BAKU, Azerbaijan, Sept.30
Trend:
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) decided to apply Rule 39 of the Rules of Court on September 29, 2020, in response to a complaint lodged by the Armenian government, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry told Trend.
According to the ministry, in this decision, the European Court called upon Armenia and Azerbaijan to refrain from taking measures that could entail a breach of the rights of the civilian population.
“Thus, Armenia's attempt to use the European Court – a legal tool - for political purposes, turned against itself. In fact, by this decision, the European Court again confirmed its conclusion reached in the 2015 judgment in the Chiragov and Others versus Armenia that the country is responsible for the occupation of Azerbaijani territories and human rights violations on these territories,” the ministry noted. “This is another legal acknowledgment of the continuing occupation of Azerbaijani lands by Armenia and of the fact that the current conflict is going on between Armenia and Azerbaijan.”
“As it’s known, during the present hostilities, Armenian military units have been shelling Azerbaijani towns and villages, including civilian population and numerous civilian objects, which resulted, so far, in the death of at least 12 and injuries of dozens of civilians and irreparable damage to private and public properties,” the ministry further said. “Consequently, the European Court’s decision of 29 September 2020 means a call on Armenia to put an end to violent actions against human rights and the international humanitarian law committed on the Azerbaijani land.”
As the ministry also pointed out, the European Court requested Armenia to inform it, as soon as possible, of the measures taken to comply with its obligations.
“It should be noted that, during the counter-offensive launched in response to the act of aggression committed by Armenia on September 27, 2020, the Armed Forces of Azerbaijan fully and strictly observe the international humanitarian law, and don’t target in any form the civilian population and civilian objects,” the ministry said.
“The Government of Azerbaijan will provide the European Court with the relevant information on the measures taken to comply with its international obligations, in line with the Court’s ruling,” added the ministry.