Displaced Karabakh Armenians should be given possibility of returning in safety and dignity – Commissioner Mijatović

Posted on January. 20. 2024

YEREVAN, ARMENPRESS. “Armenian and Azerbaijani authorities should ensure focus on human rights protection in their peace talks and establish strong human rights safeguards for all persons affected by the conflict”, said the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Dunja Mijatović, as she published her Observations following her visit to Armenia and Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh, from 16 to 23 October 2023. 

“It was the first time in decades that a human rights mission of this kind was able to visit the Karabakh region,” Mijatović’s office said in a press release. 

“The visit was prompted by the mass displacement of over 101,000 Karabakh Armenians who fled to Armenia in the space of only a few days at the end of September. It followed Azerbaijan’s military action on 19 and 20 September, its subsequent full control over the region and the prolonged disruption in the movement of people and access to essential goods, services and energy supplies experienced by Karabakh Armenians as a result of a nine-month blocking of the road along the Lachin corridor by Azerbaijan. In Armenia, the Commissioner spoke with Karabakh Armenians who had left and were staying in shelters provided by the authorities,” the Commissioner’s office said. 

Mijatović also visited Stepanakert, where she “witnessed empty streets, abandoned premises and almost no sign of the presence of civilians.” 

“On the basis of what she could hear and see, the Commissioner concluded that at the end of September 2023, Karabakh Armenians found themselves abandoned without any reliable security or protection guarantees by any party, and that, for them, leaving home was the only reasonable option available. While welcoming the efforts made by the Armenian authorities to provide all those in need who arrived from the Karabakh region with the first basic assistance, the Commissioner stressed that Karabakh Armenians who fled to Armenia, and in particular those belonging to vulnerable groups, should be guaranteed access to all necessary support in the immediate, medium and long term. “Council of Europe member states should maintain a focus on providing financial support to ensure that the humanitarian needs of displaced persons and their host populations can be fully met”, added the Commissioner. The Commissioner stressed that recently-displaced Karabakh Armenians in Armenia should be given the possibility of returning in safety and dignity – even if it seems hypothetical for most at the moment – including by finding flexible solutions, in particular as concerns their citizenship and legal status. Pending a possible return, ways should be promptly found, including by establishing security guarantees, for Karabakh Armenians to temporarily access their homes or places of habitual residence, and visit graveyards where loved ones are buried. It is incumbent on the Azerbaijani authorities to ensure that property left behind by Karabakh Armenians is protected from looting, theft or being taken over. The few ethnic Armenians who have stayed in the Karabakh region should also benefit from all human rights protection, including by having their freedom of movement secured.” 

The Commissioner also expressed hope that all internally displaced persons who so wish will be able to return as soon as possible in safety and dignity. “More generally, the Commissioner stressed that all persons displaced by the long-lasting conflict have the right to return to their homes or places of habitual residence voluntarily and under conditions of safety and dignity, regardless of whether they have been displaced internally or across borders,” reads the press release issued by Mijatović’s office. 

“All allegations of breaches of international humanitarian law and serious human rights violations reported in relation to the conflict need to be effectively and promptly investigated, the perpetrators brought to justice and if found guilty after a fair, independent and impartial trial, sentenced and punished. This includes allegations relating to the circumstances of the blocking of the Lachin corridor, the mass displacement of Karabakh Armenians and the military operation of 19 to 20 September”, said the Commissioner. She added that this must be done through a victim-centred approach that treats the victims and their families with sensitivity and compassion. A comprehensive approach to dealing with the past and addressing the serious human rights violations committed in the context of the conflict over the Karabakh region should also be put in place. “Other human rights issues addressed in the Commissioner’s Observations include the need to protect people from mines and explosive remnants of war; the situation of persons detained in connection with the conflict, including the conditions of their detention and level of contact with their families; and the importance of clarifying the fate of missing persons throughout the region and to provide answers to their families. Lastly, the Commissioner called on the authorities in both countries to combat hate speech and promote mutual understanding and trust, including by involving civil society in establishing human rights-compliant memorialisation and reconciliation processes,” the Commissioner’s office said in the press release. 

3 responses to “Displaced Karabakh Armenians should be given possibility of returning in safety and dignity – Commissioner Mijatović”

  1. S. Dermelkonian says:

    please see 3rd box

  2. S. Dermelkonian says:

    because overprint possibility see box 3

  3. S. Dermelkonian says:

    Possible Arzakh deportation solution is urgent, highly dependable from defense
    project; but this could be avoided in case a
    HORRIFYING, ANTI ARMENIAN POSTPONEMENT WAS
    NOT DONE SINCE 1916, REFUSING TO ALLOW A LAND
    FOR INNOVATIVE INVINCIBLE DEFENSE PROJECT UP
    TODAY. All machinery waiting open air for
    production…5 years defense relying to Russia, constant betrayer of ArmeniA interest HIGHEST NEGLECTFUL, BE CHEATED IN EVERY
    OCCASION, accusing west to not help, WHEN
    WE COULD RELY TO OUR DEFENSE PRODUCERS.
    Russian arms COULD NOT BE USED AGAINST
    AZERBAIJAN IF THEY INVADE !! SO NO DEFENSE,
    10,000 km2 was granted freely BUT NOT PIECE
    OF LAND FOR OUR DEFENSE PRODUCTION !!!!.
    THIS NEGLECT IS **PURPOSELY DONE**, TO WEAKEN
    AND SELL ARMENIA, ACCORDING MOSCOW 1921
    ILLEGAL TREATY. 3000 YEARS YEREVAN IS
    CONSIDERED 500 YEARS OLD MONGOL TATARS…!!!
    1991 L. Der Bedrosian accepted 2nd republic
    continuation, BE VASSAL TO BOLSHEVIKS; accept
    ALL KIND DEMAND, SOLD FACTORIES, MINES
    RAIL ROAD, TOTAL CONTROL BORDERS BY RUSSIA
    AND TURNED 4 YEAR KARABAGH LIBERATED WAR
    INTO **POSSIBLE NEGOTIABLE**, TO DAY LOSS.
    32 YEARS WE ARE LOSING GROUND ONLY !!!.
    IN CASE INVENTOR HAGOP AKANYAN PROJECT IS NOT ADMITTED TO FUNCTION, PASHINIAN WILL BE
    CLASSED FIRST CLASS TRAITOR TO ARMENIA, NOT
    ALLOWING SELF DEFENSE,WILLING TO SELL
    ARMENIA FOR MOSCOW 1921 TREATY ILLEGAL TERMS
    GOD SAVE ARMENIA !!!!.

    RECEIVING HIS LAND

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