The Report

‘Armenian War Crimes in International Focus:

Humanitarian Law and Human Rights are trampled’

This report contains information about war crimes committed by

Armenia against Azerbaijani civilians before, during and after the
44-day war. The report is prepared by the Legal Analysis and
Research Public Union with the financial assistance from the
State NGO Support Agency of the Azerbaijan Republic.

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Contents:
1. Background
2. Crimes against peace and humanity: Trial Observation
Report, Khosrovyan and Mkrtchyan case.
3. Khojaly Massacre
4. “Aghdam is a place where international law and customs
of war ends”
5. Mass graves in Karabakh
6. Statement of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry on the
commemoration of the Day of the Genocide of
Azerbaijanis, March 31.
7. 12 February – International Day against the Use of Child
Soldiers
8. Alternative report the FCNM, Council of Europe
9. Post-Conflict Azerbaijan and Development for Peace. The
Role of NGOs

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1. Background

During the 44-days war, 94 civilians have been killed, 414 injured and
more than 4000 houses and other civilian facilities were seriously
damaged as a result of Armenia's heavy artillery attacks on Azerbaijan’s
densely populated areas since September 27, the Prosecutor General’s
Office has reported.

Background information

Armenia that occupied in 1992-1993 one fifth of the

internationally recognized territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan,
has been refusing to liberate them despite a clear call for the
unconditional withdrawal of the Armenian forces from the
occupied territories of Azerbaijan in the UN Security Council
resolutions 822, 853, 874, 884 adopted in 1993, as well as
Azerbaijan’s good-will and dedication to the peaceful resolution of
the conflict. For decades, Azerbaijan struggled with the
consequences of unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe which
made every 7th person in the country forcefully displaced. Most of
Azerbaijani cities under the Armenian occupation turned to ghost
cities with totally destroyed and plundered infrastructure.1
From September 27 to November 10, 2021, Azerbaijan exercised
the right to self-defense enshrined in Article 51 of the UN Charter
within the framework of these resolutions, as well as the use
peace enforcement operations provided for in Chapter VII of the
UN Charter. In order to prevent Armenian military aggression and
ensure protection of the civil population, the Azerbaijani Army

1
Academia.edu Global Database of Researches:
https://www.academia.edu/45234182/_CIVILIANS_ARE_UNDER_ATTACK_The
_Report
3
took counter-attack measures to repel the assault. As a result, all
occupied areas of Karabakh which were mentioned in UN SC
Resolutions were liberated by the Azerbaijani army.

The process of bringing Armenian militaries into the Azerbaijani

courts for justice, for their committed crimes during the 1st
Karabakh war (in 1992-1994), during the occupation of Karabakh for
the last 30 years and crimes committed recently in 2nd Karabakh
war (autumn 2021) is started from the beginning of 2021.
2. Crimes against peace and humanity: Trial Observation
Report, Khosrovyan and Mkrtchyan case.2
The Independent NGO Observers Team (Ramil Iskandarli and
Fariz Akberov) comparatively analyzed the trial observers’
conclusions on observation, collected while court proceedings to
identify courts’ compliance with domestic legislation and
international fair trial standards.
2
Trial Observation Report https://laied.az/2021/08/24/the-report-on-
armenian-citizens-trial-observations-presented/
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During the reporting period (June 2 – August 2, 2021), two
independent NGO trial observers monitored court proceedings in
the capital city of Baku, administrative building of Yasamal District
Court of Baku conducted by the Judges of the Baku Military Court
in regards with the criminal case against Armenian citizens
Khosrovyan and Mkrtchyan which are accused on committing
crimes against peace and humanity and war crimes during the 1st
and 2nd Karabakh war. The trial observers collected the results of
the observations of each of the sessions (including preparatory)
related to courts’ compliance with domestic legislation and
international fair trial standards. Following ICJ trial observation
guidlines, trial observers conducted observation in an objective
and impartial manner, refraining from conducting any assessment
in connection with the substance of the case.
The methodology of the Report is similar to the focus of the
International Commission of Jurists, used for the Trial Observation
Guidelines (2009), the findings of this Report identify compliance
of the procedural aspects of the case with fair trial norms and
standards in line with applicable domestic laws, International
Human Rights Law and International Humanitarian Law.
As it is known, hundreds of Azerbaijani citizens, including
children, women and the elderly, have been subjected to
intolerable torture while held in captivity and taken hostage as a
result of numerous crimes committed against the Azerbaijani
civilian population on the illegal instructions of the Armenian
leadership during the 1st Karabakh war with following 30 years of
occupation. The third Geneva Convention provides a wide range
of protection for prisoners of war. It defines their rights and sets
down detailed rules for their treatment and eventual release.
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International humanitarian law (IHL) also protects other persons
deprived of liberty as a result of armed conflict. They must be
released and repatriated without delay after the end of
hostilities. Despite the fact that Armenia has acceded to both the
GC I-IV in 1993 and the Human Rights CAT in 1992, it has time
and time again failed to follow the provisions of the Convention
in the treatment of Azerbaijani prisoners of war and detainees
during the 1st Karabakh war and the following 30 years of
occupation. After the 1st war ended, Armenia was continuing to
hold nearly 5,000 Azerbaijani prisoners and hostages in Armenia
and occupied areas of Azerbaijan.

The Facts of the Case

On June 2, the trial of the two Armenian soldiers, Ludvig
Mkrtchyan and Alyosha Khosrovyan, began in the Yasamal court
The trial is chaired by judge Elbey Allahverdiyev. The defendants
are accused of torture and inhumane treatment of Azerbaijani
6
prisoners of war during the First Karabakh War of the 1990s.
Mkrtchyan was captured on October 20, 2020, near the village of
Melikjanli, Fizuli district.
The second defendant, a citizen of Armenia, b.1967, R.
Khosrovyan Alyosha, is also accused of similar crimes. The
investigation established that he tortured five Azerbaijani
prisoners in 1994, near the village of Msmna (Agbulag), former
Martuni district. He was detained on October 3, 2020 by the
Azerbaijani military while carrying out intelligence operations on
the territory of Azerbaijan. Mkrtchyan and Khosrovyan are
charged under Articles 113 (torture), 115.2 (violation of the laws
of war), 279.1 (participation in illegal armed groups), 318.2
(illegal crossing of the Azerbaijani border) of the Criminal Code of
Azerbaijan, other Articles "The facts of hostage-taking, torture
and ill-treatment of prisoners and other persons protected by
international humanitarian law have been revealed during the
investigation of the criminal case launched by the Military
Prosecution Office under various articles of the Criminal Code of
the Republic of Azerbaijan in connection with war crimes against
peace and humanity committed against Azerbaijanis in the
occupied territories of the Republic of Azerbaijan by the armed
forces of the Armenian separatist regime operating illegally in the
Nagorno-Karabakh region of the Republic of Azerbaijan and by
the Armed Forces of the Republic of Armenia. According to the
Public Prosecutor Office, "Thus, the investigation established
that, an Azerbaijani citizen taken hostage in July 1991 in a forest
called "Ballija" near Khojaly city followed by unlawful restriction
of liberty, and a civilian taken hostage in Tapgaragoyunlu village,
Goranboy district on September 13, 1999 and brought to Yerevan

7
city, the Republic of Armenia, who was detained in one of the
military units in the city and acted as an interpreter during the
interrogation by the Armenian special services, were tortured by
Mkrtchyan Ludwig Mkrtichovich, a citizen of the Republic of
Armenia, born in 1969, who upon prior conspiracy entered into
criminal relations with a group of individuals participating in the
activities of the armed groups consisting of nationalist Armenians
living in the Nagorno-Karabakh region, as well as coming from
the Republic of Armenia. "The investigation also revealed that 11
Azerbaijani citizens taken captives, at different times were
beaten and exposed to various tortures in Khojavend and
Aghdara districts, Shusha prison and Yerevan city. Struck by
automatic gunfire, a serviceman of the N military unit, Defense
Ministry, was killed. "Ludwig Mkrtichyan was detained by the
servicemen of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces on October 20, 2020
in the territory of Malikjanli village, Fuzuli district. 3"Investigative
measures carried out also exposed the criminal acts by
Khosrovyan Alyosha Aramaisovich, a citizen of the Republic of
Armenia, born in 1967, who together with Ludwig Mkrtichyan
brutally treated and tortured Azerbaijanis. "It was revealed that
Alyosha Khosrovyan tortured 5 Azerbaijanis during their captivity
and subjected them to cruel and inhumane treatment. "Thus, a
former soldier of the military unit N of the Ministry of Defense
taken prisoner in April 1994 was exposed to cruel and inhumane
treatment by Khosrovyan Alyosha Aramaisovich. During his illegal
detention in one of the houses in Mysmina (Aghbulag) village,
Khojavand district he was forced to do heavy construction work
3
Information of Prosecutor General's Office of Azerbaijan -
https://azertag.az/en/xeber/Information_of_Prosecutor_General_039s
_Office_of_Azerbaijan-1785115
8
of a house for the so-called Minister of Defense of the “Nagorno-
Karabakh Republic” Babayan Samvel Andranikovich, and inflicted
various bodily injuries. "Alyosha Khosrovyan also demonstrated
especial cruelty to soldiers of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces, who
were taken captives in 1993-1994 and illegally detained in the
Shusha city prison. He tortured them by exposing to regular
beatings, starving, and inflicting mental anguish and physical
pain. "Khosrovyan Alyosha was detained by servicemen of the
Azerbaijani Armed Forces on October 3, 2020 while conducting
reconnaissance operations in the territories of the Republic of
Azerbaijan. "On 20.05.2021 the indictment on the criminal case
was approved and sent to Baku Military Court for consideration.
The trial on the criminal case of Armenian war criminals
Mkrtchyan Ludwig Mkrtichovich and Khosrovyan Alyosha
Aramaisovich began on June 2, 2021. The trial was presided over
by a judge of the Baku Military Court.
International and national legal framework
According to the International Humanitarian Law, all the States
must investigate war crimes allegedly committed by their
nationals or armed forces, or on their territory, and, if
appropriate, prosecute the suspects. They must also investigate
other war crimes over which they have jurisdiction and, if
appropriate, prosecute the suspects. Although POWs cannot be
prosecuted for taking a direct part in hostilities (According to the
Third Geneva convention), the detaining power may prosecute
them for possible war crimes. The Armenian citizens were faced
charges under Articles 113 (torture), 115.2 (violation of war laws
and customs), 279.1 (creation of armed formations or groups not
provided by law), 318.2 (illegal crossing of the state border of the
9
Republic of Azerbaijan) and other articles of the Criminal Code.
Therefore, they were charged with these articles, and by court
decisions, arrest as a measure of restraint was chosen against
them. On 20 May 2021, the indictment on the criminal case was
approved and sent to the Baku Military Court for consideration.
The Geneva Conventions require States to search for persons
alleged to have committed, or ordered to have committed, grave
breaches and to try or extradite them. The obligation to
investigate and prosecute persons alleged to have committed
crimes under international law is found in a number of treaties
that apply to acts committed in both international and non-
international armed conflicts. In addition, the obligation to
investigate war crimes and prosecute the suspects has been
reaffirmed on several occasions by the UN Security Council in
relation to Afghanistan, Burundi, Democratic Republic of the
Congo, Kosovo and Rwanda.
The UN Commission on Human Rights has adopted a number of
resolutions, most of them without a vote, requiring the
investigation and prosecution of persons suspected of having
committed violations of international humanitarian law in the
context of the conflicts in Burundi, Chechnya, Rwanda, Sierra
Leone, Sudan and the former Yugoslavia. In a resolution on
impunity adopted without a vote in 2002, the Commission
recognized that perpetrators of war crimes should be
prosecuted. In relation to crimes committed in non-international
armed conflicts, a number of States have issued amnesties for
war crimes, but these have often been found to be unlawful by
their own courts or by regional courts and were criticized by the
international community There is, however, sufficient practice, as

