We consider it necessary to note that on 22 June 2023 the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), by an overwhelming majority of votes, adopted a resolution on “Ensuring free and safe access through the Lachin Corridor” calling on Azerbaijan to ensure free and safe movement through the Lachin Corridor in accordance with the Trilateral Statement of 9 November 2020, as well as to implement immediately the interim measures indicated by the ECtHR on 21 December 2022 and the Order of the International Court of Justice of 22 February 2023.
Recognising the fact of the use of force by Azerbaijan in 2020, the unilateral actions of this country to block the Lachin Corridor, which led to the violation of the rights enshrined in the European Convention on Human Rights, for the first time, PACE recorded the violation by Azerbaijan of its statutory and convention obligations to the Council of Europe, as well as the commitment taken upon joining the organisation to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict exclusively by peaceful means.
We consider important the Assembly's conclusion that the situation caused by Azerbaijan may well lead to the fact that the Armenian population will be forced to leave their homes, if the conflict is not resolved by political means. In this regard, we emphasise that the authorities of the Republic of Artsakh have repeatedly drawn the attention of international organisations and the community of States as a whole to the fact that the blockade of the Lachin Corridor is part of a broader policy of Azerbaijan, the purpose of which is to carry out ethnic cleansing.
We also attach importance to the fact that in its resolution PACE clearly stated the situation created in the Republic of Artsakh as a result of the illegal blockade imposed by Azerbaijan and the deliberately caused energy crisis, as well as their catastrophic humanitarian consequences, and called on Azerbaijan to immediately restore gas and electricity supplies from Armenia to Artsakh.
We fully share the concern expressed in the resolution about the hostile and threatening rhetoric used by the top leadership of Azerbaijan in relation to ethnic Armenians. We support the call of the PACE to send a Council of Europe fact-finding mission to the Lachin Corridor and the Republic of Artsakh, as well as to ensure unimpeded access to Artsakh for international organisations, including relevant UN agencies.
We note the call in the resolution for a peaceful dialogue between Stepanakert and Baku under an international mechanism, and reaffirm the consistent position of the authorities of the Republic of Artsakh to discuss all disputes and differences based on the principles of co-operation and equal rights of the parties, within an internationally recognised negotiation format, and to seek a fair, dignified and comprehensive settlement of the conflict with Azerbaijan through peaceful negotiations.
In view of the total inhuman blockade, the ongoing illegal and criminal actions of Azerbaijan in conditions of complete permissiveness, and as a result, the sharply deepening humanitarian crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh, we urge the Secretary General of the Council of Europe and the Committee of Ministers to immediately respond to the undeniable facts of the illegal blocking of the Lachin Corridor and urgently launch the mechanisms of the organisation to hold Azerbaijan accountable and prevent further violations of the individual and collective rights of the people of Nagorno-Karabakh.
