BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 17. Azerbaijan is once again witnessing injustice and double standards, as when its lands were under Armenian occupation, political analyst Elchin Mirzabayli told Trend.
Recently it was announced that International Criminal Court (ICC) will investigate the situation in Ukraine and that over 40 of the ICC's investigators are to arrive in the country to record war crimes and crimes against humanity, to conduct appropriate legal procedures to punish the perpetrators and, of course, establish justice.
Mirzabayli explained that no doubt, genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and hate crimes must be investigated, regardless of when and by whom they were committed, in accordance with the requirements of the second part of the Rome Statute of ICC and Articles 5, 6, 7 and 8, and the guilty must be punished without exception.
Hover, looking at the classification of international crimes within the jurisdiction of the Rome Statute, it can be determined whether each of them was committed against the Azerbaijani people.
"For example, article 8 of the Rome Statute, which classifies war crimes, states that violation of requirements of the Geneva Convention of August 12, 1949, which form the basis of international humanitarian law (IHL), is considered a war crime,” the analyst said.
“Requirements of Geneva Convention include premeditated killings, torture and inhuman treatment, deliberate and mass destruction of property, deliberate attacks on objects, the civilian population, shelling of cities, villages, residential buildings and buildings that are not military targets. There is no need to list the remaining points since the classification is quite extensive,” Mirzabayli noted.
However, there is nothing that Armenia would not have committed against Azerbaijan in the classification of crimes as genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, or attacks, Mirzabayli added.
The expert noted that it is unacceptable to apply any restrictions in connection with the investigation of crimes classified in this document, in accordance with the requirements of the Rome Statute.
He went on to say that taking all of this into consideration, the ICC, in addition to the crimes committed in Ukraine, should also very carefully investigate the rocket attacks on Ganja, Barda, Tartar, and other peaceful cities of Azerbaijan during the 44-day second Karabakh War.
"ICC should investigate killing of civilians as a result of rocket attacks, including women, elderly and children and take appropriate decisions to bring the perpetrators of these crimes to justice,” a political expert said.
“Justice must be objective, impartial and far from double standards, but unfortunately, we are witnessing injustice and double standards in towards Azerbaijan, both during the occupation of our lands and today,” Mirzabayli noted.
However, the basis of penitentiary policy in the legal system of all countries of the world, including in the prosecution of international crimes, is its deterrent function, he said.
Different attitudes towards crimes of a single legal qualification, also double standards, ultimately create the basis for the formation of an atmosphere of impunity, which today undoubtedly plays an exceptional role in the spread of international crime, he noted.
"In any case, we hope that the mission of ICC will consider the issue of investigating war crimes committed against both Ukraine and Azerbaijan. Otherwise, double standards contribute to the emergence of new examples related to war crimes," Mirzabayli added.