10
outlined above, to establish the obligation under customary
international law to investigate war crimes allegedly committed
in non-international armed conflicts and to prosecute the
suspects if appropriate. Numerous States, including Azerbaijan.
have adopted legislation criminalizing war crimes committed in
non-international armed conflicts. It is likely that more will
follow, in particular States adopting implementing legislation for
ratification of the Statute of the International Criminal Court and
wishing to take advantage of its complementarity principle.
Several individuals have been tried by national courts for war
crimes committed during non-international armed conflicts.
There have also been many official statements since the early
1990s in national and international fora regarding individual
criminal responsibility in non-international armed conflicts.
Practice of international organizations has also, since the early
1990s, confirmed the criminality of serious violations of
international humanitarian law committed in non-international
armed conflicts. The UN Security Council, UN General Assembly
and UN Commission on Human Rights have recalled the principle
of individual criminal responsibility for war crimes committed in
non-international armed conflicts, for example, in Afghanistan,
Angola, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Burundi, Rwanda, Sierra Leone,
Somalia and the former Yugoslavia.[15] Similar statements were
also made by the European Union in relation to Rwanda in 1994
and by the Organization of African Unity in relation to Liberia in
1996. European Convention on Human Rights Article 6(1) of the
1950 European Convention on Human Rights provides: “Everyone
is entitled to a fair and public hearing within a reasonable time by
an independent and impartial tribunal.” International Covenant
on Civil and Political Rights Article 14(1) of the 1966 International
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Covenant on Civil and Political Rights provides: “Everyone shall
be entitled to a … hearing by a competent, independent and
impartial tribunal.”
Criminal Code of Azerbaijan Republic: Article 113. Application of
tortures Causing of a physical pain or mental sufferings to detained
persons or persons, or other restrictions of freedom – shall be
punished by imprisonment for the term from seven up to ten
years. Article 115. Violation of laws and customs of war 115.1.
Mitigation of captured and other persons protected by the
international humanitarian right to serve in armed forces of the
party which have taken them in a captivity, and also compulsion of
enemy state citizens to participate in a military operations directed
against the country – shall be punished by imprisonment for the
term from two up to five years. 115.2. Application to a persons
provided in article 115.1 of the present Code, tortures, severe or
brutal manipulation with them, implementation of medical,
biological and other researches, including withdrawal of bodies for
transplantation, and also their use as a barrier for protection of
armies or objects, or maintenance as hostages, as well as
attraction of civilians to forced hard labor or compulsory moving
from places of a lawful settlement for other purposes – shall be
punished by imprisonment for the term from five up to ten years.
Article 279. Creation of an armed formations or groups, which are
not provided by the legislation 279.1. Creation of armed
formations or groups, which are not provided by the legislation of
the Azerbaijan Republic, and also participation in their creation
and activity, supplying them by weapon, ammunition, explosives,
military engineering or military equipment – is punished by
imprisonment for the term from three up to eight years.

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Article 318. Illegal crossing border of the Azerbaijan Republic
318.1. Crossing of protected frontier of the Azerbaijan Republic
without established documents or outside of check point of
frontier – 100 is punished by the penalty at a rate from two
hundred up to five hundred of nominal financial unit or
imprisonment for the term up to two years. 318.2. The act
provided by article 318.1 of the present Code, committed on
preliminary arrangement by group of persons or organized group
either with application of violence or with threat of its
application – is punished by imprisonment for the term up to five
years. The Verdict of the Court On August 2, 2021, A military
court in Baku has found Ludvig Mkrtchyan and Alyosha
Khosrovyan guilty of torturing Azerbaijani soldiers during the first
Karabakh war and sentenced each to 20 years in prison.
Mkrtchyan and Khosrovyan were charged with torture, violation
of war laws and customs, creation of illegal armed formations or
groupings, and illegal border crossing.
They will spend their first 10 years in prison; and the rest – in a
high security institution. Prior to sentencing, the defendants
apologized. "We apologize to the President of Azerbaijan and the
Azerbaijani people. We ask you to forgive us" –they said.
Evaluation of the trial: According to the reslurts of the Trial
Observation, the Observers came into conclusion that, the
follwing in Fair Trial standarts have been fulfilled by the Court
druing the courts proceeding and all the sessions: First
Preliminary Session Baku Military Court, chaired by Judge Elbay
Allahverdiyev, consisting of judges Rafig Abbasov and Jamal
Ramazanov, with the participation of Mahir Abbasov, Assistant to
the Prosecutor General of the Republic of Azerbaijan, defending
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the public prosecution, held a preliminary hearing on the criminal
case of Armenian citizens Ludwig Mkrtchyan and Alyosha
Khosrovyan under the relevant articles of the Criminal Code in
June 2, 2021. Translators attended the meeting in accordance
with the requirements of criminal procedure legislation. At the
same time, more than 45 representatives of local and foreign
media, non -governmental organizations, representatives of
international status, as well as the Commissioner for Human
Rights (Ombudsperson) of the Republic of Azerbaijan Sabina
Aliyeva attended the preliminary hearing. The participation of
ambulance staff was also provided.

İnternational Fair Trial Standards

Right to Equality Before the Law and independent and impartial
court
The accused Khosrovyan and Mkrtchyan in all criminal
proceedings were entitled to both equality before the law and
equal protection of the law, without discrimination. They also
were entitled to a trial before an independent, impartial and
competent tribunal established by law. During the court
proceeding, it was clearly observed that, judges of the Baku
Military Court, had no interest or stake in the specific case they
are examining, and hold no preconceived views about the matter
they are dealing with and refrained from acting in ways that
promote the interests of any of the parties. The impartiality of
the court is observed with the absence of bias, animosity or
sympathy towards any of the parties by the judges.

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A Competent Tribunal/Court Established by Law.
The accused Khosrovyan and Mkrtchyan were tried before a
competent tribunal established by law. Tribunals, courts and
judges, including examining magistrates, must be competent in
accordance with the international and national lawa. Everyone has
the right to be tried by courts and judges established under
ordinary jurisdiction in accordance with legally-established
procedures. The Military Court of Baku was established in August
1992. It operated under the name of Baku garnison’s military
tribunal from 1992 to 10 June 1997 and it was called garnison
military tribunals – military courts following amendments made to
the legislation on that date. The Role of Prosecutors. The accused
were entitled to a trial in which the prosecutor is fair and
impartial. Prosecutor Mahir Hasanov in the case of the Mkrtchyan
and Khosrovyan carried out its professional functions impartially
and objectively and avoided discrimination on political, social,
religious, racial, cultural, sexual orientation grounds or any other
15
grounds, according to the observartions. The Independence of the
Legal Profession. Mkrtchyan and Khosrovyan were assisted and
defended by a compenent lawyers, members of the Azerbaijan Bar
Association. Mkrtchyan and Khosrovyan were also provided with
the following Fair Trial guarantees by the Court: - Information on
the nature and cause of the accusation were given. Geneva
Convention III Article 96, fourth paragraph, of the 1949 Geneva
Convention III provides: “Before any disciplinary award is
pronounced, the accused shall be given precise information
regarding the offences of which he is accused.” - Assistance of an
interpreter is fully provided during the whole process. Geneva
Convention III Article 96, fourth paragraph, of the 1949 Geneva
Convention III provides: “The accused shall be … permitted … to
have recourse, if necessary, to the services of a qualified
interpreter.” Geneva Convention IV Article 72, third paragraph, of
the 1949 Geneva Convention IV provides: Accused persons shall,
unless they freely waive such assistance, be aided by an
interpreter, both during preliminary investigation and during the
hearing in court. They shall have the right at any time to object to
the interpreter and to ask for his replacement. European
Convention on Human Rights Article 6(3)(e) of the 1950 European
Convention on Human Rights provides: “Everyone charged with a
criminal offence has the following minimum rights … to have the
free assistance of an interpreter if he cannot understand or speak
the language used in court.” - Presence of the accused at the trial
had been provided Accused Mkrtchyan and Phosrovyan were
present at the court room during the whole process without any
placement in the metal cages and whithout any snackles. The were
sitted rigfht near the lawyers and had a free access to talk with the
lawyers. Geneva Convention IV Article 123, second paragraph, of
the 1949 Geneva Convention IV refers to the disciplinary
16
punishment awarded to internees and states: “The decision shall
be announced in the presence of the accused.” European
Convention on Human Rights Article 6(3)(c) of the 1950 European
Convention on Human Rights provides that everyone charged with
a criminal offence has the right “to defend himself in person”. –
Public proceedings
More than 45 representatives of local and foreign media, 2
members of the non-governmental organizations, representatives
of international status, as well as the Commissioner for Human
Rights (Ombudsperson) of the Republic of Azerbaijan Sabina Aliyeva
and her representatives attended the hearings. Geneva POW
Convention Article 62 of the 1929 Geneva POW Convention
provides: The representatives of the protecting Power shall have
the right to attend the hearing of the case. The only exception to
this rule is where the hearing has to be kept secret in the interests
of the safety of the State. The detaining Power would then notify
the protecting Power accordingly. Geneva Convention III Article 105,
fifth paragraph, of the 1949 Geneva Convention III provides: “The
representatives of the Protecting Power shall be entitled to attend
the trial of the case...” European Convention on Human Rights
Article 6(1) of the 1950 European Convention on Human Rights
provides: In the determination of his civil rights and obligations or of
any criminal charge against him, everyone is entitled to a fair and
public hearing. International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
Article 14(1) of the 1966 International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights provides: In the determination of any criminal charge against
him, or of his rights and obligations in a suit at law, everyone shall
be entitled to a fair and public hearing.

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3. Khojaly massacre.

