COP 29  is a diplomatic victory for Azerbaijan and a failure of the  civilized world - human rights activist

ArmInfo. "The UN Climate Change Conference (COP 29) is a diplomatic victory for Azerbaijan on  one hand and a failure of the entire civilized world on the other," stated Larisa Alaverdyan, the first ombudsman of Armenia and well-known human rights activist, in an interview with an ArmInfo correspondent.

 "All those who declare their commitment to  civilizational  values, democracy and human rights have actually  compromised their positions. This is a complete failure of the entire  policy of the West and those who support the idea of the rule of law,  ecology, human rights and the international order established after  1945," Alaverdyan emphasized.  In this regard, she noted that the  idea of returning prisoners through a conference, actively promoted  by some media, including foreign ones, does not align with reality.  "Azerbaijan's stance on the military- political leadership of Artsakh  has already been made clear: they are not bound to return or release  them.  These people will face trial as leaders of a "separatist" and  "terrorist movement," the human rights activist emphasized.

At the same time, Alaverdyan criticized the current leadership of  Armenia for their stance on the issue of prisoners. She believes that  the authorities are not only uninterested in resolving the problem,  but also view it as already resolved. She is convinced that the  current leadership of Armenia sees the military-political leadership  of Artsakh as political opponents. In this regard, Alaverdyan  expressed confidence that it was the political leadership of Armenia  that plays a role in creating the current situation. "I do not think  that the military-political leadership of the Republic of Artsakh  would pose a threat to the current government. I agree with former  Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) Luis  Moreno Ocampo, who stated that the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh  Republic mirrors Turkey's actions in 1915, when they beheaded the  Armenian population, exterminated the intelligentsia, and then forced  them out of their historical lands.

The human rights activist also claims that if the work on the release  of prisoners of war were carried out on an ongoing basis, then  theoretically it would be realistic to achieve this. In this regard,  she emphasized that this issue should be a precondition for all  meetings and agreements. The fact that Armenia does not demand this  at meetings, Alaverdyan considers as one of the proofs of the current  government's disinterest in fulfilling Azerbaijan's obligations.   "The current leadership is not only lacks interest, but also does not  see the need to take any steps to return the NKR leaders," she added.  Alaverdyan also pointed out  that anti-civilization statements are  currently being made at various levels, portraying the Armenians of  Artsakh as a threat to Armenia's security. At the same time, she  emphasized that such statements are coming from members of the ruling  party in the National Assembly. In this regard, she expressed  confidence that the current government considers the Armenians who  were forcibly displaced from Artsakh due to Azerbaijan's aggression  as a security threat to the country.

 "If we look examine the implementation of programs for medium-term  and long-term assistance to the people of Artsakh, we will see that  they are all designed in a way that, in reality, they cannot be  executed.  However, this is not a failure of these programs, but a  deliberate situation," Alaverdyan explained. She argued that this is  precisely why the current government of Armenia is not only  uninterested in the return of the prisoners, but was also interested  in their detention in Azerbaijan. "The silence of the entire  civilized world regarding the direct statements of high-ranking  officials of Azerbaijan is a threat to the world order established  after World War II," Alaverdyan concluded, warning that the  international community's silence is a dangerous signal for the world  and that what is happening in Armenia could quickly spread globally.