Rights commissioner calls for int'l sanctions against Armenia
By Ayya Lmahamad
Azerbaijan’s Human Rights Commissioner (Ombudsman) Sabina Aliyeva has called the world community and international organizations for the imposition of appropriate sanctions on Armenia, which committed numerous war crimes in gross violation of international law.
Sabina Aliyeva made the remarks in a statement made on the occasion of the first anniversary of cluster bomb attacks of Armenian armed forces on the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan main export oil pipeline.
“On the first anniversary of the cluster bomb firing of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan Main Export Oil Pipeline, once again appealing to the world community and international organizations, I call for the imposition of appropriate sanctions on Armenia, which committed numerous war crimes resulting in the killing of civilians in gross violation of international law and international humanitarian law,” she stated.
Aliyeva called to take decisive and fair steps to bring to justice all those responsible in Armenia's political and military leadership, who were directly involved in the perpetration of the said crimes.
She recalled that on October 6, 2020, the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline in Yevlakh region, located far away from the area of active hostilities, came under cluster munitions fires of the Armenian armed forces.
Aliyeva underlined that scattering fragments of over 300 cluster munitions which fell into 10 meters from the oil pipeline, which is of great strategic economic and political importance, and in terms of energy security for the entire region and Europe, posed serious threats to the life and health of Azerbaijani civilians.
“In this regard, I have sent public appeals to the world community and international organizations for harshly responding to war crimes committed by Armenia and taking immediate actions to deter such criminal acts that may have serious effects on the energy security of Europe and emerging ecological atrocities,” the statement read.
The rights commissioner stressed that no effective actions were taken at the international level in response to such a wrongful act as many other war crimes perpetrated by Armenia.
“Nevertheless, the war crime committed by firing the oil pipeline of international significance with prohibited weaponry targeted not against the state of Azerbaijan, but also the regional and European states as a whole, tempted to undermine global energy security and cause serious environmental consequences for the region,” Aliyeva said.
Starting from September 27, 2020, the Armenian armed forces did not suffice to deliberately and intensively attack civilian areas in Azerbaijan located far from the conflict zone through the use of internationally banned munitions, including operational-tactical missile complexes, and continued its war crimes by committing atrocities, which may lead to serious environmental damages in the region and Europe’s energy security.
On October 6, 2020, Armenia fired a forbidden cluster missile at the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) oil pipeline in Yevlakh region. The bomb landed 10 meters away from the pipeline. Over 300 cluster bomblets ejected around as a result of the attack.
Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan takes Azerbaijani energy resources to European markets via Georgia and Turkey and is the largest strategic project in the region that plays an important role in Europe's energy security.
A Moscow-brokered ceasefire deal that Baku and Yerevan signed on November 10, 2020, 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.
The peace agreement stipulated the return of Azerbaijan's Armenian-occupied Kalbajar, Aghdam and Lachin regions and urged Armenia to withdraw its troops from the Azerbaijani lands that it has occupied since the early 1990s. Before the signing of the deal, the Azerbaijani army had liberated around 300 villages, settlements, city centers, and historic Shusha city.
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Ayya Lmahamad is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @AyyaLmahamad
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