BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 6. In commemoration of the 33rd anniversary of the Khojaly genocide, Azerbaijani NGOs addressed the UN Human Rights Council at its Geneva office for the first time in a single session, Trend reports.
During the 58th session of the UN Human Rights Council held on March 5, 2025, three Azerbaijani NGOs presented their remarks consecutively.
Ramil Iskandarli, Chairman of the Board of the Azerbaijan National NGO Forum, spoke at a panel discussion on "Early Warning and Prevention of Genocide."
He discussed the tragic Khojaly genocide, committed by Armenia on February 26, 1992, calling it one of the gravest crimes against humanity. "On that night, over 2,000 innocent Azerbaijanis were brutally murdered," he said. Iskandarli also recalled the missile attacks on civilian populations in Ganja, Barda, and Tartar by Armenian forces during the 44-day Patriotic War in 2020.
Highlighting the triumph of justice, Iskandarli noted that Azerbaijan restored full sovereignty over Khojaly in 2023. "Today, Khojaly has become a source of hope and joy for Azerbaijani families returning to their homes, and the sound of children’s laughter is once again heard," he added.
Following him, Nadima Rahimli, Deputy Chair of the Social Welfare of Citizens Public Union, addressed the panel. She began her speech by marking the 33rd anniversary of the Khojaly genocide and highlighted that in the brutality committed by Armenian forces on February 26, 1992, 613 innocent Azerbaijanis, including 106 women, 63 children, and 70 elderly individuals, were mercilessly killed.
Rahimli also brought attention to the fate of missing Azerbaijanis, noting that during the First Nagorno-Karabakh War, 1,275 people were taken captive, and the fate of 150 of them remains unknown to this day. She emphasized that the genocide destroyed eight Azerbaijani families, a planned act by the Armenians aimed at instilling fear and accelerating displacement.
Lastly, Shabnam Safarova, Chair of the Progress in Karabakh Public Union, concluded the series of addresses by Azerbaijani NGOs. She once again marked the anniversary of the Khojaly genocide and stressed the importance of international recognition of this tragedy.
Safarova remarked that despite the UN’s establishment of early warning systems to prevent such atrocities, these mechanisms have sometimes proven ineffective. "We need to rethink how to make these systems more effective and empower nations to protect their rights," she concluded.
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