Unsettled Nagorno-Karabakh conflict causes rise in number of victims
By Aynur Karimova
The number of victims of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is on the rise due to the fact that this conflict still remains unsettled as a consequence of Armenia’s destructive stance.
This was noted by Colonel General Eldar Mahmudov, Azerbaijan’s National Security Minister and the Chairman of the State Commission on Prisoners of War, Hostages and Missing People, at a meeting with Patrick Vial, the Regional Director for Europe and Central Asia of the International Committee of the Red Cross in Baku on October 14.
“It will not be possible to eliminate the humanitarian crisis unless the status quo changes,” he said.
Armenia occupied over 20 percent of Azerbaijan's internationally recognized territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent regions, after laying territorial claims against its South Caucasus neighbor, causing a brutal war in the early 1990s. As a result of the military aggression of Armenia, over 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed, over 4,000 were reported missing, almost 100,000 were injured and 50,000 were left disabled.
The minister noted that the State Commission has registered 4,013 Azerbaijani citizens as missing persons, 1,434 people were set free from Armenian captivity during the conflict and the commission’s working group has in recent years learned of the fates of another 1,078 people.
“Military operations were conducted in the occupied Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan and in adjacent regions. The people who are being searched for today have gone missing in these territories. The opposite side is mostly informed about missing, unknown and mass graves. However, Armenia still avoids giving information about mass graves and the people who can give testimony in connection with captives and hostages taken during the conflict,” Mahmudov added.
The minister further reminded that in 2014, Azerbaijani citizens Dilgam Asgarov and Shahbaz Guliyev were taken hostage by Armenian soldiers on their way to Azerbaijan’s occupied Kalbajar region to visit the graves of their relatives; Hasan Hasanov was killed. The process of returning Hasanov’s body lasted three months.
Vial, for his part, expressed satisfaction with discussions held so far and their outcomes, and expressed gratitude for comprehensive and sustainable assistance in this regard.
Earlier Vial was received by Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov where the sides discussed cooperation between Azerbaijan and the ICRC regarding prisoners of war and missing persons.
During the meeting, which was held in Baku on October 13, Mammadyarov said that Armenia should demonstrate a constructive position concerning prisoners of war and missing persons, a purely humanitarian issue.
The minister noted that the increase in cases of civilians shootings by the Armenian Armed Forces is unacceptable, and the incident that occurred on September 1, 2015 when the Armenian military fired at civilians taking part in a wedding ceremony in Terter region's Gapanli village from Azerbaijan's occupied territories is a flagrant violation of international law.
Mammadyarov also touched upon the settlement of Syrians of Armenian origin in Azerbaijan's occupied territories by Armenia, stressing that this is contrary to international humanitarian law, and this issue should be investigated on the basis of the ICRC mandate.
Vial, in turn, expressed pleasure in the cooperation between Azerbaijan and the ICRC, which spans more than 20 years, and appreciated his first trip to the country during his visit to the region.
He also expressed confidence that the agreement reached at the 2014 Paris meeting of Azerbaijani and Armenian Presidents on the exchange of information about missing persons would yield positive results.
During the Baku visit, the ICRC official also met with by Azerbaijan's Deputy Prime Minister and the Chairman of the State Committee for Refugee and IDP Affairs, Ali Hasanov to mull ICRC’s projects along the contact line of Azerbaijani and Armenian troops.
Azerbaijan, a country which has suffered through the last 25 years from the refugee problem, has one of the largest per capita internally displaced persons and refugees burden in the world.
The number of Azerbaijani refugees and IDPs from the occupied by Armenia Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent regions of Azerbaijan is above one million.
Over the years, Azerbaijani government together with international community has provided significant resources towards the improvement of overall living conditions for this group of population.
This has resulted, first of all, in better housing conditions and a significant decline in the poverty rate among the IDPs and refugees.
Despite the enormous efforts made by the government, the total solution of IDP problems is still very difficult to achieve as About 400,000 IDPs continue to live under difficult conditions in old and unsuitable houses.
The full restoration of the human rights of IDPs and refugees requires a resolution of the conflict.
Azerbaijan’s position in this issue is crystal clear: all the internationally recognized territories of Azerbaijan under Armenian occupation must be liberated and the right of IDPs to return to their homes and properties must be ensured. In that regard, the Azerbaijani government has developed a comprehensive repatriation program called the “Great Return” to enable the IDPs to realize their rights to return to their homes and to access to their properties as soon as Armenia withdraw its troops from the occupied Azerbaijani territories.
Long-standing efforts by U.S., Russian and French mediators have been largely fruitless so far. The UN Security Council has passed four resolutions on the Armenian withdrawal from Azerbaijani territories, but they have not been enforced to this day.
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Aynur Karimova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Aynur_Karimova
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