Thirty years ago this month as western capitals toasted Francis

Fukuyama’s end of history, eternal peace and the apparent
triumph of liberalism, the Times of London published the first
eyewitness account of a tragedy at Khojaly, Azerbaijan — where
advancing Armenian forces had accelerated their war in the
weeks immediately after the Soviet Union’s fall. “Bodies mark
site of Karabakh Massacre” said the Times, reporting mainly
civilian dead, mostly women and children — including a small girl
of which “only her face was left.” Reuters, on the scene shortly
after, relayed how child victims “had their heads cut off, and
many had been burned.” 4
What happened that day to over 600 civilian victims, the further
2,000 more wounded or taken hostage and the 150 who today
still remain missing is little known internationally. So too is the
immediate aftermath of Khojaly, which saw close to a million
refugees and internally displaced persons forced to flee their

4
Stars and Stripes: https://www.stripes.com/opinion/2022-03-08/seeking-
justice-for-khojaly-victims-and-a-way-forward-for-azerbaijan-and-armenia-
5274425.html
18
homes, and a further 5,000 Azerbaijani civilian deaths across the
Karabakh region.
Indeed, neglected is any international acknowledgment that
Khojaly was part of a more expansive, and organized, plan to
cleanse the Karabakh of ethnic Azerbaijanis. Yet former Armenian
military and political leaders have themselves publicly confirmed it
was precisely so. According to Serzh Sargsyan, then-Armenian
minister of defense and later president: “Before Khojaly, the
Azerbaijanis thought that they were joking with us, they thought
the Armenians were people who could not raise their hand against
the civilian population. We needed to put a stop to all that.”
“Armenians and Azerbaijanis are ethnically incompatible,’‘
said Robert Kocharian, another former president, in a highly
criticized speech to the Council of Europe only months after the
end of the 1990s conflict.
That this is overlooked is wrong. Today, the 1994 genocide of
Rwandan Tutsi and the 1995 Srebrenica massacre are universally
acknowledged, their instigators, directors and designers tried in
international courts. For thousands more — victims and
perpetrators — there has been organized reconciliation, a form
of justice. This has led to admission for some; for others,
acceptance; for a few, forgiveness even.
For Khojaly’s victims of 1992 there are no trials of the army
commanders who executed them, or the politicians who gave the
orders. For survivors there is neither truth nor justice. There is
nothing.
Few make the connection between the human horrors of the
Soviet collapse and the events in Rwanda and Bosnia in the same
decade. For those of us who felt the implosions of those years,
19
the thread that links them all is easier to see. It does not excuse
it, but at the time of Khojaly (and for some years later until they
were awakened by Rwanda and then Bosnia) the West had little
interest in disturbing their narrative that the only side effect from
communism’s collapse was a surfeit of freedom.
We should revisit what occurred during those months after the
Soviet disintegration, including at Khojaly — not least as a
reminder that when nothing is done, and no one is held
accountable, then the repeating of history is rarely
avoided. Indeed, sure enough it was with the purposeful,
intentional targeting of civilians in the 44-day Armenia-Azerbaijan
conflict of 2020 when Azerbaijani cities and civilians hundreds of
miles from the military front line were struck by Armenia’s SCUD
and Iskander ballistic missiles.
This should be no surprise when the perpetrators of crimes
committed in Khojaly and elsewhere on Azerbaijani territory
during the war of the 1990s today enjoy impunity, and in some
circles are even glorified. Compare this to the Balkans where no
one now considers that acceptable, the trials of perpetrators
from that wider conflict continue in the Hague to this day.
Fortunately, there is hope for change. Defeat in the conflict of
2020 has brought a new realism to Armenia and fresh
determination to Azerbaijan to find a way to future peaceful
coexistence. The Azerbaijani president and Armenian prime
minister met one-to-one, last December. Azerbaijan has
suggested starting negotiations for a peace treaty and
normalization of relations, though at their earliest stage, have
agreed to the building of a railway and other means of
connectivity. Two Azerbaijani parliamentarians recently visited
Armenia for the very first time.
20
These advances are promising. But they cannot overlook the fact
that in the aftermath of the catalogue of horrors of the 20th
century, the Khojaly massacre reminds us that ending impunity
and seeking justice have been unmistakable components of
reconciliation and lasting peace. History is not fully written when
both those who caused it, and survivors who feel it, are still
alive. Justice must be sought. Our two countries must find a way.

“Peace and Justice” Initiative

Armenia must apologize for Azerbaijan’s Khojaly genocide for
lasting peace in the region, Chairman of the Budapest Centre for
Prevention of Mass Atrocities Gyorgy Tatar said at the OSCE
Headquarters on Feb. 23, 2022 Trend reported5. Speaking in
Vienna, the capital of Austria, at an international event on the
theme “Peace and Justice” organized by the Azerbaijani Embassy
in Austria, the Center for Analysis of International Relations and
Communications, Giorgi Tatar, having provided extensive
information about the Khojaly genocide committed in February
1992, called this crime one of the bloodiest tragedies of the end
of the 20th century, adding that one of the main obstacles in
establishing peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan is connected
with it.
“The 44-day Second Karabakh war, putting an end to the
Karabakh conflict, created the conditions for the normalization of
interstate relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia. As a result
of the “Justice for Khojaly” campaign, this tragedy is widely
recognized in the world as a genocide, and the lack of an
adequate assessment of the Khojaly tragedy on the part of

5
https://en.trend.az/azerbaijan/politics/3559662.html
21
Armenia creates serious obstacles to the normalization process in
the region. The responsibility for this tragedy lies with the former
leadership of Armenia, and Yerevan’s apology for this crime will
help both Armenia itself deal with its past and establish
sustainable peace in the region,” he said.
Referring to the international experience of peacebuilding in the
post-conflict period, the international center headed by Giorgi
Tatar announced the launch of the Recognize for Reconciliation
initiative with the aim of achieving justice for the victims of
Khojaly and establishing peace in the region. The main goals of
the initiative are not only to achieve, under the influence of the
international community, the recognition of the genocide by
Armenia, but also to promote dialogue between Azerbaijani and
Armenian societies and provide appropriate conditions for the
post-conflict period.
Stressing that in the near future it is planned to create a broad
international coalition around the initiative dedicated to the 30th
anniversary of the Khojaly tragedy, Tatar noted that the coalition
is open to human rights organizations and authoritative experts.
Activities under the initiative will continue throughout this year.
Georgy Tatar for many years held various positions in the
Ministry of Internal Affairs of Hungary, the secretariat of the
Council of Europe, since 2010 he has been the chairman of the
Budapest Center for the Prevention of Genocides and Massacres.

22
23
Armenian Presidents are on Wanted List for Crimes Committed
in First Karabakh War6

The Military Prosecutor’s Office of Azerbaijan put the former

presidents of Armenia, Robert Kocharyan and Serzh Sargsyan, on
the wanted list accusing them of multiple crimes based on the
Criminal Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan.
Emil Taghiyev, Head of the Special Investigation Department of
the Military Prosecutor’s Office, said Kocharyan and Sargsyan
have been provoking national hatred and enmity toward
Azerbaijanis in regular meetings with ethnic Armenians in the
Khankendi city of Azerbaijan since 1988.
“They were prosecuted and wanted under the relevant articles of
the Criminal Code for propagating the belief that Karabakh
belongs to Armenia and only Armenians should live there,
Azerbaijanis must be forcibly sacked and expelled from the city
[Khankendi] and Nagorno-Karabakh, their houses must be set on
fire [and] for making illegal decisions on declaring the “Nagorno-
Karabakh Republic” and repealing the Constitution of the
Republic of Azerbaijan in those territories on September 2, 1991,”
Taghiyev was quoted as saying by APA.
Both Kocharyan and Sargsyan have personally attended the First
Karabakh War in 1991-1994, which ended in the illegal
occupation of 20 percent of Azerbaijan’s territories, mass killings
of over 30,000, and forcible expulsion of around one million
ethnic Azerbaijanis.

6
Statement of the Military Prosecutor’s Office:
https://caspiannews.com/news-detail/azerbaijan-puts-former-armenian-
presidents-on-wanted-list-for-crimes-committed-in-first-karabakh-war-2022-
2-16-36/
24
Kocharyan, who served as Armenia’s president in 1998-2008,
actively engaged in the capture of the Azerbaijani city of Shusha
in 1992 and was one of the masterminds of brutal ethnic
cleansing policy against the indigenous Azerbaijani population of
the Karabakh region. In 1994-1996, he led the bogus separatist
regime established in the occupied Azerbaijani lands.
Kocharyan’s successor Sargsyan, the third Armenian president in
2008-2018, was one of the commanders of the Armenian
separatist forces next to Kocharyan in the First Karabakh War. He
has actively led and coordinated the attacks on the Azerbaijani
territories and civilians throughout the hostilities. In an interview
with Thomas de Waal, a Senior Fellow at Carnegie Europe, in
2012, Serzh Sargsyan, admitted to committing brutalities against
the civilian Azerbaijani population in the occupied territories,
especially in the town of Khojaly.
“Before Khojali, the Azerbaijanis thought that they were joking
with us, they thought that the Armenians were people who could
not raise their hand against the civilian population. We were able
to break that [stereotype]. And that’s what happened,”
Sargsyan told De Waal, referring to the massacre of 613 ethnic
Azerbaijanis in the town on February 26, 1992.
In the meantime, the Attorney General’s Office of Azerbaijan has
been working to bring the so-called leader of the armed
Armenian separatist remnants in Azerbaijan’s Karabakh region,
Arayik Harutyunyan, to justice, as well.
The head of the Investigation Department of the Prosecutor
General’s Office, Nemat Avazov, said in a video conference last
week that the legal assessment of the criminal separatist’s
activities during the Second Karabakh War should happen as
soon as possible.
25
Avazov said four terrorist attacks were carried out on the
Azerbaijani city of Gandja throughout the war. Responsibility for
the attacks was claimed by Harutyunyan on social media.
“As a result, 26 civilians were killed and 175 were injured. On
October 4, Arayik Harutyunyan claimed responsibility for the
attacks on his social media account. A criminal case has been
opened on the fact under various articles of the Criminal Code,”
local media quoted Avazov as saying.
The Attorney General’s Office launched criminal cases against
Arayik Harutunyan and the self-declared “defense minister” of
the armed separatist remnants, Jalal Harutunyan, in October
2020. Some 1,700 people were then recognized and interviewed
as the victims of the criminal activities orchestrated by the
separatists, as well as medical, ballistic, and other examinations
were appointed and carried out.
Armenia and Azerbaijan had been at odds for several decades over
the latter’s Karabakh (Garabagh) region. Following the Soviet
Union’s dissolution in 1991, Armenia launched a military campaign
against Azerbaijan that ended with a ceasefire deal in 1994. As a
result of the bloody war, Armenia occupied 20 percent of
Azerbaijan’s internationally recognized territories. Over 30,000
Azerbaijanis were killed, and one million others were expelled from
those lands in a brutal ethnic cleansing policy carried out by
Armenia.
On September 27, 2020, the decades-old conflict between the
two countries spiraled after Armenia’s forces deployed in the
occupied Azerbaijani lands shelled military positions and civilian
settlements of Azerbaijan. During the counter-attack operations,
Azerbaijani forces liberated over 300 settlements, including the
cities of Jabrayil, Fuzuli, Zangilan, Gubadli, and Shusha, from a
26
nearly 30-year-long illegal Armenian occupation. The war ended
in a tripartite statement signed on November 10, 2020, by
Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Russia. Under the statement, Armenia
also returned the occupied Aghdam, Kalbajar, and Lachin districts
to Azerbaijan.
Armenian forces targeted Gandja with consecutive missile
fires in October 2020. The first attack took place on October 4
killing one civilian and injuring 30 others. The city was targeted
for the second time on October 8, followed by the next two
bombardments on October 10 and 17, respectively, claiming the
lives of more than 20 people. According to various reports,
including those released by the Human Rights Watch and
Amnesty International, the Armenian troops deployed Russia-
made Elbrus, Scud-B, and Smerch missile systems for hitting
Ganja. Civilian deaths in the city added to a total of at least 94
Azerbaijani civilians killed by the Armenian military during the
44-day war.

