Gegham Stepanyan: "Commissioner for Human Rights" of Azerbaijan  continues to shamelessly and blatantly deny reality of humanitarian  crisis in Artsakh

ArmInfo. "It is unfortunate to see that these days the national human rights defender institution of  Azerbaijan, in the face of Sabina Aliyeva, is busy with justifying the criminal actions of Azerbaijan that have led to humanitarian  crisis in Artsakh and innocent deaths, instead of staying committed to the genuine mission of human rights protection and condemnation of  mass violations." This is stated in the statement of Artsakh Ombudsman Gegham Stepanyan.

"Following the logic of the Azerbaijani government propaganda  machine, Sabina Aliyeva intentionally spreads disinformation and  makes unfounded claims about the alleged "transfer of weapons,  ammunition, and other military equipment, including mines, fuel, and  troops" from Armenia to Artsakh without providing solid facts.  Artsakh side presented numerous and well-documented proofs of the  terrorist attack by a group of at least 15 Azerbaijani servicemen on  the police car of the Republic of Artsakh that was heading towards  the destination of its scheduled shift change, where Azerbaijani  armed forces should not be present under the Tripartite Statement of  November 9, 2020.

The "transportation of arms" argument is another blatant lie made up  by the government of Azerbaijan and instrumentalised by the  Commissioner for Human Rights of Azerbaijan to cover the recent  terrorist act of the Azerbaijani ambush group against the policemen  of Artsakh in broad daylight and ongoing blockade of Artsakh. Such  lies serve as a pretext to prepare the ground for new offensives in  the future.

The operation of the law enforcement bodies and security forces in  Artsakh is perfectly in line with international law and international  norms, as it is based on the internationally recognised right to  self- defense. Moreover, the repeated provocations of Azerbaijan,  resulting in such terrorist acts as the attack of the Azerbaijani  ambush group on the policemen of Artsakh on March 5, 2023, reaffirm  yet again the critical necessity of preserving and further  strengthening the security capabilities of Artsakh to ensure the  protection and safety of its people, facing existential threats from  Azerbaijan on a daily basis. Besides, Azerbaijan has no right to  interfere in the internal affairs of the Republic of Artsakh and  demand the dissolution of its state institutions, such as the Police  and the Artsakh defence forces.

It is ridiculous to see that the side, which has systematically,  intentionally and repeatedly violated all the provisions of the  Tripartite Statement of November 9, 2020 since the end of the 2020  war, now preaches to the Armenian side to respect it. By calling to  install a checkpoint in the Lachin corridor, the Commissioner for  Human Rights of Azerbaijan is openly calling and encouraging its  country to disregard Azerbaijan's international obligations and  violate Point 6 of the Tripartite Statement, which reads as follows:  "The Republic of Azerbaijan shall guarantee safe movement of  citizens, vehicles, and cargo in both directions along the Lachin  corridor."

Against this backdrop, the Commissioner for Human Rights of  Azerbaijan has turned a blind eye on the violations of the Tripartite  Statement that took place after the end of the 2020 war, resulting in  the military aggression and occupation of Ktsaberd and Hin Tagher,  Karaglukh and Parukh, the deliberate killing of 21 people, including  3 civilians, the capture of Artsakh citizens and more than 100  killing attempts carried out by the Azerbaijani military forces.  Paradoxically, the voice of the Azerbaijani human rights defender  institution was not heard when 55-year-old Aram Tepnants, a civilian  conducting seasonal agricultural work on his tractor, was shot dead  by an Azerbaijani sniper in his own pomegranate garden in Martakert  on October 9, 2021. The voice of Sabina Aliyeva was not heard either  when a group of civilian workers of Artsakh was attacked by an  Azerbaijani serviceman while conducting repair work of the water pipe  in the Shushi area on November 8, 2021, resulting in the death of  22-year-old Martik Yeremyan from a gunshot to his head and leaving  the other three wounded. Finally, nor did Sabina Aliyeva publically  express her human rights concerns when 65-year-old Seyran Sargsyan  was captured and deliberately murdered by the Azerbaijani armed  forces while carrying out agricultural work near the Chartar  community of Martuni region on December 3, 2021.

As is customary for the Azerbaijan side, Sabina Aliyeva has not  uttered a single word about the ongoing three-month-long illegal  blockade of 120,000 Artsakh people, including 30,000 children,  orchestrated by the Azerbaijani government and implemented by the  so-called "eco-activists", many of whom proved to be active or former  representatives of Azerbaijan's special services. Despite the calls  to unblock the road of life of Artsakh made by a number of reputable  international intergovernmental and non-governmental organisations,  state and non-state actors, such as the European Parliament, the  ECHR, the ICJ, the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights,  the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Freedom House,  Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Lemkin Institute for  Genocide Prevention, the person calling herself "the Commissioner for  Human Rights" continues to shamelessly and blatantly deny the reality  of the humanitarian crisis in Artsakh.

By referring to Artsakh as "Karabakh economic region" and having no  courage to call it by its real name, the Human rights commissioner of  Azerbaijan ignores the very existence Nagorno-Karabakh, which is  recognised even by the supreme world judiciary, the International  Court of Justice of the United Nations.  This deliberate approach of  negating the fundamental human rights of native Armenians of Artsakh  by Sabina Aliyeva yet again proves that the so-called "reintegration"  of Artsakh into Azerbaijan will directly pave the way to ethnic  cleansing and genocide.

After all, by making such ridiculous and politicised statements,  Sabina Aliyeva discredits the institute of the human rights defender  and its true purpose. Instead of being an impartial and just  institution, she uses her mandate to serve the interests of the  Azerbaijani state propaganda machine, eventually becoming another  instrument in the toolkit of the authoritarian regime of Aliyev. 

Thus, instead of wasting the resources of the Commissioner for Human  Rights' mandate on spreading false information about Artsakh, I  encourage Sabina Aliyeva to look closer into the deplorable situation  of human rights in Azerbaijan, and take care of the proper  implementation of the numerous ECHR and ICJ decisions and measures  ascribed to Azerbaijan on this matter.

I also draw the attention of international organizations to the  activities of the Commissioner for Human Rights of Azerbaijan, which  is far from protecting human rights and, on the contrary, is used to  justify violations of people's fundamental rights," the Artsakh  Ombudsman concludes.