Azerbaijan brags about how it cannot be stopped, not by int’l community, and even by binding order of ECHR - counsel

YEREVAN, JANUARY 30, ARMENPRESS. The humanitarian crisis resulting from the blockade of Lachin corridor by Azerbaijan continues and will continue as long as the International Court of Justice hasn’t urgently intervened, Armenia’s counsel at the world court Constantinos Salonidis said during the International Court of Justice public hearing on Armenia’s request for provisional measures against Azerbaijan in the case of Armenia v. Azerbaijan (Application of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (Armenia v. Azerbaijan) - Request for the indication of provisional measures).

Armenia requests the following provisional measures: Azerbaijan shall cease its orchestration and support of the alleged protests blocking uninterrupted free movement along the Lachin corridor in both directions, Azerbaijan shall ensure uninterrupted free movement of all persons, vehicles and cargo along the Lachin corridor in both directions, and Azerbaijan shall immediately and fully restore and refrain from disrupting or impeding the provision of natural gas and other public utilities to Nagorno Karabakh.

Constantinos Salonidis first spoke about irreparable prejudice in the present case.

He said that the court has the power to indicate provisional measures when irreparable prejudice would be caused to rights which are the subject to judicial proceedings, or when the disregard of such rights may entail irreparable consequences.

By requesting provisional measures Armenia seeks to protect the rights of the ethnic Armenians under the convention.

The counsel substantiated the use of provisional measures by the factor of urgency.

Addressing the court Constantinos Salonidis said, “Madam President, distinguished Members of the Court, any suggestion that this situation can be addressed through the trickle of supplies that is allowed to go in is cynical. The same is true of any suggestion that emergency and routine medical care of 120,000 people should be contingent on negotiated ICRC transfers, as if in a time of war. Nothing short of a full lifting of the blockade and unhindered resumption of the provision of public utilities will bring relief to the victims of this unnecessary and cruel blockade. In this conclusion, Armenia is not alone. This conclusion is shared by the international community at large. As you see on your screens, calls abound for Azerbaijan to immediately and fully end the blockade and to urgently guarantee unimpeded access. This is necessary in order to avert humanitarian catastrophe, the risk of which grows each day. Following Azerbaijan’s failure to respect the interim measure ordered by the European Court of Human Rights, the President of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe similarly expressed her concern about the increasingly precarious humanitarian situation of the ethnic Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh and called on the relevant authorities to quickly restore freedom of movement along the corridor in order to avoid further deterioration of the situation.

Yet, as we heard from Mr. Martin, such calls fall on willfully deaf ears. Azerbaijan brags openly about how it cannot be stopped, not by the international community, and not even by a binding order of the Court in Strasbourg. Madam President, distinguished Members of the Court, the progressive deterioration of the situation is obvious, as is the collective trauma already inflicted on the ethnic Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh. With respect, these circumstances do not just entail an imminent risk of irreparable harm, they are causing such irreparable harm in real time, with the scope, scale and gravity of the harm compounding with each passing hour. The Court has previously granted provisional measures to protect rights under the CERD after finding that the affected populations remain vulnerable. The people of Nagorno-Karabakh are not just vulnerable, they are enduring for 50 days now a humanitarian crisis and I am afraid they will continue to without the Court’s urgent intervention.”