4. “Aghdam is a place where international law and customs of

war ends”7

In March 2021 NGO leaders, journalists, bloggers and public

activists accompanied by Hikmet Hajiyev, Presidential Aid, –
Head of the Foreign Policy Department of the Presidential
Administration, visited the liberated territories of Aghdam district
of Azerbaijan. During the visit, the participants got acquainted
with the Armenian military fortifications and minefields in the
Aghdam region. They visited the Karabakh Khans’ complex and

7
https://laied.az/2021/03/15/agdam-is-a-place-where-international-law-and-
customs-of-war-ends-ramil-iskandarli/
27
Imarat cemetery, Imarat stadium of “FC Karabakh” football club,
Bread Museum, Garagaji cemetery, the grave of national hero
Allahverdi Bagirov, and Shahbulag fortress.

Ramil Iskandarli, chairman of the Legal Analysis and Research

Public Union, also attended the visit. After the visit, Ramil
Iskandarli shared his views with ShushaNews website, noting that
“the city of Agdam is a place where international law and
customs of war ends …”

Ramil Iskandarli noted that Armenian armed forces committed

unprecedented vandalism against the historical and cultural
heritage of Azerbaijan in Agdam, as in other occupied regions.
Monuments, cultural centers, mosques, cemeteries in the region
were destroyed, administrative and civilian infrastructure,
buildings, houses were looted, and some were insulted and
Armenianized. The Aghdam mosque was also destroyed by
Armenians, the minarets were demolished from the inside, the
ceiling was blown down in several places, and the design and
inscriptions were deliberately rendered useless and
unrecognizable. During 1992-1994 Karabakh conflict, the private
property of the population in occupied areas was plundered and
looted by the Armenian army. The Republic of Armenia has
committed a war crime in accordance with international
humanitarian law by committing robbery without justification of
military necessity. Before the 44-day war, Armenians demolished
everything in Agdam for about 30 years.

28
Article 6 of the Charter of the Nuremberg International Military
Tribunal provides definition of the war crimes:
• War crimes: ‘ namely, violations of the laws or customs of war.
Such violations shall include, but not be limited to, murder, ill-
treatment or deportation to Wave labour or for any other
purpose of civilian population of or in occupied territory, murder
or ill-treatment of prisoners of war or persons on the seas, killing
of hostages, plunder of public or private property, wanton
destruction of cities, towns or villages, or devastation not
justified by military necessity.
Armenia also violated traditional humanitarian law, such as the
customs of war enshrined in the 1907 Hague Convention on the
Laws and Customs of War on Land.
According to the Article 27, of the Fourth Geneva Convention on
the Protection of Civilian Persons, protected persons are entitled,
in all circumstances, to respect for their persons, their honour,
29
their family rights, their religious convictions and practices, and
their manners and customs. There are no private properties,
surviving historical, religious and cultural monuments left in
Aghdam. In this regard, Armenia is considered to have violated
the Geneva Conventions and therefore bears legal responsibility.
Ramil Iskandarli also visited the Aghdam Juma Mosque. He noted
that in addition to international legal documents, the
“Declaration of Human Rights in Islam” adopted by the
Organization of Islamic Cooperation in 1990 must be noted.
Armenia by violating Islamic human rights norms, through
vandalizing the mosque and other religious and cultural places,
also violated the Cairo Declaration on Human Rights in Islam.
Article 3 of the Declaration states that, In the event of the use of
force and in case of armed conflict, it is not permissible to kill
non-belligerents such as old men, women and children. The
wounded and the sick shall have the right to medical treatment;
and prisoners of war shall have the right to be fed, sheltered and
clothed. It is prohibited to mutilate or dismember dead bodies. It
is required to exchange prisoners of war and to arrange visits or
reunions of families separated by circumstances of war.
According to the article 18 of the declaration, everyone shall
have the right to live in security for himself, his religion, his
dependents, his honor and his property. However, Aghdam
population lost these rights for almost 30 years.
Armenia must not forget that in the history of the world, many
military and political leaders, like the past and present military
and political leadership of Armenia, have committed genocides
and inhumane acts against civilians, but sooner or later those
leaders were punished in Nuremberg, The Hague or by other
courts.

30
5. Mass graves in Karabakh8
The Letter to the Mr. Morris Tidball-Binz, Special Rapporteur on
extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, OHCHR-UNOG
Dear Mr. Morris Tidball-Binz,
We highly appreciate your role in promoting human rights
standards towards the respectful and lawful handling of mass
graves in the world. Without respect for the right to life, no other
human right can be upheld. Extrajudicial or arbitrary executions
are a violation of thismost fundamental right.
We would like to bring to your attention information about a
mass grave which has been discovered in the liberated from
occupation village of Edilli in the Khojavend region of Azerbaijan.
It was determined on the basis of statements and materials
collected by the working group of the State Commission on the
issues of PoWs, hostages, and missing citizens. According to
preliminary data, there are the remains of 15-20 people, PoWs
and hostages, victims of the torture and extrajudicial killings,
happened during the 1st Karabakh war (1990-1993).
It also became known about the existence of other mass graves
in the liberated cities of Aghdam, Fizuli, Khojavend, Farrukh
village of Khojaly, and Shusha. Gradually, as the territories are
cleared of mines, the graves will be discovered.
A group of NGOs paid a visit to the mass graves on February 25,
2022, located in the village of Edilli in the Khojavend region of
Karabakh area of Azerbaijan.
Along with other NGOs, we, personally, Ramil Iskandarli,
Chairman of the Legal Analysis and Research Public Union, and

8
https://www.academia.edu/72856615/Mass_Graves_in_Karabakh
31
Fariz Akbarov, a project lawyer, also participated in the fact-
finding visit and conducted a legal assessment of the situation.
According to humanitarian law, the dead must be disposed of in a
respectful manner and their graves respected and properly
maintained. The obligation to dispose of the dead respectfully
was first codified in the 1929 Geneva Conventions. It is now dealt
with in detail in
the First Geneva Convention, Article 17; Second Geneva
Convention, Article 20; Third Geneva Convention, Article 120;
Fourth Geneva Convention, Article 130. We are familiar with the
report of the Special Rapporteur of the Human Rights Council on
extrajudicial, summary, or arbitrary executions, submitted in
October 2020, in accordance with Assembly resolution 73/172,
on Mass graves, highlighting the multitude of sites of mass
killings and unlawful deaths across history and the world.

We fully understand that there is no international definition of a

mass grave. There is no legal consensus on a mass grave’s
characteristics, including the minimum number of individuals.
32
As stated in the report, a mass grave is a burial site containing
the remains of two or more victims of extrajudicial, summary, or
arbitrary executions and/or is a potential repository of evidence
of mass killings of civilians and prisoners of wars during an armed
conflict (S/1994/674/Add.2 (Vol. I), para. 503 (a) and (b)).
During our fact-finding visit to the Edilli village, we were told by
the witnesses, that, the mass grave includes also those 15-20
hostages, who were buried during the 1st Karabakh war, as a
result of the extrajudicial killings of by Armenian armed forces.
We are also familiar with the reported case of the disrespectful
disposal of dead civilians in Papua New Guinea was condemned
by the UN Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary, or
Arbitrary Executions.
The Geneva Conventions specify that the dead must be buried, if
possible, according to the rites of the religion to which they
belong. The Geneva Conventions furthermore require that, in
principle, burial should be in individual graves. Collective graves
may only be used when
circumstances do not permit them. These requirements are also
set forth in numerous military manuals. However, according to
the witnesses, that was not the case in Edilli village.
Taking into consideration, all the above-mentioned facts, we
kindly ask you, in accordance with your mandate, to undertake a
country visit to Azerbaijan to examine the situation of
extrajudicial, summary, or arbitrary executions in Azerbaijan and
to reflect on the situation, while you are submitting an annual
report to the Human Rights Council and the General Assembly on
the activities of the mandate and on the situation worldwide in
regard to extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions.

33
6. Statement of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry on the
commemoration of the Day of the Genocide of Azerbaijanis,
March 319.
“We strongly condemn the deliberate policy pursued by Armenia,
based on genocide, crimes against humanity, racial
discrimination and ethnic cleansing, committed so far against the
Azerbaijani people, and we emphasize the importance of ceasing
Armenia’s impunity in order to prevent the recurrence of these
inhumane crimes in the future. Azerbaijan from its side will take
all necessary legal measures to ensure peace and end impunity,”
the ministry said.
It stressed that the commemoration of the Day of Genocide of
Azerbaijanis plays an important role in informing the world
community about the massacre and ethnic cleansing of
Azerbaijanis in the past and present.
“March massacres of 1918 were well prepared and ruthlessly
implemented act by radical nationalist Armenians against
Azerbaijanis on the grounds of racial discrimination and ethnic
cleansing,” the ministry said.

Bloody massacres
The ministry said that in March-April 1918, massacres were
committed with utmost cruelty in the city of Baku, as well as
other towns and districts of the Baku Province by the dashnak-
bolshevik armed groups operating under the mandate of the
Baku Council (Baku Soviet), and tens of thousands of civilians
were killed only for their ethnic and religious affiliation.

9
Statement of the Azerbaijani MFA: https://mfa.gov.az/en/news/no15022
34
“We commemorate the victims of these events and consider it
important to preserve this memory in order to prevent similar
tragedies in the future,” the statement noted.

Ethnic Armenian Stepan Shaumian, the Commissar Extraordinary

for the Caucasus, had admitted that 6,000 armed soldiers of the
Baku Soviet and 4,000 from the Dashnaksutyun party had
participated in the massacres against the Azerbaijani people, the
statement added.

Further, the ministry stressed that the genocide carried out

against the Azerbaijanis along with Baku covered also Shamakhi,
Guba, Iravan, Zangezur, Karabakh, Nakhchivan and Kars regions.

