Azerbaijani ombudsman upbeat about restoration of IDPs’ rights
By Vafa Ismayilova
Human rights commissioner Sabina Aliyeva has hailed the restoration of rights of all Azerbaijani IDPs and said that Baku will continue working with international rights bodies in the name of human rights and peace, Azertag reported.
Aliyeva made the remarks in her video message to the international community on the liberation of Azerbaijani territories and the restoration of rights of about one million IDPs.
“We will continue our collaboration with all respective international human rights organizations and human rights institutions in the name of human rights and peace,” Sabina Aliyeva said.
Aliyeva stressed the “historic significance” of a Russia-brokered peace deal signed between Baku and Yerevan.
“This statement has historic significance. This statement puts an end to the 30 years-long occupation of the territories of Azerbaijan and brought a long-awaited peace and stability to our region. Almost one million people who were once forcibly displaced from their homelands and became IDPs now will be able to return to their lands. We are happy that their rights have been ensured,” Aliyeva said.
The commissioner added that “Azerbaijan respects the human rights of all people who lived in Nagorno-Karabakh and did not displace anyone forcibly”.
She stressed that the Azerbaijani army launched a counter-offensive operation in its internationally recognized territory and liberated its occupied lands in compliance with international law.
“But Azerbaijan waited for 30 years hoping that Armenia will implement the relevant UN documents and restore the violated human rights of internally displaced persons. Unfortunately, no step has been taken in this regard. The human rights of those people and the demands of the well-known resolutions of the UN Security Council were ignored,” Aliyeva said.
She stressed that international documents must not be a piece of paper and they must be respected and implemented. Aliyeva noted that disrespect for international law can lead the world only to chaos.
“We are very sorry for those civilians who lost their lives in different regions of Azerbaijan. They had nothing to do with the battles in the conflict zone and lived far from it. But they were deliberately targeted with the ballistic missiles at their homes. Unfortunately, there were many human losses - children, women, elderly people. The civilians must not be a target in the battles. This is also the requirement of international humanitarian law.”
Ninety-four Azerbaijani civilians have been killed and hundreds of others have been injured in Armenia's armed attacks.
The Azerbaijani army liberated several cities and nearly 300 of its settlements and villages as well as some strategic heights from the occupation of Armenian forces during 44 days.
About 20 per cent of Azerbaijan's territory – including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent regions – had been under Armenian occupation for nearly three decades.
Armenia failed to implement four UN Security Council resolutions that urged the immediate and unconditional withdrawal of the invading forces from the occupied territories.
On November 10, Baku and Yerevan signed a Russia-brokered agreement to end fighting and work towards a comprehensive solution.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev hailed the agreement as a victory for his country and a defeat for Armenia, saying Baku's military success enabled it to gain an upper hand to end the three-decade occupation of its territory.
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