Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 9
Trend:
Human Rights Commissioner (Ombudsman) of Azerbaijan Elmira Suleymanova has sent a statement to international organizations in connection with the Armenian armed forces’ shelling the Azerbaijani civilians, in particular children.
The statement has been sent to the UN Secretary General, UN Security Council, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, UNICEF, Organization of Islamic Cooperation, European Commission, Council of Europe, OSCE and ombudsmen of various countries.
The statement says that on August 7, Armenian armed units fired from large-caliber guns at the Garalar village of Azerbaijan’s Tovuz district, which borders Armenia, from the occupied Azerbaijani territories. As a result of this Armenian provocation, aimed at killing the civilian population, 13-year-old Ramil Yusibov, a resident of the Garalar village, was wounded and hospitalized.
The statement also says that Armenia’s shelling civilians, including children, are a part of a long-term policy of terrorism carried out by the aggressor state.
Armenia flagrantly violates the norms of international humanitarian law by continuing aggressive actions and subjecting to intensive shelling the front-line positions of the Azerbaijani army and the Azerbaijani territories inhabited by civilians.
On July 4, 2017, at about 20:40 (UTC +4), the Armenian armed forces using 82-mm and 120-mm mortars and grenade launchers, shelled Azerbaijani positions and territories where the civilian population lives, namely the Alkhanli village of the country’s Fuzuli district. As a result of this provocation, the residents of the village Sahiba Guliyeva, 50, and Zahra Guliyeva, 2, were killed. Servinaz Guliyeva, 52, who got wounded, was taken to a hospital and was operated on.
The military aggression of Armenia against Azerbaijan, ethnic cleansing and terrorist acts that continue for more than 25 years should be regarded as acts of crime, and effective measures should be taken in line with the norms of international law in order to punish the perpetrators of these crimes, the statement says.
Its confidence in its impunity didn’t allow Armenia to learn a lesson from what had happened, the statement reads. Even despite the protest of the international community, which condemned the atrocities, in particular the shelling of civilian population, children and women, Armenia again committed another crime, as a result of which 13-year-old Ramil Yusibov was wounded on August 7.
As a result of the Armenian leadership’s military adventure on April 2-5, 2016, 34 civilians were wounded along the front line, and six people, including children, were killed.
Armenia’s immediate and deliberate attacks on civilians and civilian facilities of Azerbaijan are a serious violation of international humanitarian law and human rights, in particular the 1949 Geneva Convention and its Additional Protocol #1, as well as the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.
These developments, reaffirming the occupation policy and inhuman acts of Armenia, once again prove that Armenia doesn’t recognize the norms of international law.
The Azerbaijani ombudsman appeals to the world community, authoritative international structures and colleagues, urging them not only to condemn, but also to make effective efforts to put an end to the prolonged Armenian aggression, the murder of civilians, and the massive violation of human rights, says the statement.
The international community shouldn’t remain indifferent to such cruelty and inhuman acts, and it must ensure that the invader Armenia – which committed international crimes – is punished in line with the UN Charter, added Suleymanova in her statement.
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.