35
“During the first five months of 1918, more than 16,000 people
were murdered with utmost cruelty in Guba province alone; a
total of 167 villages were destroyed. Mass graves discovered in
Guba region in 2007 constitute clear evidence of the inhumane
acts committed by Armenians,” the statement added.

Through the policy of military aggression against Azerbaijan,

which lasted for almost 30 years, Armenia continued to commit
crimes against Azerbaijanis on ethnic grounds. One million
Azerbaijanis fell victim to ethnic cleansing in Armenia and
on occupied territories of Azerbaijan.

The ministry stressed that Armenia also committed numerous

war crimes, crimes against humanity, and acts of genocide,
including the Khojaly Genocide of February 1992.

“During the 44-day war, the Armenian armed forces deliberately

targeted the peaceful population of Ganja, Barda, Tartar and
other cities of Azerbaijan with missile attacks. In doing so,
Armenia has brought back the memories of a century ago March
Massacre,” the statement emphasized.

Investigation of Armenian crimes

According to the statement, the Government of the Azerbaijan

Democratic Republic established in 1918 the Extraordinary
Investigation Commission in order to investigate the serious
crimes perpetrated by Armenians and has taken a number of
measures to preserve the true facts revealed by the Commission
in the memory of the people and to inform the world community
about these atrocities.

36
“The Extraordinary Investigation Commission which was
comprised of the best lawyers of that time representing different
nationalities – Russians, Jewish, Polish, Georgians and even
Armenians, based on the evidences launched criminal cases
against 194 individuals accused of different crimes against the
peaceful population; 24 individuals in Baku and about 100
individuals in Shamakhi had been arrested for perpetrated
crimes,” the ministry said.

The ministry emphasized that despite that, this process had been
suspended after the demise of the Azerbaijan Democratic
Republic, a full investigation of the events and its political-legal
assessment had been prevented.

It added that only after 80 years – on March 26, 1998, an

adequate political assessment was given of these horrific events
by the Azerbaijani presidential decree “On the Genocide of
Azerbaijanis”, signed by National Leader Heydar Aliyev and
March 31 was declared the Day of Genocide of Azerbaijanis.

“We commemorate the innocent victims of the March massacre

with grief and mercy,” the statement finalized.

7. 12 February – International Day against the Use of Child

Soldiers10

On 25 May 2000, the General Assembly adopted the Optional

Protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict (OPAC)
in order to protect children from recruitment and use in
10
Academia.edu Database of Researches
https://www.academia.edu/71141405/12_February_is_an_International_Day
_against_the_Use_of_Child_Soldiers_also_known_as_Red_Hand_Day
37
hostilities. It entered into force on 12 February 2002, the
anniversary of which has ever since been marked as the
International Day against the Use of Child Soldiers.

Secretary General in its report titled “Children and Armed

Conflict” at the 74th session in June 2020, called upon Member
States to respect the rights of the child, including through
accession to the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the
Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed
conflict, and the endorsement and implementation of the Paris
Principles and Vancouver Principles on Peacekeeping and the
Prevention of the Recruitment and Use of Child Soldiers.

International Humanitarian Law prohibits the recruitment and

use of children in hostilities. Article 50 of the IV Geneva
Convention, states that an Occupying Power must not enlist
children on the occupied territory (GC IV, Art. 50).

The prohibition is applicable in both international and non-

international armed conflicts (such as a current Karabakh armed
conflict, between Armenia and Azerbaijan). The bans on
recruitment of children below the age of 15 enshrined in Article 77
of Additional Protocol I, and in Article 4 of Additional Protocol II to
the Geneva Conventions of 1949 are also considered to prohibit
accepting voluntary enlistment (P I, Art. 77 (2); P II, Art. 4(3)(c)).

Article 77 states that, the Parties to the conflict shall take all
feasible measures in order that children who have not attained
the age of fifteen years do not take a direct part in hostilities and,
in particular, they shall refrain from recruiting them into their
armed forces. Paragraph 3 of Article 4, of Additional Protocol II is
devoted more particularly to the protection of children and
reiterates some principles contained in the fourth Convention.
38
Provisions of the protocol include protection from the effects of
hostilities (sanitary zones, evacuation), provision of special care
and aid (medicine, food, clothing), protection of personal status,
family and community ties (identity, registration, reunification,
news), cultural environment, education, or limits to the death
penalty. Other provisions specifically regulate the treatment of
detained or interned children.

Children are protected also by general human rights instruments.

In addition, they are entitled to the protections provided by the
Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), which has been
ratified by all states in the world, apart from Somalia and the
United States of America. Article 38(3) of the Convention on the
Rights of the Child prohibiting the recruitment of children below
the age of 15 is similarly interpreted as banning voluntary
enlistment of such children and, hence, completely outlawing
child soldiers.

The Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the

Child differentiates between States and non-State armed groups
in setting the age limit for recruitment and use in hostilities.
Armed groups that are distinct from the armed forces of a State
should not, under any circumstances, recruit or use in hostilities
persons under the age of 18 years.

States Parties shall take all feasible measures to prevent such

recruitment and use, including the adoption of legal measures
necessary to prohibit and criminalize such practices.

Under the Statute of the International Criminal Court, conscripting

or enlisting children into armed forces or groups constitutes a war
crime in both international and non-international armed conflicts
(ICC Statute, Article 8(2)(b)(xxvi) and (e)(vii)).
39
Paris and Vancouver principles

Another important documents in the sphere of protection of

child soldiers are the Paris Principles and the Vancouver
Principles.
Paris Principles were adopted in 2007 at the “Free Children from
War” conference organized by France and UNICEF. In the last 10
years, 105 states have endorsed these Principles. The signatory
States have declared that they are prepared to identify and
implement durable solutions to combat the unlawful use and
recruitment of child soldiers in conflicts. The Paris Principles has
the priority to put an end to the use or recruitment of child
soldiers and one the goal is to release children enlisted into
armed groups and achive sanctions against people having
unlawfully recruited children. I have big doubts that Paris
Principles will achieve its goals in relation to Armenia.
In November 2017, Canada launched the Vancouver Principles on
Peacekeeping and the Prevention of the Recruitment and Use of
40
Child Soldiers at the UN Peacekeeping Defence Ministerial
conference in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Vancouver
Principles are a set of political commitments focused on child
protection, including all stages of a conflict cycle. They comprise
17 principles that focus on preventing the recruitment and use of
child soldiers by armed forces and armed groups.
In 2017, 54 UN Member States were founding endorsers of the
Vancouver Principles. The number of endorsing countries is now
close to 100. Armenia is among the states which had endorsed
the Vancouver Principles. However, as we can see from the
practice, their acts in Karabakh are not in line with those
principles.
Child soldiers in the Armenian army
“Video shows that Armenia employs child soldiers. Needs to be
investigated”, Assistant of the President of the Republic of
Azerbaijan, Head of Foreign Policy Affairs Department of the
Presidential Administration Hikmet Hajiyev wrote on his Twitter
page during the 44-day war in Karabakh territory of Azerbaijan.
He also added that “Recruiting and using children under the age
of 15 as a soldier is prohibited under international humanitarian
law – treaty, and customs – and is defined as a war crime by ICC”.
It is not the first time, Armenia commits a war crimes in relation
to children. According to the “Child Soldiers Report 2001-
Armenia”, “Recruitment of children has been reported to occur in
practice. The Committee on the Rights of the Child, at its January
2000 session, raised questions regarding reports of refugee
children from Azerbaijan being forced to join the Armenian army.
The delegation responded that Armenian children in “Nagorno-
Karabakh had been known to take up arms against Azerbaijan “in
defense of their territory”. The Committee recommended that
Armenia should refrain from conscripting children into the armed
41
forces and should take special protection and rehabilitation
measures for children affected by armed conflict” (see the UN
press release, UN CRC concluding observations on the status of
children’s rights in Armenia, 20/1/00, HR/CRC/00/15 and also UN
document reference CRC7C794).
Absolutely no actions have been taken by Armenia in regard to
the recommendations of the report. Furthermore, they kept
repeating to commit this war crime. This time, in 2020, again in
Karabakh armed conflict.
Use of the educational facilities for military purposes by
Armenia
Recently, the Armenian media outlets informed that Karabakh
separatists’ leader Arayik Harutunyan discussed the fighting
situation with militaries in the kindergarten during the 44-day
war in Karabakh. Harutyunyan’s photo from the discussion of the
“state of war” was rightly criticized on social networks.
It was also revealed that the place where Harutyunyan held a
“meeting” was not “the south-eastern direction of the front”, but
in fact the kindergarten No. 3 in Khankendi, Karabakh.
It should be noted that this is a method constantly used by the
Armenian army. So, they choose either a house of culture, or a
school, or a kindergarten as a military base. When the Azerbaijani
Army strikes the area, it is rumored that Azerbaijan is firing on
civilian targets. However, Azerbaijan strikes only legitimate
military facilities. They use civilian objects, as a “human shields”
which is prohibited in the context of armed conflicts. This rule is
set forth in the Third Geneva Convention (with respect to
prisoners of war), the Fourth Geneva Convention (with respect to
protected civilians) and Additional Protocol I (with respect to
civilians in general).
42
Under the Statute of the International Criminal Court, “utilizing
the presence of a civilian or other protected person to render
certain points, areas or military forces immune from military
operations” constitutes a war crime in international armed
conflicts.

It is a clear violation of the educational rights of children which

are stipulated at articles 28 and 38 of the Child Rights Convention
and also the principles stated at the Safe Schools Declaration.

According to the Article 38 of the Convention on the Rights of

the Child (1989), states undertake to respect and to ensure
respect for rules of international humanitarian law applicable to
them in armed conflicts which are relevant to the child. The state
has obligations under international humanitarian law to protect
the civilian population in armed conflicts and shall take all

43
feasible measures to ensure the protection and care of children
who are affected by an armed conflict.

İt should also noted that according to the Safe Schools

Declaration, it is prohibited to use educational facilities as
barracks or detention centers during the armed conflict. Such
actions expose students and education personnel to harm, deny
large numbers of children and students their right to education
and so deprive communities of the foundations on which to build
their future. Where educational facilities are used for military
purposes it can increase the risk of the recruitment and use of
children by armed actors or may leave children and youth
vulnerable to sexual abuse or exploitation. In particular, it may
increase the likelihood that education institutions are attacked.

The Safe Schools Declaration is an inter-governmental political

commitment that was opened for endorsement by countries at
an international conference held in Oslo, Norway, on 28–29 May
2015. The Declaration provides countries the opportunity to
express political support for the protection of students, teachers,
and schools during times of armed conflict; the importance of the
continuation of education during armed conflict; and the
implementation of the Guidelines for Protecting Schools and
Universities from Military Use during Armed Conflict.

Finally, I have to note that, despite the facts that we appealed

to the international organizations several times, none of
international organizations used their mandates to stop
Armenia from using child soldiers and educational facilities
for military purposes and never expressed their concerns on
this issue.

