PACE discusses humanitarian consequences of autumn war in  Nagorno-Karabakh

ArmInfo. PACE rapporteur on the humanitarian consequences of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict Paul Gavan during his speech at the autumn session of the body, while  presenting the humanitarian situation in the Nagorno-Karabakh  conflict zone, expressed regret that during his visit to the South  Caucasus he did not manage to visit Artsakh.

According to him, this fact undoubtedly affected the quality of the  report prepared by him, which in this regard is not complete and  called in the future to resolve the issue of access to the so-called  gray zones.  Gavan added that in his report he tried to avoid  political issues and confine himself to humanitarian and human rights  issues.

"My report touches on eight topics, the most important of which are  the dead persons, missing persons and wounded.  Over 3,900 Armenian  soldiers and 2,900 Azerbaijani soldiers died or went missing during  last year's hostilities. There are civilian casualties. The question  remains open about the missing persons This applies to both the first  war and the second Karabakh war.

The next issue concerns prisoners of war and those who continue to  remain in captivity. The ECHR submitted an application to the Council  of Europe Human Rights Committee on the part of 180 Armenians who are  allegedly in Azerbaijani captivity. We are concerned about the fate  of many of these persons, now, almost a year after the end of the  war, "the PACE rapporteur noted, adding that he also expresses  concern about the fate of another 50 Armenians who were captured by  Azerbaijan after the signing of the trilateral statement of November  9, 2020, and who are hold by Azerbaijan.

According to him, another topic of the report is the war crimes  committed during the war. "There are serious accusations. Many acts  of atrocity were presented on social platforms. This occurs both  directly in the conflict zone and in Azerbaijani cities far away, for  example, in Ganja. There are also reports of the use of Syrian  mercenaries by Azerbaijan, with the support of Turke",  he noted,  also voicing the problem of demining territories in the conflict  zone.

The rapporteur drew attention to the problem of refugees, stating  that 34,000 Armenians were unable to return to their homes - they  live in a difficult situation and they need shelter, especially women  suffer. According to Gavan, international society does not have  access to the conflict zone, but Russia and the International  Committee of the Red Cross have it and play an important role in  providing humanitarian assistance.

At the same time, he expressed concern about the situation on the  border between Armenia and Azerbaijan, pointing out the need for  demarcation, maybe even the creation of buffer zones, as well as  monitoring the situation. "Another important issue is the destruction  of the cultural heritage in the territories in the conflict zone. I  am concerned about reports of new destruction and the narrative of  replacing the Armenian heritage with the Albanian one. UNESCO should  gain access to the region and play its role in preserving the  cultural heritage," said the PACE rapporteur , and said that the  final issue is hate speech, especially in Azerbaijan.

According to him, this problem has existed in Azerbaijan for decades.  In this vein, he expressed concern about the demonstration in the  so-called Trophy Park in Baku of wax dummies of the Armenian  military, which were presented in degrading images of human dignity.  "This issue needs to be addressed for the benefit of future  generations," Gavan summed up.

In turn, PACE MP Jacques Maire  (France), speaking at the PACE  meeting, stressed that the issue of prisoners of war must be resolved  with good will. "We need to take this issue seriously. We see that  dozens of Armenian soldiers remain in Azerbaijani captivity today.  Complaints to the EHRP are multiplying," Maire  said.

He called to protect the population of Nagorno-Karabakh and prevent  the degradation of the situation. He also expressed support for the  activities of the Russian peacekeeping contingent and the ICRC. "We  understand that it is very important not to lead to a more dramatic  situation in the conflict zone," he summed up. In turn, MP Bernard  Fournier (France) stated that the conflict left its traces. "We must  help the parties to the conflict to conduct a dialogue.  The issues  of prisoners of war are very difficult - although the agreement  provides for the exchange of prisoners of war.  Armenia believes that  not all prisoners have been released. The situation raises concern. I  would like Azerbaijan to release all prisoners of war," the MP said.

According to him, the issue of unexploded ordnance and the problem of  mine clearance are also of concern. Another problematic issue is that  some of the Armenian refugees were unable to return to their homeland  and will not return until security is ensured. At the same time, he  noted the actual role of the OSCE Minsk Group.