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Armenia resettling Syrian refugees on occupied lands - breach of int'l law, Baku tells UNHCR

Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict Materials 16 December 2017 12:29 (UTC +04:00)
Policy pursued by Armenia aimed at resettling Syrian refugees of Armenian origin on the occupied territories of Azerbaijan is a grave breach of the international humanitarian law, reads a statement by the Delegation of Azerbaijan at the United Nations High Commissioner’s Dialogue on Protection Challenges.
Armenia resettling Syrian refugees on occupied lands - breach of int'l law, Baku tells UNHCR

Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec. 16

By Leman Zeynalova – Trend:

Policy pursued by Armenia aimed at resettling Syrian refugees of Armenian origin on the occupied territories of Azerbaijan is a grave breach of the international humanitarian law, reads a statement by the Delegation of Azerbaijan at the United Nations High Commissioner’s Dialogue on Protection Challenges.

The statement is addressed to the UN Office and other international organizations in Geneva.

“Azerbaijan’s sensitivity to IDP’s cause are understandable,” the statement noted. “We host one of the largest internally displaced populations per capita in the world as a result of the ongoing military aggression and occupation of the Azerbaijani lands by Armenia.”

“It is also crucial to pay careful attention to the attempts of some political leaders to misuse suffering migrants in their own malicious interests,” reads the statement. “For instance, policy pursued by Armenia aimed at resettling Syrian refugees of Armenian origin on the occupied territories of Azerbaijan in a grave breach of IHL is a vivid example to these attempts. The ultimate purpose of the statements made by Armenian delegation in international forums is to try to secure funding for illegal resettlement of Armenian origin refugees from Syria in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan.”

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.

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