BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 14. The issue of illegal exploitation and looting of Azerbaijan's natural resources by Armenian companies has been raised at the 52-nd session of the UN Human Rights Council, Trend reports.
Speaking at the event, Vice President of the Youth Parliament for Sustainable Development Goals (YPSDG) Julia Rosso said that large-scale illegal exploitation of gold deposits and other natural resources was carried out in the territories of Azerbaijan during their occupation.
According to Rosso, the natural resources of Azerbaijan were intensively plundered by companies of Armenia and persons invited by it from abroad, which has led to air, water, soil pollution, deforestation, and biodiversity degradation.
She noted that as a result of the environmental damage the unique ecosystem of the region was destroyed.
During the 30 years of occupation, the once specially protected natural areas were significantly damaged, which affected the habitat of flora and fauna species, the vice president said, mentioning the felling of a unique plane tree forest in Azerbaijan’s Zangilan district as an example.
Emphasizing that the plane tree forest in Zangilan was once considered the second largest forest in the world and the largest in Europe, Rosso called the destruction of this area another sign of ecological terror.
She noted that mass destruction of the ecosystem was committed, characterized as ecocide and implying criminal liability.
"The hostile attitude shown by Armenia towards the nature of Azerbaijan poses a serious threat to not only the ecological balance, flora and fauna of the country, but along with other provocative actions - to peace and security in the region," the vice president added.
She called for a change in behavior that violates the principle of the territorial integrity of other states, compliance with UN environmental standards.
Zangilan district was liberated from Armenian occupation in the 2020 second Karabakh war.
YPSDG is a Swiss-based non-profit organization registered in the Global Governance Hub —Geneva. It was established in May 2015 under the initiative of a group of young SDGs supporters and professionals from Switzerland, Africa, the US, China, Europe, and the Middle East.