44
8. Alternative report the FCNM, Council of Europe
On the aspects which have not been covered at the fifth report
on implementation of the Council of Europe Framework
Convention for the Protection of National Minorities by the
Republic of Armenia.

Background

Legal Analysis and Research Public Union (LAR) is established in

28/08/2012 in Baku and registered by the Ministry of Justice of
Azerbaijan. The main goal of LAR is to contribute to
implementation of the legal reforms in Azerbaijan and the wider
region, through learning, researching and analyzing the legal
problems. LAR is a member of the
international NGO based in Vienna, the Alliance of NGOs on
Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice.

Pursuant to Resolution CM/Res(2019)49, NGOs and minority

associations have a key role in the monitoring mechanism of the
Framework Convention.
According to the Chapter 6, para. 31 od the above mentioned
resolution, the Advisory Committee may request additional
information from the Party whose report is under consideration and
seek where appropriate information from international
organisations, ombudsmen and national institutions for the
promotion and protection of human rights, as well as from
representatives of civil society and non-governmental organisations.
This report covers the aspects which have not been covered at
the fifth report on implementation of the Council of Europe
Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities
by the Republic of Armenia.

45
Preservation of traditions and cultural heritage of Azerbaijanis
in Armenia

Article 5 of the FCNM

The Parties undertake to promote the conditions necessary for
persons belonging to national minorities to maintain and develop
their culture, and to preserve the essential elements of their
identity, namely their religion, language, traditions and cultural
heritage.
The Parties undertake not to interfere with the right of persons
belonging to national minorities to establish and maintain free
and peaceful contacts across frontiers with persons lawfully
staying in other States, in particular those with whom they share
an ethnic, cultural, linguistic or religious identity, or a common
cultural heritage.
All the Annexes submitted at the State Report regaring the
statistical indicators of minorities demographics etc., are missing
Azerbaijanis. The reason for this is tha, as a result of the ethnic
cleansing carried out since the beginning of the 20th century
against indigenous Azerbaijani
population lived in Armenia, Azerbaijanis were subjected to mass
deportation from their native lands. The last deportation took
place in 1988. More than 250,000 Azerbaijanis were expelled
from Armenia and became refugees. Thus, the expulsion of
Azerbaijanis from Armenia was completed.
Today, not a single Azerbaijani is left in Armenia.
The question that need to be addressed, is that, what type of
measures, or general political will is existing (if any) in Armenia to
promote and create conditions for the idea of the return of forcibly
expelled Azerbaijanis from Armenia to the places of their origin.

46
Furthermore, the Government of Armenia is engaged in
deliberate erasing of the traces of cultural heritage of
Azerbaijanis by plundering and destroying, as well as altering and
changing the use of the cultural heritage sites of the Azerbaijani
people. The historical names of Azerbaijani villages have been
totally changed, ancient toponyms have been replaced with
Armenian names.
More than 300 mosques, such as Blue Mosque, Gala Mosque,
Shah Abbas, Tepebashi, Zal Khan, Sartib Khan, Haji Novruzali Bey,
Demirbulag, Haji Jafar Bey, Rajab Pasha, Muhammad Sartib Khan,
Haji Inam mosque existing in the territory of the Iravan province
at the beginning of the 20th century were deliberately destroyed,
altered or changed the use of. Only Demirbulag mosque served
its purpose until 1988, but now it has been razed to the ground
and many-storied building has been built in its place.
The deliberate destruction of the cultural heritage of Azerbaijani
people, its appropriation, concealing their true origin show that
the Government of Armenia even denies the fact that
Azerbaijanis historically lived in these lands and created a rich
culture. This is a clear example of intolerance against Azerbaijani
people in Armenia.

Azerbaijanophobia in Armenia

Article 6 o the FCNM

The Parties shall encourage a spirit of tolerance and intercultural
dialogue and take effective measures to promote mutual respect
and understanding and co-operation among all persons living on
their territory, irrespective of those persons’ ethnic, cultural,
linguistic or religious identity, in particular in the fields of
education, culture and the media.
47
According to the Commentary of the FCNM, Article 6 is generally
an expression of the concerns stated in Appendix III to the Vienna
Declaration (Declaration and Plan of Action on combating racism,
xenophobia, anti-Semitism and intolerance).
Among the nationalities that have become objects of humiliation
and dehumanization by Armenian nationalists one can highlight
Azerbaijanis.
During so-called “44-day war” in September 12 – November 10,
2020, the narrative of the state officials and public figures , as
well as private citizens was the presentation of the Armenian–
Azerbaijani conflict as a war on religious grounds, or a
civilizational war of “Armenia against nonhumans (terrorists,
barbarians, bandits, devils).” Here, one can clearly see the
dichotomy, according to which the civilized and cultured
representatives of the highest (super) race, the Armenians, have
to fight against a “lower people,” the non/subhumans,
barbarians, and nomads
that are Azerbaijanis.
This particular narrative achieved a wide reach on Armenian
social networks, with each instance insulting and belittling the
Azerbaijani people. The Armenians shared various photographs
or self-made images with different themes, but the
condescending meaning remained the same.
Our question to Armenian government, would be that, what type
of measures or enlightenment work had been taken by the
government of Armenia to tackle this particular problem.
The ideology founded by the Nazi collaborator of WW II Garegin
Nzhdeh is widely promoted today by Armenian leaders and other
influential figures in the Armenian society.

48
The fifth state report of the Government of Armenia is clearly
missed all above mentioned problems and most important the
will to take necessary steps towards tackling those issues. In this
important endeavor, we count on the Committee experts, under
the mandate vested on it by the Framework Convention.

9. Post-Conflict Azerbaijan and Development for Peace. The

Role of NGOs11
The recent military confrontation including Armenia and Azerbaijan,
which raged unabated for six weeks, has caused casualties,
damages, and displacement of the local population. The fighting
pushed hundreds of thousands to flee their homes for safety, of
which some remain displaced and will not be able to return to their
homes in the long term. The hostilities have brought damage to
livelihoods, houses, and public infrastructure. Moreover, many
areas have been left with mines and other unexploded ordnances,
bringing significant risks for the civilian population.
Despite the ceasefire agreement between Armenia and
Azerbaijan on 10 November 2020, the humanitarian situation
remains of concern.
Working with NGOs and CSOs is, therefore, a good option in post-
conflict contexts, but may not always be possible in the very early
phases after the outbreak of peace. However, both the terms
'NGO' and 'CSO' are very broad and include a range of different
types of organizations. The main division is between local

11
IGI Global Publishing: Source Title: Handbook of Research on Ethnic, Racial,
and Religious Conflicts and Their Impact on State and Social Security.
https://www.igi-global.com/chapter/post-conflict-azerbaijan-and-
development-for-peace/290223
49
organizations specific to the post-conflict country itself, and
larger international NGOs.
A post-conflict context can be conceptualized as a transitional
period bounded by past war and future peace, a period that
introduces several new challenges. Whether a war was civil or
international in scope, concluded through a peace agreement or
by a military victory, for states, a war's conclusion is a time to
consolidate political gains. In his book, Andrew Cunningham
argues that, for international actors, these transitional periods
also necessitate adaptation. Some actors must take on new roles,
such as the United Nations shifting from peace mediation to
peacekeeping. New actors may also enter onto the scene after
the fighting ends, such as development agencies. Humanitarian
organizations have a particularly difficult time adapting to
transitional periods. (Cunningham, 2017).
However, some scholars give more emphasis on the role of the
private sector in post-conflict societies' development along with
the civil society role. Thus, Naousie Mack Sweeney, a scholar
from Cambridge UK, in her book, Private sector development in
Post-conflict societies, says that “ the alleviation of poverty
through the development of a healthy and independent private
sector. This aim is of vital importance in post-conflict situations
because economic factors play such a central role in both starting
and maintaining conflicts. In the short term, there must be some
immediately tangible benefits of peace – a 'peace dividend. In
the medium and long term, these benefits must continue;
promoting stability and reconciliation between factions, and
discouraging a return to violence".(Sweeney, 2020).
The purpose of this paper is to describe the role of NGOs in
peace development in post-conflict societies, including
50
Azerbaijan. In most post-conflict countries nongovernmental
organizations are everywhere. In The NGO Game Patrice
McMahon using her years of fieldwork and interviews, McMahon
argues that when international actors try to rebuild and
reconstruct post-conflict countries, they often rely on and look to
NGOs. Although policymakers and scholars tend to accept and
even celebrate NGO involvement in post-conflict and
transitioning countries, they rarely examine why NGOs have
become so popular, what NGOs do, or how they affect everyday
life. (McMahon, 2017).

