Friday, September 8 2023 13:54

ArmInfo. The European Armenian Federation for Justice and Democracy (EAFJD) expresses its  profound regret and strong condemnation of the recent statement issued by the Rabbinical Center of Europe (RCE) concerning the ongoing conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh/Artsakh.  This is stated in the EAFJD statement received by ArmInfo.

According to the source, in this statement the European rabbis  expressed their concerns regarding the usage of terms such as  "genocide" in reference to the situation the native Armenian  population of Nagorno Karabakh/Artsakh is facing.

"As a European-Armenian organization the EAFJD acknowledges the  sensitivity of the term, particularly in light of the immense  suffering endured by the Jewish people during the Holocaust, and  fully supports the importance of paying homage as well as preserving  the memory of those tragic events. The term is not used as a  historical comparison; rather, it is being utilized in accordance  with the definition outlined in the United Nations' Convention on the  Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.

Several reports and statements from independent international  organizations and human rights groups have been alerting about  Azerbaijan's ongoing policy in Nagorno Karabakh/Artsakh which is  genocidal in its essence. In a recent report the former chief  prosecutor of the International Criminal Court Luis Moreno Ocampo  argues that there is "a reasonable basis to believe a Azerbaijan is  currently committing a "genocide" against the indigenous Armenian  population of Nagorno Karabakh/ Artsakh. Genocide Watch has also  issued numerous alerts in this regard.

The international legal definition of genocide, as recognized by the  United Nations in the 1948 Genocide Convention, includes acts  committed with the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a  national, ethnic, racial, or religious group. State parties of the  Genocide Convention assumed duty to prevent and punish Genocide. The  International Court of Justice ruled that the state parties should  "not wait until the perpetration of Genocide commences" and "the  whole point of obligation is to prevent or attempt to prevent the  occurrence of the act."

For nine months now Azerbaijan has been keeping the 120.000 native  Armenian population of Nagorno Karabakh/Artsakh, including 30.000  children in a blockade, in blatant violation of 9 November 2020  trilateral ceasefire statement that it signed. Since 15 June 2023,  the Azerbaijani authorities have imposed a total siege by blocking  access to food and other essential goods. This has been happening,  despite the fact that the United States, the European Union,  International Court of Justice, the European Court of Justice have  all been calling on Azerbaijani to immediately lift the blockade.  Azerbaijan has been using starvation and deprivation of access to  basic necessities with the aim of forcing the Armenians out of their  own homeland.

The EAFJD calls on the rabbis of the RCE to recognize the severity of  the situation in Nagorno- Karabakh/Artsakh and stay true to the  principles of justice and human rights as representatives of a nation  that once urgently needed the support and empathy of the  international community in its quest for justice," the statement  reads.