NKR Ombudsman presents  new report on human rights violations as a  result of 100-day blockade of Artsakh by Azerbaijan

ArmInfo. On March 21, the Human Rights Defender of the Republic of Artsakh published an ad hoc trilingual report on the violations of individual and collective human rights as a result of the 100-day blockade of Artsakh by Azerbaijan, the NKR Ombudsman's press service reports.  

The report comprehensively and in detail presents data on the  violations of 7 individual rights, 5 rights of vulnerable groups and  4 collective rights, which reflect the deepening humanitarian crisis  and the genocidal policy of Azerbaijan towards the people of Artsakh.  The document also contains 24 pictures and 27 human stories about the  blockade, as well as 46 useful documents since 2016 on the  Azerbaijani-Karabakh conflict and the violations of the rights of  Artsakh people in its context.

In parallel with the complete blockade, Azerbaijan deliberately  disrupts the normal operation of the vital infrastructure of Artsakh  - the gas and electricity supplies, mobile and Internet  communications with the aim to further aggravate the already severe  humanitarian crisis and cause human suffering to the people of  Artsakh.

The continuous blockade by Azerbaijan, disruption of the operation of  vital infrastructure, as well as regularly and consistently carried  out armed attacks and threats of use of force are aimed at subjecting  Artsakh to ethnic cleansing and destroying the indigenous Armenian  population of Artsakh by physical and psychological terror and  creation of unbearable living conditions.  Below are presented some  basic data reflected in the Report on human rights violations as a  result of the 100-day blockade:

The movement of people passing through the Stepanakert-Goris  highway (along the Lachin corridor) has decreased by about 178 times  (1,376 entries and departures instead of 245,000);

Almost 43 times less car traffic was recorded on the road compared  to what should have been in case of no blockade (2,154 car entries  and departures, performed only by the Red Cross and Russian  peacekeepers, instead of 92,000);

Approximately 11 times less vital cargo was imported compared to  what should have been in case of no blockade (3,707 tons instead of  40,000 tons);

A total of about 3,900 people, including 570 children, were unable  to return to their homes due to the blockade;

Due to the suspension of the pre-planned operations, about 900  citizens lost the opportunity to solve their health problems via  operations;

Azerbaijan has completely or partially interrupted the gas supply  from Armenia to Artsakh for a total of 34 days;

The electricity supply from Armenia to Artsakh has been completely  cut for 71 days now, which led to the introduction of 6-hour rolling  blackouts followed by numerous accidents;

According to preliminary estimates, about 9,800 people have  actually lost their jobs and sources of income (including cases of  job retention), which is more than 50% of the total number of private  sector employees;

The disruption of the gas and electricity supplies has led to  unplanned deforestation - about 6,200 more trees were cut, which, in  its turn, will create additional and long-term problems in terms of  ensuring a healthy environment;

The country's economy suffered loss in the amount of about USD 190  million, which led to the failure to meet the projected annual GDP  figure of about 21% (USD 903 million);

The construction of 32.6 km road, tens of kilometers of water  pipeline, irrigation systems for thousands of hectares of land, 3,717  appartments, more than 40 social and industrial infrastructural  facilities has been stopped;

A number of violations of rights are more pronounced in case of  vulnerable groups, in particular 30,000 children, 9,000 people with  disabilities, 20,000 older people, 60,000 women (women and girls) and  15,000 displaced persons.

In addition to the continuous and multiple violations of the  provisions of the Tripartite Statement of November 9, 2020, for 27  consecutive days now, the mandatory execution of the decision of the  International Court of Justice (ICJ) of the United Nations (UN) on  ensuring unhindered entry and departure of people, cars and cargo  along the Lachin corridor has not been implemented by Azerbaijan,  which once again tramples on the highest international values and  principles.  Consequently, the international community has not only  the right, but also an indisputable obligation to implement the  decision of the Supreme International Court of Justice by practical  means as soon as possible and to prevent future Azerbaijani crimes,  including the new planned and brutal crime against humanity.

All the violations of Azerbaijan against the people of Artsakh are  carried out within the framework of its state policy of racial  discrimination (Armenophobia) and are deeply directed against their  right to self-determination and the fact of its realisation, aimed at  finally resolving the conflict to their advantage via ethnic  cleansing based on the "no people, no rights" logic.  The systematic  and consistent policy of ethnic hatred pursued by Azerbaijan, which  manifested itself both during the aggression against the people of  Artsakh in 2020 and after the establishment of the ceasefire regime,  indisputably proves that any status of Artsakh within Azerbaijan is  tantamount to ethnic cleansing of Artsakh and the genocide of the  Armenians of Artsakh. Therefore, in the context of the Artsakh  conflict, the right to self-determination is equal to the right of  people to live in their homeland. 

The fundamental right to self-determination of the people of Artsakh,  as well as the Azerbaijani encroachments and threats against their  physical existence on the basis of racial discrimination are more  than sufficient grounds for the protection of the people of Artsakh  by the international community, as well as the international  recognition of the Republic of Artsakh based on the principle of  "remedial recognition".

The report is available at the following link:   https://artsakhombuds.am/en/document/1004