Armenia appeals to UN Security Council
The Armenian government appealed to the UN Security Council with a demand to convene an emergency meeting, connected “with the deterioration of the humanitarian situation due to the forced complete blockade of the civilian population of Nagorno-Karabakh.”
“Under the current circumstances, the Government of Armenia requests the intervention of the UN Security Council as the main body for ensuring global security and preventing mass crimes, including war crimes, ethnic cleansing, crimes against humanity and genocide,” a letter from Armenia’s permanent representative to the UN says.
This step by official Yerevan was welcomed by the authorities of the unrecognized NKR. Representatives of the civil society of Armenia also made a statement. They called on the UN Security Council to adopt a resolution condemning the blockade and demanding the immediate unblocking of the Lachin corridor.
Although the message of the Armenian Foreign Ministry about the appeal to the UN does not mention the possibility of the adoption of a resolution by the Security Council, Armenian political scientists believe that this is the main goal. Some experts consider this likely, while others do not exclude that a permanent member of the Security Council will use the right of veto and the adoption of the resolution will fail. The permanent members of the Security Council are the USA, France, Great Britain, Russia and China. When the meeting of the Security Council will take place is still unknown.
“Armenians of NK on verge of humanitarian catastrophe”
This is stated in a letter to the Chairman of the UN Security Council from the Permanent Representative of Armenia Mher Margaryan. He described in detail the situation in NK as a result of the blockade. He stressed that all types of humanitarian supplies have been stopped for a long time, which is why there is an acute shortage of food, medicines and fuel.
“Due to lack of basic food and vitamins, about 2,000 pregnant women, about 30,000 children, 20,000 elderly people and 9,000 people with disabilities are struggling to survive in conditions of malnutrition. People with chronic diseases, including 4,687 people with diabetes and 8,450 people with diseases of the circulatory system, were left virtually without medicines.
As a result of the current situation, there has been an increase in mortality from a number of diseases, including cardiovascular diseases and malignant neoplasms. Between January and July, compared with the same period last year, the level of anemia among pregnant women under medical supervision reached about 90%, due to malnutrition and the absence or lack of appropriate medicines. In addition, hot weather conditions and the lack of disinfectants and medicines create the risk of epidemics in the region.”
The representative of Armenia points out that the actions of Azerbaijan are a gross violation of international humanitarian law. In addition, Baku does not comply with the decisions of the International Court of Justice. The letter states that Azerbaijan’s creation of conditions incompatible with life is a “mass crime against the indigenous people of NK”:
“The use of such collective punishment against the people of Nagorno-Karabakh poses an existential threat to them if people remain face to face with the aggressive policies of Azerbaijan.”
“We need to move to practical and effective steps”
The Foreign Ministry of the unrecognized NKR welcomed Armenia’s decision to appeal to the UN Security Council:
“This can put an end to the massive gross violations of human rights by Azerbaijan in Artsakh and stop the policy of genocide consistently and systematically pursued by Azerbaijan.”
An appeal was also made to the Security Council to properly respond to the situation and decide on the implementation of “necessary, urgent and effective measures aimed at the immediate, complete and unconditional unblocking of the Lachin corridor.”
“We call and demand from all the main actors not to delay the decision-making and not to wait for more large-scale tragedies, to take practical and effective steps to stop the further course of this genocide. Delay costs human lives and suffering,” President of the unrecognized republic Arayik Harutyunyan said.
“Make a commitment to protect people”
Armenian NGOs appealed to the member states of the UN Security Council with a call “to undertake the obligation to protect the Armenians from the genocide and ethnic cleansing organized by Azerbaijan in Nagorno-Karabakh.” Representatives of civil society believe that the risks of these crimes are real:
“This is confirmed by international independent criminal law experts, genocide experts and specialized organizations.
In the event of a repetition of this tragedy with the Armenian people in the 21st century, the responsibility will fall on the members of the UN Security Council and the states that actually supported Azerbaijan, which is committing international crimes – genocide and ethnic cleansing.”
NGOs called on the UN Security Council to achieve the immediate unblocking of the Lachin corridor, the unhindered movement of people, vehicles and goods, in accordance with the decision of the UN Hague Court of February 22.
It is expected that urgent measures will be taken to bring an international peacekeeping mission into NK and the Lachin corridor. The UN Secretary General has proposed to send a fact-finding mission to the region, and to appoint his own special representative for the conflict in NK to ensure a long-term presence in the region.
Comments
Political scientist Tigran Grigoryan considers the adoption of a resolution on the Karabakh issue in the UN Security Council likely:
“It seems that none of the permanent members of the UN Security Council should use the right of veto, the majority of the members of the Security Council should vote for the resolution. I assume that the relevant work has been done with Russia.”
He recalled the discussion in the UN Security Council in December 2022, during which “several countries, including Russia”, failed to adopt the statement:
“Now the situation on earth has changed significantly, it has become even more complicated. We are dealing with a serious humanitarian crisis. There is also an interim decision of the International Court of Justice. In addition, it seems that Armenia has worked quite actively with the permanent and non-permanent members of the Security Council.”
He thinks that Baku will still ignore the resolution, but if it is adopted, Azerbaijan will comment on it in a way that is desirable for itself. Therefore, according to Grigoryan, Armenia must ensure that the wording of the resolution cannot cause discrepancies. At the same time, he emphasizes that the adoption of the resolution itself can become “an important tool for Armenia and NK”.
Political observer Hakob Badalyan believes that Armenian society has formed a misconception about the UN Security Council as “a holy place where only our appeal is not enough to resolve issues important to us.”
“Can 5 permanent members of the Security Council have a practical influence on the policy of Azerbaijan, if
- for almost two years in active combat mode they have been busy redistributing the world,
- Baku’s policy enables each of them to resolve their issues.
They can, of course, if a more important mutual agreement is formed between them, even if it is temporary. And it will allow even if not completely restoring the previous normal mode of life, then at least it will solve the issue of the military and humanitarian security of Artsakh.”
In this case, according to the observer, there is a high probability that some time after the meeting of the UN Security Council there will be “another aggravation of the situation around Artsakh, this time, perhaps in the form of military operations.”
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Armenia appealed to the UN Security Council on the NK issue
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