ArmInfo.As a result of the 44-day war in 2020 and the forced deportations carried out by Azerbaijan, tens of thousands of Armenians from Hadrut, Shushi, Askeran, Martuni, Martakert are deprived of the right to live in their homeland. This is stated in the statement of the representatives of the forcibly displaced Armenian population from Nagorno-Karabakh.
"Back in the 1990s, tens of thousands of the Armenian population of the Shahumyan region and the Getashen sub-region were also forcibly displaced by Azerbaijan. Meanwhile, in paragraph 7 of the tripartite statement dated November 9, 2020, the leaders of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia committed to ensure the return of internally displaced persons and refugees to Nagorno-Karabakh and neighboring areas under the auspices of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, which has not yet happened.
Taking into account the need to restore the rights of the internally displaced population from Nagorno- Karabakh, as well as the obligations assumed by Azerbaijan, we demand from President Ilham Aliyev to recognize the need to restore the violated rights of Armenian refugees, ensure their safety and dignified return to their historical lands, in accordance with human rights and humanitarian law," the statement reads.
The authors of the document appeal to Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan, who signed the tripartite statement dated November 9, 2020, to show consistency in the implementation of all international legal and political mechanisms that will be aimed at fulfilling the international obligations assumed by Azerbaijan, while creating additional mechanisms for more effective protection rights and interests of refugees, voicing and promoting their legitimate demands.
<We call on President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin to ensure the implementation of the requirements of the tripartite declaration of November 9, 2020, within the framework defined by international law, and with all possible political levers, taking into account his status as the head of state that signed the declaration and thereby assumed the obligations of the guarantor of its implementation. We appeal to UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi with a request to organize, control and ensure the return of the Armenian population displaced from the territories that passed under the control of Azerbaijan, as well as to support the implementation of effective international guarantees for the safe return of persons, including the deployment of peacekeeping forces.
At the same time, we draw the attention of the High Commissioner to the fact that the Azerbaijani authorities are currently implementing programs for the illegal resettlement of Azerbaijanis in our settlements, preventing our return and illegally seizing our property>, the statement notes.
The document was signed by the representatives of the following public organizations: Union of Refugees of the NKR, "Motherhood", KACHAR Scientific Center, Union of refugees for justice "Center for Support and Development of Women and Children", " Association of Women Refugees, "Our House", " Liberation of Hadrut", "Hadrut Children and Youth Creative Center".