Background: South Caucasus Region and Nagorno-Karabakh

Conflict

The EU is a key partner of both Armenia and Azerbaijan and

supports them in their reforms and socio-economic recovery
including within the Eastern Partnership. The EU is committed to
playing an active role in shaping a durable and comprehensive
settlement, including through support for stabilization, conflict
transformation, and confidence-building and reconciliation
measures.
As part of its efforts to strengthen resilience and peacebuilding in
the South Caucasus, the European Commission in May 2021
delivered on its pledge to contribute an additional €10 million in
humanitarian aid, including some very early recovery to help
civilians affected by the recent conflict in and around Karabakh.
This brings EU assistance to people in need, since the start of the
hostilities in September 2020, to over €17 million. Commissioner
for Crisis Management, Janez Lenarčič, said: "The humanitarian
situation in the region continues to require our attention, with the
51
spread of the COVID-19 pandemic further exacerbating the impact
of the conflict. The EU is substantially increasing its support to help
people affected by the conflict to meet their basic needs and to
rebuild their lives.” (Euroepan Union Commission, 2021).
"We have a lot of work to do there. We need to clear and rebuild
more than 10,000 square kilometers. Hundreds of thousands of
mines have been planted there, and 140 people have been killed
or injured by landmines since the end of the war on 10
November, including two of our journalists. While driving, they
hit a mine that was planted after the second Karabakh war
ended, when the Armenians were given two weeks to evacuate
the area," said President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev answering a
question on the reconstruction work in Karabakh at a joint press
conference with President of the European Council Charles
Michel.
Starting from November 10, 2021, after signing Trilateral Statement
among Russia, Azerbaijan, and Armenia, the President of Azerbaijan
paid more attention to the rebuilding and reconstruction of
Karabakh rather than to continue endless and useless discussions on
the status of Karabakh. Ilham Aliyev said that, during the second
Karabakh war, Armenia committed war crimes. We are facing a
great challenge and a great task related to the demining and
reconstruction of liberated territories. We will do it all. All necessary
measures have been taken and funds have been allocated.
(Iskandarli, 2020).
Amnesty International has verified the use of banned cluster
bombs by Armenia for the first time in the current Nagorno-
Karabakh conflict, following an attack on the city of Barda in
Azerbaijan. One or several Smerch rockets were fired into Barda,
striking a residential neighborhood close to a hospital. At least 21
people were killed, with an estimated 70 more injured. Amnesty
52
International's Crisis Response experts verified pictures (taken by
Vice News reporters in the city) of fragments of 9N235 cluster
munitions from Russian-made 9M55 Smerch rockets, that appear
to have been fired into the city by Armenian forces. "The firing of
cluster munitions into civilian areas is cruel and reckless, and
causes untold death, injury, and misery," said Marie Struthers,
Amnesty International's Regional Director for Eastern Europe and
Central Asia.
"The European Union is ready to play a positive role in achieving
peace in the region," EU Council President Charles Michel said at
a joint press conference on July 18, 2021, with Azerbaijani
President Ilham Aliyev during his visit to the South Caucasus
region, APA reported.
He emphasized that during his visit to Armenia, he also discussed
with Armenian officials what steps could be taken to achieve
peace: "We need to think about what we need to do to achieve
peace and progress, what elements we need to consider to
ensure stability and security in the region”.
The EU is in close contact with humanitarian partners and other
stakeholders on the ground to support the coordination of the
humanitarian response and early recovery efforts.
Lets' look at the Azerbaijani context: From September 27, the
armed forces of Armenia have launched another act of aggression
against Azerbaijan, by intensively attacking the positions of the
armed forces of Azerbaijan as well as residential areas along the
frontline, with the use of large-caliber weapons, mortar launchers
and artillery of different calibers. Having openly and purposefully
targeted the civilian population and civilian objects, in addition to
military servicemen Armenia has killed several civilians, among
them elderly, women and children, and inflicted serious damage
on numerous houses and civilian objects.
53
The Armed Forces of the Republic of Azerbaijan operate in the
sovereign territories of the Republic of Azerbaijan which is
recognized by your countries and all international community
and organizes the defense of Azerbaijan. These are counter-
offensive military operations to enforce Armenia to peace. The
main goal is to ensure the security of the Azerbaijani civilian
population living close to the line of contact and to implement
counter-offensive peace enforcement operations to prevent such
provocations by Armenia. (Iskandarli, 2020).
In November 2020, the first-ever online declaration on the war
results in world history is signed by Russian, Azerbaijan, and
Armenia.
Getting more aid into conflict-affected areas is critical. Neither
Stepanakert nor Yerevan has the resources to deal with the post-
war chaos alone, risking a protracted humanitarian crisis and long-
term displacement of people. For now, Armenia is doing what it
can for residents of Nagorno-Karabakh, whether they were able to
return to their homes or not. But its funds are limited, as is the de
facto authorities' capacity to handle the war's fallout. UN agencies,
NGOs, and foreign governments could help shoulder the burden of
aiding the displaced – but, at present, most are blocked from doing
so. The only international organization working in Nagorno-
Karabakh is the International Committee of the Red Cross, which
has been there since the 1990s. The rest remain hamstrung by the
central debate over the region’s political status. Russia says it is
ready to help facilitate such aid if and when outside agencies gain
access. In the meantime, these organizations should find creative
solutions to allow minimal support at least to their local
counterparts on the ground. (International Crisis Group, 2021).

54
Azerbaijan is the Best Ranked amongst the South Caucasus
Countries in the UN's Sustainable Development Goals Index.

On 8 July, the United Nations (UN) assisted by independent

experts at the Sustainable Development Solutions Network
(SDSN) and the Bertelsmann Foundation published their
Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Index and Dashboards for
all UN member states and frames of the implementation of the
SDGs. (United Nations, 2004).
Azerbaijan was the best ranked amongst the South Caucasus
countries, occupying 54th place globally with an average score of
72.6, Georgia ranked 58th with an average score of 71.9 and
Armenia ranked 75th with an average score of 69.9. (Caucasus
Watch, 2020).
In its executive summary, the report highlighted that the health
crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic impacts all countries,
including high-income countries in Europe and North America.
The necessary measures taken to respond to the immediate
threat of Covid-19, including the shutdown of many economic
activities for weeks, have led to a global economic crisis with
massive job losses and major impacts, especially on vulnerable
groups. This is a significant setback for the world's ambition to
achieve the SDGs, in particular for poor countries and population
groups.
Speaking of the region where the South Caucasus countries were
located (Eastern Europe and Central Asia), the report noted that
the counties in this region obtain their best performance on SDG
1 (No Poverty) and SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy).
Compared to other regions, SDG 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong
Institutions) remains problematic, due to relatively high
perceived corruption in some countries, low freedom of speech,
55
or high insecurity. As for other parts of the world, poor
performance on SDGs 12 to 15 (Caucasus Watch, 2020) on
climate mitigation and biodiversity protection require urgent
policy attention. Access to basic services and infrastructure,
covered notably under SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation) and
SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy), is improving rapidly. By
contrast, trends on SDG 15 (Life on Land) and SDG 17
(Partnerships for the Goals) are stagnating or reversing in most
countries in this region.
Speaking individually of the progress made, Armenia was on track
in SDG 7 (affordable and clean energy) and SDG13 (climate
action). In SDGs 1 (fighting poverty), 4 (education quality), and 12
(responsible consumption and production) moderate progress
was recorded. The most critical areas were SDGs 8 (decent work
and economic growth), 10 (reduced inequalities), and 11
(sustainable cities and communities) where major challenges
remain for Armenia.
As for Azerbaijan, the country was on track only in SDG1 (fighting
poverty), while moderate progress was recorded in SDGs 4 (quality
education), 7 (affordable and clean energy), 11 (sustainable cities
and communities), 12 (sustainable consumption and production)
and 17 (partnerships for the promotion of the SDGs). The most
critical areas were SDGs 5 (gender equality), 8 (decent work and
economic growth), and 16 (peace, justice, and strong institutions).
(Caucasus Watch, 2020).
Georgia was not on track on any of the SDG's but had the highest
number of SDGs recorded as achieving moderate progress,
namely: SDGs 4 (quality of education), 6 (clean water and
sanitation), 7 (affordable and clean energy), 12 (responsible
consumption and production), 13 (climate action), 15 (life on
land) and 16 (peace, justice, and strong institutions). The most
56
critical areas in the country were SDGs 3 (good health and well-
being), 5 (gender equality), and 10 (reduced inequalities).
Sweden was the best-ranked country in this year's report,
followed by Denmark, Finland, France, and Germany. Russia was
ranked 57th, Iran 59th, and Turkey 70th. (Caucasus Watch,
2020).The worst-ranked countries were the Central African
Republic, South Sudan, and Chad.

Development Potential of the Karabakh Territories

A working group was established to assess losses and casualties

as a result of the occupation of the territories of the Republic of
Azerbaijan by the Armenian armed forces. evaluation and an
electronic database in this area have been created. In 2017, the
total value of casualties as a result of armed aggression was $
820 billion. As long as it is liberated from occupation, Azerbaijan
will bring life to these territories. It is also possible to claim
compensation for the damage caused to Armenia.
Azerbaijan has considerable experience in restoring the liberated
territories. Even the Agency for the Rehabilitation and
Reconstruction of Territories has been established in our country,
whose mission is to coordinate the restoration work and create
conditions for the return of IDPs to their native lands. Starting
from 2020, the territories liberated by the Azerbaijani Army from
the enemy will be restored accordingly. After the successful
Horadiz operation in 1994, 42 settlements in the Fizuli region
were revived. (Qasimli 2020) After the military victory in April
2016, the village of Jojug Marjanli in the Jabrayil region became
the starting point of the Great Return. As a result of the state's
attention and care, the village of Jojug Marjanli has quickly
become a modern and prosperous settlement. For this purpose,
57
the President of Azerbaijan has signed several orders. Jojuq
Marjanli is more prosperous than any other village currently
under occupation and is provided with jobs and social services at
a higher level. This shows the difference in the developing
relations of Azerbaijan and Armenia. Reconstruction of 29-
kilometer roads leading to the newly liberated villages of
Sugovushan and Talysh in the Tartar region has already begun. In
short, as Azerbaijan returns to its lands, life comes to life. To do
this, first of all, demining and other demining measures are taken
in the liberated areas, then communications are established, and
finally, housing and production are provided. As the lands are
liberated from occupation, the "Great Return" continues.
The occupation of the territories did not bring significant economic
benefits to Armenia. Even though these areas are rich in
underground and surface natural resources, have widespread
minerals such as non-ferrous metal ores, gold, mercury, chromite,
perlite, lime, marble, agate, mineral waters, etc., as well as a wide
resort potential. Armenia has never been able to take full
advantage of this potential. Yes, in Kalbajar and other areas, our
minerals have been plundered by artisanal methods and damage
to the environment. Therefore, those responsible will be held
accountable.
By attracting new natural resources, Azerbaijan has the potential
to ensure the development of the western region, the growth of
the mining industry, as well as the metallurgical complex. The
development of metallurgy will accelerate the development of the
military industry in Azerbaijan, along with several industries. Our
military industry must have a say in supplying the Azerbaijani Army
with 5G technologies. Forest, water, and land resources in the
territories liberated by Azerbaijan create great opportunities for
the development of agriculture, processing industry, and tourism.

58
Most importantly, the economy of the liberated areas will be
rebuilt and new technologies will be introduced, which will make
the economy more productive. After World War II, the two most
devastated countries, Germany and Japan, grew faster as new
technologies were introduced and economic productivity
increased. For example, most of the construction materials for the
reconstruction of liberated Jabrayil are in this region: tulus tuff
suitable for the production of sawdust, flint, construction sand,
Garajalli clay suitable for brick production, volcanic ash suitable for
cement production, clay, limestone, sand- gravel, jade, chalcedony,
and forest resources.
A "construction boom" is expected in the liberated areas. As a
result of the liberation of our territories, we will have to rework
our forecasts for the development of the non-oil sector in the
coming years. Because this victory of our Army will also give
impetus to the faster growth of our non-oil sector. The full
liberation of the territories from occupation will have a great
impact on our economic development. Our preliminary
calculations show that in the coming years, the total output of key
areas in the Upper Karabakh and Kalbajar-Lachin economic regions
will increase by more than 2 billion manats. (Qasimli, 2020).

The role of the Shusha Declaration in post-conflict

development

After the victory of Azerbaijan in the 2nd war of Karabakh, the

South Caucasus Region (SCR) has now become a new "hub" of
socio-economic integration, geopolitical maneuvering, and
geostrategic concessions.
Azerbaijan and Turkey signed a Declaration on Alliance on June
15, 2021, which pledged to support each other in case of threat
59
or attack by a third country. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev
and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan signed the
agreement during a visit to the city of Shusha liberated by
Azerbaijan forces during last year's war with Armenia in the
Nagorno-Karabakh region.
It’s important to note that the Declaration reiterates the opening
of the Zangazur corridor from the Nagorno-Karabakh region to a
railway line through Nakhchivan and Turkey's eastern Kars
province. Turkey will open a general consulate in Shusha to
support Azerbaijan in rebuilding the Karabakh and East Zangezur
region. (Mehmood, 2021).
The Shusha Declaration aims to facilitate cooperation between
Azerbaijan and Turkey in the spheres of defense, economy,
energy, trade, diaspora and media, and other areas of mutual
interest. President Ilham Aliyev said the declaration refers to the
Treaty of Kars, which was signed a century ago, which has a great
symbolic meaning for the two countries.
At the international level, it promotes regional cooperation,
collaborations, political consultations, economic and trade
relations, culture, education, sports, youth policy, and practically
all other associated areas. It highlights the importance of energy
security and the Southern Gas Corridor (SGC) for Turkey,
Azerbaijan, and Europe. (Mehmood, 2021).

