U.N. Human Rights Council issues joint statement on situation in Nagorno-Karabakh

On Oct. 11, the 54th Session of the U.N. Human Rights
Council was held in Geneva. Thirty-four countries issued a joint statement
expressing deep concern regarding the grave humanitarian and human rights
crisis in Nagorno Karabakh. The statement was delivered at the U.N. Office at
Geneva by the permanent representative of France to the U.N.. 

The full text of the statement reads:

“Joint Statement on the Situation in Nagorno-Karabakh

We are extremely concerned by the dire humanitarian and
human rights crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh and the situation of the population who
have fled from there in the past weeks.

According to the report of the UN Mission to the region,
nearly the entire ethnic Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh has fled to
Armenia – more than 100,000 people. Their report rightly notes the suffering
this experience must have caused.

This massive displacement of ethnic Armenians from their
homes stems from Azerbaijan’s military operation launched on September 19th and
a nine-month long blockage of the Lachin corridor leading to dire humanitarian
conditions.

We appreciate that High Commissioner Turk’s statement of
September 26 urged safeguarding the rights of ethnic Armenians, protection of
civilians, and observance of international law. We wholly agree that “reported
violations of human rights or international humanitarian law require follow-up,
including prompt, independent and transparent investigations.”

We believe the appropriate next step is for the OHCHR to
closely monitor the situation of human rights in Nagorno-Karabakh, meet
refugees and displaced persons and those who remain, and to keep this Council
informed. We therefore urge Armenia and Azerbaijan to invite the OHCHR to
provide them with such technical assistance as soon as possible.

At this time, we urge Azerbaijan to ensure the rights and
security of those Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians who remain and to promptly create
conditions for the voluntary, safe, dignified and sustainable return of those
who wish to go home. Their cultural and religious heritage should also be
guaranteed and protected.

We further urge Azerbaijan to comply with the interim
measures issued by the European Court of Human Rights on 22 September and the
provisional measures of the ICJ adopted on 7 December 2021, 22 February 2023
and 6 July 2023.

We urge Armenia, with the support of the international
community, to continue to provide humanitarian assistance to those displaced by
the crisis.

International access to Nagorno-Karabakh is crucial to
provide assistance and independent monitoring, including to report on the human
rights situation.

Furthermore, the sovereignty and territorial integrity of
both Armenia and Azerbaijan should be fully respected. We strongly support
dialogue among all parties to secure a comprehensive and lasting peace.

We will continue to follow the situation closely and
consider any and all appropriate further steps by the Council.

U.S.

Australia

Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Germany

Denmark

Estonia

Ireland

Iceland

Spain

Latvia

Liechtenstein

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Croatia

Canada

Cyprus

Armenia:

Greece

Japan

Malta

U.K.

Netherlands

New Zealand

Norway

Sweden

Switzerland

Portugal

Slovakia

Slovenia

Uruguay

Finland

France.”