Tuesday, April 23 2024 21:49

ArmInfo.More than 100,000 ethnic-Armenian residents of Nagorno-Karabakh fled to Armenia between  September 24 and October 1, following Azerbaijan's military operation to gain full control over Nagorno-Karabakh, reads the 2023 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices in Armenia. 

"This followed Azerbaijan's closure of the Lachin Corridor between  Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh to most civilian and commercial access,  allowing only intermittent humanitarian access, between December 2022  and September 24, when it reopened for one-way traffic out of  Nagorno-Karabakh. During the year, Azerbaijani forces hit certain  infrastructure inside Armenia. Armenia's government strengthened its  institutional framework to fight corruption by implementing its new  anti-corruption strategy on multiple fronts. Numerous nongovernmental  organizations reported on a notable increase in cases of abuse or  torture by law enforcement officials of individuals in custody and  asserted such behavior was becoming systemic and often went  unpunished.

"Significant human rights issues included credible reports of:  torture or cruel inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment by the  government; arbitrary arrest or detention; serious problems with the  independence of the judiciary; arbitrary or unlawful interference  with privacy; crimes involving violence or threats of violence  targeting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or intersex  persons; and the existence of the worst forms of child labor.

"The government took only limited credible steps to investigate and  punish alleged human rights abuses by former and sitting government  officials and law enforcement authorities. There was no reported  progress on government investigations of alleged abuses committed by  the Armenian armed forces or individuals during the 2020  hostilities," the report reads.  

The full report is available here  https://www.state.gov/reports/2023-country-reports-on-human-rights-  practices/armenia/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAAR3Z30OKi5F5wsk_boBNHfMExRC8drMQ76En UFenR4p9THz4MPJ7Xg2Ta68_aem_Ac1IaFWxcoOJUq9HHu0lIO6YDq- lbgkKTQYHxVjKwzalsCuxc8FtCrvqQEICC_JJ9wYznBtqsxrWQ93OZbWR-LE3