Interventions of INGOs and NGOs in Post Conflict Situation

At the 5264th meeting of the Security Council, held on 20

September 2005, in connection with the Council's consideration
of the item entitled "The role of civil society in conflict prevention
and the pacific settlement of disputes", the President of the
Security Council made the following statement on behalf of the
60
Council: "Recognizing the complex nature of threats to
international peace and security, the Security Council underlined
the need for a broad strategy for conflict prevention and pacific
settlement of disputes in line with Chapter VI of the Charter of
the United Nations. "The Security Council stressed that the
essential responsibility for conflict prevention rests with national
governments and that the United Nations and the international
community can play an important role in support of national
efforts for conflict prevention and can assist in building national
capacity in this field and recognized the important supporting
role of civil society (UN Security Council, 2005).
“The Security Council reaffirmed the need for this strategy to be
based on engagement with governments, regional and sub-
regional organizations as well as civil society organizations, as
appropriate, reflecting the widest possible range of opinions.
"The Security Council underlined the potential contributions of a
vibrant and diverse civil society in conflict prevention, as well as
in the peaceful settlement of disputes. They noted that a well-
functioning civil society has the advantage of specialized
knowledge, capabilities, experience, links with key
constituencies, influence, and resources, which can assist parties
in conflict to achieve a peaceful solution to disputes.
“The Security Council noted that a vigorous and inclusive civil
society could provide community leadership, help shape public
opinion, and facilitate as well as contribute to reconciliation
between conflicting communities. The Security Council also
underscored the role that these actors could play in providing a
bridge to dialogue and other confidence-building measures
between parties in conflict.

61
Conflict resolution is a process in which the confrontation
between the parties ends, the relationship between them is
stabilized. Modern conflictology distinguishes two main forms of
conflict regulation: "consolidation" (termination) of the conflict
and resolution of the conflict. "Cooling" in conflict practically
means its "freezing" on one of the steps of conflict relations with
the resolution of contradictions. At the same time, it is necessary
to emphasize that the cessation of the conflict in its
"confrontation" preserves the causes of the conflict - the
contradiction, given in its time to the conflict, and the parties in
the embodiment of their interests.
Therefore, the outcome of the conflict is important to achieve its
resolution. With the resolution of the conflict, the situation is
understood, in which all interested parties establish mutual
relations, acceptable to all and corresponding views, positions of
each party from the other side, that is, there is more than one
party In other words, the conflict is considered to be completely
exacerbated, resolved.
Thus, in the most optimal way as regulation, and the prevention
of conflicts, there is a consensus of interests, the achievement of
consensus between the subjects of civil society and the state. The
main direction of achieving this in intra-political life is a genuinely
democratic organization of public life. Together with that, there
are no universal models, such as development, and conflict
management. The specificity of these processes depends largely
on the features of evolution and the functioning of a particular
society, its state and non-state structures, which are intertwined
between them.
If we look at the post-conflict situation in Azerbaijan, we can see
a definite role of NGOs mainly in three directions: support to
victims of the conflict and their families, ensure public
62
participation in the rebuilding process, and peacebuilding
activities.
Most international community actors hesitating in intervening in
conflicts such as the Karabakh conflict between Armenia and
Azerbaijan. In contrast, NGOs are keen to intervene to stop the
human misery caused by conflicts. They have become more
attracted recently to intervene in complex hostilities because of
the humanitarian principles that rule their interventions through
providing humanitarian assistance in different emergencies, which
made their involvement as peace builder’s afterward to be more
acceptable than others did. Besides, their involvement is driven by
their recognition that any conflict can destroy the developmental
attempts that they were trying to accomplish for years.
If we talk about the peacebuilding role of NGOs, in general, I
should say that the main objective of peacebuilding is to resolve
the conflict constructively through addressing its major
components, amending its problems, and most importantly
changing its strategic thinking, its opportunity structures, and
different ways of interaction by different actors.
Some implementers will have peacebuilding as their main
objective, while others have as their primary mandate delivering
health services, food, or education, with peacebuilding as an
added ambition or informing their work. This diversity of
ecosystem 'species' is a strength, as they have complementary
roles, perspectives, and skills. However, the different types of the
organization face different financing challenges.
International peacebuilding NGOs may be direct implementers,
but increasingly they serve as enabling and capacity-building
intermediaries to smaller-scale local peacebuilding partners on
the frontlines of conflict. The peacebuilding NGO community
relies on a handful of donors (primarily the United States,
63
Germany, the United Kingdom, Norway, Sweden, and the
Netherlands) for their existence. They grapple with dilemmas
linked to their sensitive work in insecure settings.
NGOs, particularly local ones, have a range of financing concerns.
In some cases, they receive no donor funding at all. Evidence
points to a disconnect between what donors are willing to
support—technical and procedural aspects of state-building—
and the actual needs of peacebuilding after conflicts—such as
promoting trust or reconciliation. Donors' single-year funding
cycles can severely limit NGOs' effectiveness and ability to retain
professional talent. (Lilya, 2021).
International NGOs' impartiality allows for them to play a
specific role as promoters and implementers of reconciliation
programs in the Balkans. Both international and local NGOs are
well suited to such work as they often have access to the
groups and organizations responsible for the ethnic tension.
(Reliefweb, 2020).
Moreover, NGOs have a strong capacity to do advocacy,
lobbying, and public awareness campaigns and their credibility
permits them to reach into different layers of society. Working
with balanced ethnic, religious, or political bias, NGOs are in a
position to approach both states (national and local
government) and civil society (returnees, local NGOs, local
population, etc) and to create links between them.
Recently, the leader of the UK Conciliation Resources Mr.
Laurence Broers told President, that civil society and NGOs could
come in and work with populations to build confidence once the
conflict was solved. He asked what should be the roles of civil
society and peacebuilding in this new vision for the region?
(Broers, 2021).
64
President Ilham Aliyev answered that he thinks that they can play
a crucial role especially concerning what I said about my
expectations from the political segment of Armenian society.
Therefore, it's a big room for civil society to take steps
concerning reconciliation. But I can tell you probably you know
that even those very few representatives of Armenian civil
society who speak for peace with Azerbaijan are becoming a
subject of attacks and public attacks and sometimes physical
attacks. They are announced as traitors. Armenian politicians call
them Turks. In their political slang, it is probably a very insulting
word and they are being frightened by politicians. We made
steps of building bridges between our civil society members even
during the conflict as there have been two delegations visiting
Armenia, Karabakh, and coming to Baku. But after the second
trip of representatives of civil society, journalists, and some
members of parliament, the Armenian side stopped it. And when
I asked then former Armenian President Sargsyan why they
stopped it, there was no answer. Then we found out that they
were afraid that there could be some rapprochement, there
could be some elements of cooperation. They were always
blocking that. But now, I don't think that they are in this position
but we need to be able to deliver our messages to Armenian
society. Our resources are very limited. The public space in
Armenia is strongly controlled by the government. As I said any
positive sign or word about Azerbaijan is considered to be
treason. Therefore, I think that international organizations,
especially those who have experience in dealing with this kind of
issue of post-conflict reconciliation or normalization, confidence-
building measures, I think we should count a lot on the support
from international NGOs. Azerbaijan is ready to work with them
on this issue.

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Civil society now plays a key role in conflicts, especially intra-state
ones. This is facilitated by the transformation of conflicts, which are
increasingly characterized by such characteristics as a high degree of
tension, the presence of cross-border, ethnoreligious
contradictions, and the indirect influence of various international
forces on the development of the situation. As a rule, the study of
conflicts focuses on the role of authorities and formal structures at
both the national and international levels. Accordingly, it is believed
that both the violence and the peace are solely political decisions of
the authorities. While this is partly true, in this article I would like to
look at the other side of the coin, namely, to study the non-
governmental component of conflicts.
Representatives of civil society, play an increasing role in today's
increasingly complex and multidimensional conflicts. Such conflicts
lend themselves to analysis only if society is studied at the macro
and micro levels. The only microanalysis makes it possible to
identify political signals coming from below, that is, from civil
society, both bad and good, and to trace how they reach the highest
echelons of power. This is especially true for societies that are
characterized by a high degree of fragmentation in the absence of
established governing bodies. It is in such failing states, engulfed in
ethnopolitical conflicts, that the "lower classes" play a key role in
political life. Thus, to understand what becomes the immediate
impetus for violence, it is necessary to concentrate on studying
political processes at the micro-level.
The conflicts in Syria, Libya, Ukraine, and Karabakh, as well as the
historical conflicts in Rwanda, Cyprus, Mozambique, East Timor,
the former Yugoslavia, or the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, are good
examples of the significant role civil society organizations play in
conflict societies.

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Need for Women Organizations in Post Conflict Societies

Women living in conflict regions are united for many reasons.

Often women gather to change that,
that they seem wrong in their society, or for that, support each
other. Introduction to an organization or the creation of the new
can be one of the means of processing the trauma of war. The
possibility to share their painful memories helps to ease the
feeling of hatred and start thinking about the future.
Therefore, the organization can open access to politics.
Discussion of problems and their possible solutions helps women
it is better to prepare for the promotion of proposals on changes
in society.
There are many different types of women's organizations. Part
organizations have significant experience and knowledge on
issues of human rights, others perform multifaceted social tasks,
first of all, by working with internally displaced persons (IDPs), in
refugee camps, or connecting with the return of refugees. There
are also women's organizations that focus on regulation conflicts
and work to achieve reconciliation, so why, through a women's
union from an opposing group or states. Some organizations are
fighting against different forms of violence against women.
Regardless of the direction of activity, these organizations have a
huge value for attracting attention to missions at different stages
of the peace process. Speech can go about based on questions
that protect the rights of women and children, or about the
conduct of political campaigns for representation of women in
local, national, or international bodies, or the general change of
patriarchal structures and institutions.
Those organizations that emerged independently are coming out
own desire to change the position of things, have the smallest
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chances to become strong, and have an impact on the
development of society. At the initial stage, the attraction of
large economic resources is not usually required, but for the
development of activities and activities, their ideas to
organizations need long-term financial and moral support The
most important value for the international community the
community has the recognition of local organizations that exist and
work in places, as they possess huge knowledge and understanding
of the problems and needs of their region. These organizations need
support and encouragement, but they don't should be deprived of
their initiative - that which easily happens
when the international community is looking for quick results.
Sustained change in values and society as a whole has never
happens fast.

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