Azernews.Az

By Vafa Ismayilova

Human Rights Commissioner Sabina Aliyeva has urged the EU to put pressure on Armenia to provide to Azerbaijan maps of minefields on territories liberated from occupation in 2020, Trend has reported.

Aliyeva made the relevant remarks at a meeting with a delegation led by EU Special Representative for the South Caucasus and the Crisis in Georgia Toivo Klaar. The meeting was also attended by the head of the EU delegation to Azerbaijan Kestutis Jankauskas.

The rights commissioner said that Armenia had not provided Azerbaijan with a map of minefields on the liberated territories, as a result of which civilians continue to be killed and wounded. She stressed that the case also prevented IDPs from returning to their native lands after the war ended, and called on the EU to put pressure on Armenia over the issue, Trend said.

Aliyeva reminded of flagrant human rights violations by Armenia during the 44-day war and stressed that relevant statements, appeals, open letters, and reports had been sent to international organizations, including the EU.

The sides also discussed the 44-day war and the post-war human rights situation.

Aliyeva emphasized that banned weapons had been used against Azerbaijani civilians in Naftalan, Tartar, Ganja, and Barda cities during the war (resulting in death and injury of many civilians). She spoke about the visits of missions to the aforesaid cities to assess the facts, as well as the reports drawn up on the basis of the collected proofs.

In turn, Toivo Klaar highly appreciated the work of the ombudsperson's office, noting his interest in further cooperation.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on February 26 described Armenia’s failure to provide the maps of mined areas in liberated lands as the main difficulty for Azerbaijani IPDs to return to their homes. He said that this can also be considered to be a war crime as several servicemen and civilians were killed in mine blasts on liberated territories after the war.

On November 10, Baku and Yerevan signed a Moscow-brokered deal that brought an end to six weeks of fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan. The Azerbaijani army declared a victory against the Armenian troops. The signed agreement obliged Armenia to withdraw its troops from the Azerbaijani lands that it has occupied since the early 1990s.

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