ArmInfo. Statements by the top leadership of Armenia about the possibility of withdrawing Armenia's complaints against Azerbaijan in international courts and other structures raise serious concerns.
Such steps will cause irreparable damage to the Republic of Armenia and the Armenian people, reads a joint statement by Artsakh Ombudsman Gegham Stepanyan, ex-Ombudsman of Armenia Arman Tatoyan, ex-Ombudsman of Artsakh Artak Beglaryan, head of the public organization "Center for International and Comparative Law" Siranush Sahakyan and founder and Head of the law office "Ara Ghazaryan", international expert Ara Ghazaryan.
"These statements made at the highest level of the Armenian government are absolutely unacceptable. Complaints against Azerbaijan have a strategic goal - to ensure international responsibility for violations of the rights of the Armenians of Armenia and Artsakh, and the Armenian people as a whole. They are indispensable tools for protecting our collective and individual rights and international justice.
Without international justice, it is impossible to achieve a stable and lasting peace, as well as to prevent new aggressions by Azerbaijan directly against the Republic of Armenia and its people in the form of occupation of the sovereign territories of Armenia and other crimes," the statement said.
At the same time, human rights activists emphasized that these processes in international courts are also necessary steps to investigate crimes against the people of Artsakh and protect collective rights.
"They are of paramount importance in terms of the collective return of Artsakh people, the protection of spiritual and cultural heritage, state and private property in Artsakh, as well as ensuring a safe and dignified life there after return by guaranteeing international protection mechanisms.
In addition, by submitting complaints and lawsuits, the Republic of Armenia has undertaken to protect the rights of victims of Azerbaijani crimes, including the property and other rights of forcibly displaced Artsakh Armenians, in international courts.
As a result, people have refrained from filing individual complaints in international courts, and if Armenia refuses international remedies and transfers them to the political level, there is no guarantee that Azerbaijan will comply with these demands.
Consequently, Armenia's refusal to submit claims will inevitably lead to the impossibility of implementing these important international instruments for protecting the rights of victims, based on the formal requirements of these instruments," the statement further says.
The human rights activist also draws attention to the fact that in addition to interstate complaints, a large number of individual complaints were sent to international courts, and in the event of refusal of interstate claims, the fate of individual complaints will be uncertain.
Human rights activists are confident that complaints and demands in international courts are indispensable for Armenian diplomacy.
"Refusal of international demands will cause irreparable damage to Armenia in the international arena, undermining the foundations of diplomatic resistance.
The Azerbaijani authorities have been pursuing a policy of deep racism and hatred against Armenians for many years, from Armenia and Artsakh to the diaspora. Not only has Azerbaijan never tried to protect a single Armenian or even prevent the violation of any rights of Armenians, but at the state level, often under the guise of "peace," it has encouraged and encourages any harm to Armenians: murders, torture, kidnappings, arbitrary imprisonment and captivity, mental suffering, etc.
Moreover, the genocidal policy of the current government of Azerbaijan has always exacerbated hostility after each crime and created the ground for new crimes. Thus, growing threats to the collective existence of the Republic of Armenia and the Armenian people as a whole have arisen.
Added to this is the fact that the Armenian government always unilaterally satisfies the demands of Azerbaijan, in the vain hope that Azerbaijan will stop, but this does not happen and will not happen," the initiators of the joint statement expressed their conviction.
At the same time, human rights activists draw attention to the fact that the government of Azerbaijan never had real intentions of peace and their international claims against Armenia were just an artificial, purely mirror step aimed at misleading the outside world, covering up and covering up their own crimes.
"The Armenian government's intention to waive the claims filed against Azerbaijan in international courts will legitimize the policy of Azerbaijani hatred and grave crimes against the Armenian people, and will give rise to new violations and crimes of our rights.
Taking into account the above, we urge the Armenian authorities to refrain from statements and actions to withdraw interstate complaints brought against Azerbaijan in international courts. Moreover, we demand that new claims be brought to the international court with all possible conventions, including by appealing to the International Criminal Court with a request to impose criminal penalties for the crime of forced relocation of the people of Artsakh," human rights activists concluded.