In his speech on the 28th of April 2021, the Defender referred to the Azerbaijani armed attacks on Artsakh, during which the peaceful population was targeted. Women and children were targeted; the norms of international human rights law have been violated. Moreover, Azerbaijan launched a war in gross violation of the international calls for a ceasefire, including a direct demand by the UN Security Council to immediately cease hostilities during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Azerbaijani side used banned cluster munitions, targeting the peaceful population and the civilian settlements in Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh). The Defender stressed that residents of the Syunik and Gegharkunik regions of the Republic of Armenia were also killed and wounded in the Azerbaijani armed attacks.
The Azerbaijani armed attacks were accompanied by inhuman and cruel treatment, and beheadings and torture of both prisoners of war and civilian captives.
More than 300 videos depicting the war crimes committed by the Azerbaijani armed forces including beheadings, dismemberments, torture, and inhuman treatment of persons who were alive, were reviewed, translated, and analyzed by the Defender's Office.
The Defender stressed that the highest bodies of the Azerbaijani authorities continue the state-sponsored fascist policy of Armenophobia, hostility, and racism in Azerbaijan. One of the evidences of this policy is the opening of a so-called "exhibition-park" in Baku related the September-November 2020 war. He drew attention to the fact that the Armenian soldier’s mannequins are specifically presented in a degrading manner, while the park is even open for minor children.
Mr. Arman Tatoyan noted that unfortunately, all these facts have not yet been properly assessed by the international civilized community and the statement of the UN experts on the 2030 Agenda of Sustainable Development that “No one should be left behind, and no human right ignored” did not become a principle to protect real persons in the real life, because the protection of human rights did not take place as a result of political reasons.
The purpose of the meeting was to present the issues related to the implementation of international humanitarian law, in particular, the challenges of the methods of reporting violations in the modern world. The importance of raising the awareness of the public and specific groups about the general principles and regulations of international humanitarian law were also discussed during the meeting.
Mr. Arman Tatoyan noted, that all the facts recorded in his speech are based on objective, and reliable evidences obtained as a result of the fact-finding work of the Human Rights Defender of Armenia, as an independent constitutional institution.
The event organized by the OSCE Forum for Security Co-operation was attended by representatives of the OSCE member states, the International Committee of the Red Cross, the Ministry of Defense of Armenia, and others.
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