Mirzoyan: ‘The OHCHR Should Be Able to Verify Well-Documented Cases of Massive and Grave Human Rights Violations and War Crimes Committed by the Azerbaijani Armed Forces’
STEPANAKERT, NKR—The Nagorno-Karabagh Republic (Artsakh/NKR) Minister of Foreign Affairs Karen Mirzoyan appealed to United Nations (UN) High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra՝ad Al Hussein on Oct. 5, with regard to Al Hussein’s statement made at the opening of the 33rd session of the UN Human Rights Council on Sept. 13. During the statement, he had noted that his “office has had no access to the conflict situation in Nagorno-Karabagh, including since the events of April 2016”.
Karen Mirzoyan
In his letter to Al Hussein, the NKR Foreign Minister expressed regret that the UN High Commissioner had not been able to visit the NKR, not even after the Azerbaijani aggression this April.
“In our view, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) should be able to verify well-documented cases of massive and grave human rights violations and war crimes committed by the Azerbaijani Armed Forces both against Nagorno-Karabagh’s civilian population and its military personnel. We strongly believe that the international community has to react to these crimes in order to prevent their recurrence; otherwise, the impunity enjoyed by perpetrators would encourage further use of force by Azerbaijan against the people of Nagorno-Karabagh”, a part of the letter reads.
Assuring that NKR authorities are very open to have a genuine cooperation with the OHCHR, Mirzoyan invited the High Commissioner to visit Nagorno-Karabagh or to dispatch a team in order to make an impartial and objective assessment of the human rights situation and the crimes perpetrated against the people of Artsakh in April.
Source: Armenian Weekly
Link: NKR Foreign Minister Appeals to UN High Commissioner for Human Rights