Yeghishe Kirakosyan in The Hague: Today there are practically no  Armenians left in Nagorno-Karabakh:  if this is not ethnic cleansing,  then I don`t know what is!

ArmInfo. On October 12, the International Court of Justice in The Hague is holding hearings on  Armenia's appeal in the framework of the "Armenia v. Azerbaijan" lawsuit on the application of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.

During his speech, Yeghishe Kirakosyan, the representative of Armenia  on international legal matters, recalled that 9 months ago from the  same rostrum he warned about the program of ethnic cleansing of  Nagorno- Karabakh being implemented by Azerbaijan.

"Today, I can sadly state that ethnic cleansing has become a reality.  After more than 9 months of blockade, Azerbaijan, contrary to the  calls of the international community and the verdicts of the  International Court, initiated a large-scale attack on Artsakh on  September 19. And after that, for the first time in 9 months, it  opened Kashatagh "(Lachin) corridor, but with one sole purpose - to  release Artsakh people fleeing the war. 

Today in Nagorno-Karabakh, where the Armenian population has always  predominated, there are practically no Armenians left. If this is not  ethnic cleansing, then I don't know what is," he said.  Kirakosyan  added that despite the fact that 8 months ago from the same rostrum,  the representative of the Azerbaijani side assured that Azerbaijan is  faithful to international humanitarian law, universal human rights,  and does not plan any atrocities in relations with Armenians,  meanwhile, in fact, having supported the Armenian population  blockaded for 9 months, the Azerbaijani authorities attacked them,  ethnically cleansing Artsakh.

He noted that despite Azerbaijan's promises after the 44-day war in  2020 that Armenians would be able to return to their homes in the  territories that came under Azerbaijani control, even after 2 years,  not a single Armenian was able to return there, but instead the rest  of the Armenians were expelled from Artsakh.

"Since September 20, Azerbaijan has been carrying out the  de-Armenization of Nagorno-Karabakh. The obviousness of this fact is  beyond doubt," he said, adding that the Court itself may not be too  late to become familiar with this fact. He also accused Azerbaijan of  destabilizing the region and moving away from the principle of  resolving all disputes peacefully, and attempting to mislead the  international community by distorting both historical realities and  current events.

Last week the Armenian government appealed to the International Court  of Justice with a request to apply an interim measure in the case  against Azerbaijan.

Armenia called on the UN court to confirm Azerbaijan's commitment to  refrain from "any action directly or indirectly aimed at expelling  the remaining ethnic Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh."

Yerevan expects Baku "to refrain from taking punitive measures  against current or former political representatives or military  personnel of Nagorno-Karabakh."

According to the latest appeal from Armenia, on September 19,  Azerbaijan, in violation of the truce, committed aggression against  Nagorno-Karabakh and targeted the civilian population. As of  September 27, tens of thousands of Armenians left their homes in  Nagorno-Karabakh.

Azerbaijan asked to postpone the hearing scheduled for October 12,  but the court decided to maintain the established schedule.

The representative of Armenia speaks during the morning hearings. The  representative of Azerbaijan will speak in the afternoon hearings,  the hearings will begin at 4:00 p.m., 2 hours each.