On September 27, 2020, Azerbaijan violated the ceasefire commitment to the OSCE Minsk Group and treacherously attacked the Republic of Artsakh, starting the third terrorist war in 30 years against the civilian population of the Republic of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, NKR). In this war, Azerbaijan is joined by Turkey and terrorist groups such as ISIS jihadists from Syria[1] and fascist “Gray wolves” from Turkey. In all these aggressions, the Pan-Turkists have one goal – to complete the Armenian Genocide, which Ottoman Turkey began at the end of the 19th century[2].
The military aggression by Azerbaijan, Turkey and terrorist groups has been condemned by many countries, including:
- French President E. Macron: «A red line has been crossed, which is unacceptable»[3]
- Greece has recalled its ambassador to Azerbaijan[4]
- The Parliament of Cyprus condemned the aggression of Azerbaijan[5]
- British lawyer, Professor Geoffrey Robertson: the UN Security Council should immediately refer the conflict to the International Criminal Court[6].
In the span of two weeks since September 27, Azerbaijan and its fascist, terrorist allies have committed multiple genocidal crimes that fall under the UN Convention of December 9, 1948. During this time, the Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan gave interviews to 19 major news agencies of leading countries of the world and in each of them emphasized the threats of genocide[7]. The President of the Republic of Artsakh Arayik Harutyunyan and many state and public figures have also repeatedly stated this.
And what have we heard from the UN? Generic statements full of false symmetry equating the serial genocidal aggressor with the victim of its aggression. Moreover, even the October 9 statement[8] of the High Commissioner for Human Rights is vague. It does not condemn the Azerbaijani murderers for their use of cluster munitions[9], the indiscriminate targeting of the civilian population by hundreds of air strikes on cities and settlements located far from the front line.
The Organizing Committee of the International Public Tribunal for crimes committed by Azerbaijan expresses its protest to the UN. More specifically, we condemn the silence, negligence and absence of any reflection of the facts of the ongoing humanitarian catastrophe on the UN website. This responsibility falls under two offices of the Special Advisers to the UN Secretary General: The Office for the Prevention of genocide (Adama Dieng) and The Office ofr the Responsibility to protect (Ms. Karen Smith). This comes on the heels of a lack of response to our warning letter of March 25, 2020 sent in 5 languages[10].
Such an unbothered attitude towards the ongoing war crimes of genocide by Azerbaijan and its allies against the Armenian people is unacceptable. Such informational silence sabotages the UN mission and discredits the UN strategy for the prevention of crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. History knows the cases when delays on the part of the UN has allowed major humanitarian crises, such as that occurred during the Rwandan Genocide in 1994.
On October 10, 2020, the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Republic of Artsakh, Artak Beklaryan circulated the Second Interim Report on the atrocities of Azerbaijan against the population of Artsakh[11]. To which the UN officials responsible for countering the atrocities have once again remained completely unmoved. On October 11, the terrorist groups of Azerbaijan committed another brutal murder, this time against two Armenians in the city of Hadrut – a mother and a disabled son – on the basis of ethnic hatred.
It became obvious, then, to everyone in the world that this is not a “conflict between two countries” that is taking place, but the defense of a civilization by the forces of the 150,000-person population of Artsakh against the barbarous forces of 90 million Turks. The criminal triple alliance of Azerbaijan-Turkey-terrorist groups is aimed not so much at small Artsakh as it is at large regions of Iran, Central Asia, China, Russia, and beyond. The Armenian people, who are native to the Armenian Highlands, a historic interregional crossroads, are heroically fulfilling their mission of protecting the rights of all indigenous peoples of these Highlands from the recurrent crimes of radical pan-Turkism. In this war imposed by the forces of darkness, the Armenian people will win with God’s help. But the question will remain for those who should not remain silent in the face of the bombing of civilians, homes and churches.
The Organizing Committee of the International Public Tribunal for crimes committed by Azerbaijan demands the UN officials to immediately publicly assess and condemn the mass crimes of Azerbaijan against humanity, as well as to take all measures in accordance with the mission, Charter and principles of the UN: to effectively prevent the root of the threats of genocide against the Armenian people of the Republic of Artsakh. We urge that the UN representative, at a convenient time, contact us. The continued silence of UN officials is direct complicity in the ongoing crimes of genocide.
On behalf of the Organizing Committee of the International Public Tribunal for crimes committed by Azerbaijan
Vahan Babakhanyan
October 12, 2020
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[1] https://www.reuters.com/article/armenia-azerbaijan-russia-int/russia-says-nagorno-karabakh-risks-becoming-launch-pad-for-terrorists-ifax-idUSKBN26R1VE
[2] Преступления Азербайджана до 1990 г. https://aga-tribunal.info/en/crimes-till-1990-en/ и после 1990 г. https://aga-tribunal.info/en/crimes-after-1990-en/
[3] https://sofrep.com/news/france-turkey-has-sent-300-isis-fighters-to-azerbaijan/
[4] https://greekcitytimes.com/2020/10/07/greece-denies-claims-it-is-training-armenian-and-kurdish-militias/
[5] https://horizonweekly.ca/en/parliament-of-cyprus-unanimously-adopts-resolution-condemning-azeri-aggression-against-artsakh/
[6] https://mediamax.am/en/news/politics/39879/
[7] https://aga-tribunal.info/pashinyan-threats-en/
[8] https://news.un.org/en/story/2020/10/1075022
[9] https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2020/10/armenia-azerbaijan-civilians-must-be-protected-from-use-of-banned-cluster-bombs/
[10] https://aga-tribunal.info/en/tribunal_25-3-2020_en/
[11] https://www.artsakhombuds.am/en/news/46
