The World Council of Churches (WCC) 11th Assembly released a minute entitled “Consequences of the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war,” in which it reiterated its condemnation of the use of chemical weapons and cluster munitions, the targeting of civilians, hospitals and public infrastructure, and all other war crimes, beheadings, torture and other atrocities witnessed during the conflict.
“Almost two years after the end of the armed conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh, hundreds of ethnic Armenians are still illegally held by Azerbaijan, in violation of the Geneva Convention relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War,” reads the minute. It further notes, that while the world’s attention is fixed on the conflict in Ukraine, Azerbaijani forces are reported to have launched new assaults on Indigenous Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh as well as on the sovereign borders of the Republic of Armenia, with further loss of innocent lives and more prisoners taken.
The minute, appeals to the United Nations, European Union and authorities of Azerbaijan for the immediate release of all Armenian civilian hostages and POWs in accordance with international law.
The assembly minute also reiterates “concern for holy sites and Armenian cultural heritage in the region, and urges UNESCO and all members of the international community to take all possible and appropriate measures to protect these sites.”
The text calls for “the start of meaningful dialogue for a just and peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict” in the framework of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe Minsk Group, as well as requests “the WCC and all member churches to remain engaged in Christian solidarity with the churches and people of Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh in their search for a just and sustainable peace.”
