Friday, September 17 2021 12:01

ArmInfo. The Republic of Armenia today instituted proceedings against the Republic of Azerbaijan before the International Court of Justice, the principal  judicial organ of the United Nations, with regard to alleged  violations of the International Convention on the Elimination of All  Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD). This is stated in the official  statement of the court. 

The Applicant contends that "for decades, Azerbaijan has subjected  Armenians to racial discrimination" and that, "as a result of this  State-sponsored policy of Armenian hatred, Armenians have been  subjected to systemic discrimination, mass killings, torture and  other abuse". According to Armenia, these violations are directed at  individuals of Armenian ethnic or national origin regardless of their  actual nationality. Armenia claims that "these practices once again  came to the fore in September 2020, after Azerbaijan's aggression  against the Republic of Artsakh and Armenia" and that "during that  armed conflict, Azerbaijan committed grave violations of the CERD". 

The Applicant alleges that "even after the end of hostilities",  following a ceasefire which entered into effect on 10 November 2020,  "Azerbaijan has continued to engage in the murder, torture and other  abuse of Armenian prisoners of war, hostages and other detained  persons". In the Application, Armenia claims, inter alia, that  Azerbaijan "is responsible for violating the CERD, including Articles  2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7". Armenia further contends that "all good-faith  efforts by Armenia to put an end to Azerbaijan's violations of the  CERD through other means have failed". Armenia therefore requests the  Court "to hold Azerbaijan responsible for its violations of the CERD,  to prevent future harm, and to redress the harm that has already been  caused". As a basis for the Court's jurisdiction, the Applicant  invokes Article 36, paragraph 1, of the Statute of the Court and  Article 22 of the CERD, to which both States are Parties.  The  Application also contains a Request for the indication of provisional  measures, filed pursuant to Article 41 of the Statute of the Court  and Articles 73, 74 and 75 of the Rules of Court. According to the  Applicant, the purpose of its Request is to "protect and preserve  Armenia's rights and the rights of Armenians from further harm, and  to prevent the aggravation or extension of this dispute, pending the  determination of the merits of the issues raised in the Application".  Armenia thus requests the Court to indicate certain provisional  measures "as a matter of extreme urgency".