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Qabil Ashirov

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At the 52nd regular session of the UN Human Rights Council, the issue of illegal exploitation and looting of Azerbaijan's natural resources by Armenian companies was brought up, Azernews reports.

Speaking at the meeting, Vice President of the Youth Parliament of Sustainable Development Goals (YPSDG) Julia Rosso said that large-scale illegal exploitation of gold deposits and other natural resources was carried out in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan. She pointed out that the natural resources of Azerbaijan were intensively looted by Armenian companies and people invited from abroad. This has led the air, water, and soil pollution, deforestation, biodiversity loss, and habitat loss.

The YPSDG official emphasized that this exploitation was illegal and did not comply with international requirements, which became even more serious because of the environmental damage.

The speaker recalled that during the 30-year occupation, the once-protected areas suffered considerable damage, which had a negative impact on the environment of the species living there. An example of this is the destruction of a rare sycamore forest in the Zangilan district. Noting that the sycamore forest in Zangilan was once considered the second-largest forest in the world and the largest in Europe, the speaker called the destruction of this area another sign of environmental terrorism.

She noted that the massive destruction of the ecosystem, characterized as "ecocide" and requiring criminal responsibility, took place in Karabakh.

The vice-president of the YPSDG called for a careful approach to the post-conflict territories, to change the behavior that violates the principles of territorial integrity of another state, to adhere to a number of conventions and resolutions prohibiting the destruction of movable and immovable property of the state whose territory is occupied, and to the UN environmental standard.

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