisoners of war, captives;
they should be released immediately. This issue is artificially delayed by
openly abusing legal processes, presenting them as terrorists and in violation
of international rules, using detention as punishment.
All the while, this is a universal demand requirement for the
implementation of international rulings to be applied automatically. The
opposite grossly violates international human rights requirements and the
international humanitarian law, including the 1949 1949 Geneva Convention. The
release and return of prisoners should be considered solely in the context of
the human rights and humanitarian processes.
The Human Rights Defender’s monitoring, as well as the results
of the investigation of the complaints received continuously confirm that the
Azerbaijani authorities, in gross violation of international requirements,
artificially delay the release of the Armenian captives, and deliberately do
not disclose the actual number of prisoners. With this policy, they are
violating the rights of prisoners and causing mental sufferings to the families
of the captives and the missing persons, as well as are causing tension in the
Armenian society.
Evidence gathered by the Human Rights Defender's Office confirms
that the number of captives held in Azerbaijan is higher than the Azerbaijani
authorities have confirmed. This is in reference to the return of 44 captives
in 2020.
The absolute urgency with respect to the issue of the release
and return of captives must be considered in the context of the policy of
hatred towards Armenians and animosity in Azerbaijan, which has been
continually propagated at the state level.
Therefore, taking into account the humanitarian mandates of
these international bodies and their role in human rights (the priority of
right to life) protection, they were provided with additional information on
the real situation, raising the urgent need to take decisive measures for the
release and return of all captives.
Arman Tatoyan
The Human Rights Defender of Armenia
Հայերեն
