Greta Thunberg explains why she is in Yerevan today instead of at  COP29 in Baku

ArmInfo. Famous Swedish eco-activist Greta Thunberg explained why she is in Yerevan today and  not at the UN Climate Conference (COP29) in Baku.  She expressed her  position during the conference on the topic "The Impact of  Azerbaijan's Aggression on Human Rights and Environmental  Protection", which was held today at the American University of  Armenia.

"Why am I not participating in COP29? It's simple. The basic  principles of climate justice that I and many other environmental  activists promote contradict the agenda of COP29 and what is  happening in Azerbaijan. This repressive country wants to increase  mineral extraction and is responsible for ethnic cleansing. It is  disgusting hypocrisy and duplicity that against this backdrop COP29  is being held in this country," Thunberg noted. At the same time, she  drew attention to the fact that Azerbaijan not only manages to commit  these crimes without punishment, but is also given a platform to  legitimize these terrible crimes, including ethnic cleansing, as well  as for "greenwashing". "The world is silent and gives him this  opportunity, and remains silent. We are witnessing this again and  again. We must stop the climate conference being held in a country  with a repressive nature that suppresses the rights of its citizens,  and representatives of civil society.

The ethnic cleansing for which Azerbaijan is responsible, the  deprivation and suffering that many Armenians are experiencing as a  result of Azerbaijan's military aggression, the torture and forced  displacement, captivity, hostage-taking, and physical and  psychological atrocities that people have endured are categorically  unacceptable.  The silence of the world regarding Azerbaijan's  ability to "greenwash" these  crimes is unacceptable. It is also  unacceptable for countries to continue buying minerals from  Azerbaijan and remain silent about all of this," the environmental  activist  emphasize.

According to Thunberg, "we cannot choose which rights we want to  protect." She added that when it comes to justice, it should be for  everyone, not selective, and the same applies to justice.  Touching  on why she decided to support the Armenians of Artsakh, the  eco-activist noted that the people of Artsakh were forced to fight  for their lives and existence on a daily basis. "I have the  opportunity to voice climate issues and ask these questions. I have  opportunities that many are deprived of. It is my choice to use this  advantage, to voice these issues or not. Since I have this  opportunity, I also have obligations. I can speak freely about  climate issues and human rights abuses without being subjected to  reprisals," she said.

At the same time, she expressed her conviction that the international  community should have long ago taken on the responsibility of solving  the issue of releasing political prisoners, prisoners of war, and  other captives held in Azerbaijan. "World leaders are currently in  Azerbaijan and are afraid to say something for which they can be  punished. Azerbaijan remains unpunished, no one is holding it  accountable for violating human rights. Because world leaders are  there, no one is holding them accountable for their lack of action.   This is a slap in the face to the victims of both climate change and  the Aliyev regime. How can COP29 take place in Azerbaijan, where  there is not even minimal respect for human rights? And such  countries determine the climate agenda? Conferences like these cannot  bring anything positive to this agenda," Thunberg concluded.