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.