Baku, Azerbaijan, July 23
By Elchin Mehdiyev – Trend:
Armenia is responsible for illegal economic and other activities in the occupied Azerbaijani territories, spokesman for the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry Hikmet Hajiyev said at a press conference in Baku July 23.
“Illegal actions are classified in the following directions: creation of settlements and displacement of the population in the occupied territory; use of natural resources of Azerbaijan and trade in them; economic and financial activity; change of infrastructure, use of telecommunications network; change of cultural heritage in the occupied territories; development of tourism, as well as organization of illegal visits and other activity.”
"Armenia is responsible for wrongful acts in the occupied Azerbaijani territories, some of which are serious breaches of obligations arising from peremptory norms of general international law," Hajiyev said.
“They include the use of force for separation of the Nagorno-Karabakh region and other districts of Azerbaijan, occupied by Armenia, in violation of the Charter of the United Nations; as a consequence, violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan; ethnic cleansing in the occupied Azerbaijani territories, including creation of settlements and displacement of the population, which leads to a change in the demographic composition in these territories; a flagrant violation of the right to military occupation, in particular article 43 of the Regulations Concerning the Laws and Customs of War on Land and article 49 of the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War; use of natural resources in the occupied territories without taking into account the priority of the interests of the population (living prior to ethnic cleansing of the region); changing the cultural heritage in the region,” he added.
"In accordance with the peremptory norms of international law, the abovementioned serious violations require the use of special consequences: non-recognition of the situation created as a result of such violations; prohibition of assistance in maintaining such a situation; exclusion of any immunities for those responsible for such violations," Hajiyev said.
“Another consequence is that all countries are obliged to call Armenia to accountability and take measures against it, including on the basis of sanctions, as well as criminal prosecution and civil legal proceedings,” he said.
"The rule of law is an indispensable condition in the international relations and the process of settlement of conflicts," Hajiyev added. “We call on the entire international community, the corresponding international organizations, the OSCE Minsk Group co-chair countries, foreign legal entities and individuals to take into account the "Legal opinion on third party obligations with respect to illegal economic and other actions in the occupied Azerbaijani territories" and other fundamental legal reports submitted by Azerbaijan concerning the legal aspects of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict."
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.