in Russian – https://aga-tribunal.info/artsakh-21-7-2023/

Source – http://www.nankr.am/en/5293

July 21, 2023

September 27, 2020, Azerbaijan, grossly violating the principle of the non-use of force and the exclusion of the threat of force, with the direct participation of Turkey and the involvement of foreign armed terrorists, unleashed a 44-day military aggression, which was stopped with the mediation of the Russian Federation, by a joint statement of the leaders of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia dated November 9, 2020.

By the tripartite declaration, the Russian Federation actually realized the rights defined in Chapter 6 of the UN Charter, provisions for the peaceful settlement of disputes, in particular, part 1 of article 33, thus transferring the settlement of the dispute between the parties to the conflict in the field of “mediation, agreement and negotiations”. Bur it failed as a result of the ongoing and large-scale aggression by Azerbaijan, which created a regional crisis involving direct and indirect parties to the conflict. On the other hand, the subjectivity of the Republic of Artsakh and the will of the people of Artsakh continue to be ignored. The people of Artsakh, in accordance with generally accepted norms and principles of international law, as well as the legislation of the USSR, exercised its right to self-determination by proclaiming the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (Artsakh) on September 2, 1991, and then holding an independence referendum on December 10.

The Russian peacekeeping contingent based in Artsakh do not have an international mandate – a circumstance that gives the green light to Azerbaijan’s violations of the Tripartite Declaration and the norms and principles of international law, as well as the continuing threat to security and stability in the region. The vivid evidence of the above is Azerbaijan’s gross violations of the ceasefire regime and the norms of international law established by the Tripartite Declaration, the protocols of the European Court of Human Rights decisions and the International Court of Justice, the PACE resolution. In particular, as a result of the blockade of the Berdzor (Lachin) corridor, the blockade of Artsakh that has been going on for more than seven months, the destruction of infrastructure, the constant intimidation of the civilian population, propaganda of ethnic hatred, numerous recorded cases of vandalism and deliberate destruction of Armenian historical, cultural, religious and other monuments. The policy of ethnic cleansing by the above and other methods is a clear manifestation of crimes against humanity.

Based on all of this, as well as the determination of the United Nations to spare future generations the scourge of war, ethnic cleansing and genocide and the responsibility to maintain international peace and security; the highest representative body of the people of Artsakh, the National Assembly, calls on

the Republic of Armenia to

• take immediate measures to endow the peacekeeping mission stationed in the Republic of Artsakh with an international mandate: addressing the UN Security Council, the General Assembly in the prescribed manner, suggesting that appropriate steps be taken to maintain peace and security in the region.

International community, represented by the permanent member states of the UN Security Council:

• Adhering to the goals and principles presented in Chapter 1 of the UN Charter, and following the procedure presented in Chapter 7 of the UN Charter, to take an imperative decision (resolution) by undertaking and implementing effective measures to establish peace in Artsakh.

The Republic of Artsakh strives to save its people from the scourge of war, reaffirm belief in fundamental human rights and freedoms and in the equality of large and small nations. Therefore, expects from these structures the creation of conditions that ensure compliance with the obligations arising from the norms of international law and contribution to a decent life of the people of Artsakh in freedom.

Stepanakert

July 21, 2023