Azerbaijan exposes Armenia's war crimes at UN Congress

9 March 2021 14:00 (UTC+04:00)

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By Vafa Ismayilova

Azerbaijan has exposed Armenia's war crimes at the UN Congress that kicked off in Japan's Kyoto on March 7, the Justice Ministry press service has reported.

At the session, Azerbaijani Justice Minister Fikrat Mammadov who spoke on behalf of Azerbaijan and 120 NAM (Non-Aligned Movement) member states, talked about Armenia’s three-decade occupation of Azerbaijani lands, Yerevan’s use of hired terrorists from foreign countries in the 44-day war, the purchase of weapons and ammunition by the Armenian diaspora through deception and other illegal means, sending them to the conflict zone on flights of civilian airlines under the pretext of humanitarian aid.

It was noted that during the occupation, infrastructure was destroyed on the liberated territories, historical, cultural and religious monuments were destroyed and looted, illegal economic activities had been carried out, and other criminal acts had been taken.

Mammadov drew the attention of the Congress participants and the entire international legal community to Armenia's criminal actions and appealed to all states over bringing to justice those responsible for those actions threatening peace.

Speaking at the event on behalf of the NAM, a statement was issued reflecting the Movement's position on issues arising from the agenda of the Kyoto Congress. The statement, which was agreed with all NAM member states, in line with Azerbaijan's proposal, emphasized the need to prevent the use of charitable organizations to finance terrorism, expressed concern about acts of vandalism during the conflict, destruction or looting of cultural heritage, and also contained calls for the return of illegally exported cultural property to their rightful owners, the ministry website said.

"Trying to avoid these well-grounded accusations, which attracted the attention of the congress participants, the Armenian side made fabricated statements against our country and Turkey, however, their lies were completely exposed by the weighty evidence of the Azerbaijani delegation," the report added.

In his speech, which was broadcast live on the UN website, the Azerbaijani justice minister also focused on the decisive measures to prevent crime in Azerbaijan under President Ilham Aliyev's leadership, large-scale reforms to improve the efficiency of the justice system, the use of the electronic court, Azerbaijan's high international ratings in these areas, important steps taken to humanize the penal policy in our country, serious work to combat corruption, and also spoke about the Azerbaijani brand ASAN Service, which is perceived abroad with great interest, the report said.

During the meeting, the Kyoto Declaration aimed at strengthening measures to combat global crime was adopted. This important five-year program document fully reflects the provisions that meet our national interests on the basis of Azerbaijan's proposals, the ministry reported.

The plenary session is held within the framework of the 14th UN Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice and will last until March 12.

The Azerbaijani delegation, which is led by Justice Minister Fikrat Mammadov, also includes Azerbaijani ambassador to Japan Gursel Alizade, officials from the justice, interior and foreign ministries.