Baku, Azerbaijan, Mar. 2
Trend:
The report on situation of human rights defenders in Azerbaijan, prepared after UN rapporteurs’ visit to the country in September 2016, is one-sided, unbalanced and doesn’t meet the spirit of cooperation, said Deputy Foreign Minister Mahmud Mammad-Guliyev.
He made the remarks addressing a session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva, Switzerland.
Mammad-Guliyev raised the issue of mass violation of rights by Armenia of Azerbaijani refugees and IDPs, who left their native lands as a result of the Armenian military aggression.
The deputy foreign minister also noted the necessity of bringing to justice the perpetrators of the Khojaly genocide, which was committed against civilians in the Azerbaijani town Khojaly in February 1992.
The diplomat called on the United Nations Human Rights Council and United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to multiply efforts for restoration of rights of Azerbaijani refugees and IDPs.
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.