Wednesday, March 31 2021 12:03

ArmInfo.The State Department has released its annual Human Rights Compliance report for 2020.

According to the Armenian Assembly of America, the report was  presented during a press briefing held by US Secretary of State  Anthony Blinken.

The Assembly points out that the report indicates human rights  violations against Armenians, in particular, in connection with the  war in Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh), unleashed against the Armenian  people on September 27, 2020 by Azerbaijan with the full support of  Turkey.

The document also identifies significant human rights problems in  Azerbaijan, including " illegal or arbitrary killings; torture;  arbitrary detentions; harsh and sometimes life-threatening prison  conditions ... Important human rights issues related to the armed  conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh included illegal killings, civilian  casualties, and inhumane treatment."

The report notes that the Government has not prosecuted or punished  most officials who have violated human rights, and that this impunity  remains a problem.

The document, which focuses on human rights violations, provides  examples of two videos posted on social media last October in which  Azerbaijani soldiers " humiliate and execute two detained Armenians  in the city of Hadrut." It goes on to say that the videos were  revaluated as authentic by independent experts from Bellingcat, the  BBC, and the Atlantic Council's Digital Forensic Research Laboratory.   Another example cited was related to an Amnesty International report  documenting "the execution by decapitation of two Armenian civilians  by the Azerbaijani military."

The report points to Azerbaijan's use of heavy artillery missiles,  combat unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and aerial bombs, as well as  cluster munitions, to target civilians and civilian objects in  Nagorno-Karabakh. It is noted that the Azerbaijani government denies  the accusations that the target was civilian objects, despite the  fact that Human Rights Watch criticized the Azerbaijani armed forces  on October 3, 2020 and December 11, 2020 for the repeated use of  weapons in residential areas of Nagorno-Karabakh. It was noted that  attacks on non-military targets included emergency medical centers  and ambulances, food warehouses, grain crops, livestock, power plants  and gas installations, as well as drinking water installations and  equipment, schools and preschools. International observers pointed  out that the Azerbaijani armed forces repeatedly attacked  humanitarian organizations, such as the International Committee of  the Red Cross (ICRC) and the HALO Trust, located in Stepanakert. And  on October 14, 2020, three planes reportedly dropped bombs on a  military hospital in Martakert, damaging the hospital and destroying  nearby medical vehicles, and this despite the presence of medical  markings on the above-mentioned objects.  The report also mentions  that on November 2, 2020, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights,  Michelle Bachelet, criticized the ongoing attacks by Azerbaijan on  settlements in and around the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone,  pointing to the destruction of houses and streets, as well as stating  that people are forced to leave their homes and seek safe havens.

"The section on the abuse of soldiers and civilians by the  Azerbaijani forces was based on reliable reports and described the  abuse in detail. It was based on a report by Human Rights Watch dated  December 2, 2020, which stated that the Azerbaijani military  inhumanly treated numerous ethnic Armenian soldiers captured during  the Nagorno - Karabakh conflict, subjected detainees to physical  violence and humiliation, which were captured on video and widely  distributed on social networks," the Assembly reports.

"The data on the number of missing persons and prisoners of war in  the report is provided with reference to the ICRC, which has reviewed  cases of persons missing in connection with the Nagorno-Karabakh  conflict, and worked with the Government to compile a consolidated  list of missing persons.  Finally, the report notes an increase in  inflammatory rhetoric and hate speech against Armenians, " the  Assembly reports.

At the same time, the organization notes that in his statement during  a press briefing, Secretary Blinken stressed that President Biden is  committed to putting human rights back at the center of American  foreign policy and that those responsible for violations will be  brought to justice.

Blinken  stated that human rights are universal, and that all people  are entitled to these rights. At the same time, he added, the  COVID-19 pandemic has caused alarming trends? and it gave autocratic  governments the opportunity to continue to suppress human rights.

"Standing up for human rights everywhere is in America's best  interest. Standing up for the freedom and dignity of people respects  America's most sacred values," the US Secretary of State said.

In conclusion, Blinken promised to work with the US Congress on  sanctions against human rights violators and demonstrate the  commitment of both parties to promote human rights, and there will be  consequences, including economic sanctions and visa restrictions, if  autocratic institutions infringe on human rights.