Nagorno Karabakh asks UN Security Council permanent members to adopt resolution imposing peace

YEREVAN, JULY 18, ARMENPRESS. The Parliament of Nagorno Karabakh has asked the permanent members of the UN Security Council to adopt an imperative resolution to initiate practical steps to impose peace in Nagorno Karabakh (Artsakh).

In a statement adopted on July 21, the parliament of Nagorno Karabakh called on the Government of Armenia to “take immediate measures” to vest the peacekeeping mission in Nagorno Karabakh with an international mandate by requesting the UN Security Council and the UN General Assembly to take proper action to preserve peace and security in the region.

It also called on the international community, in person of the permanent members of the UNSC, to adopt an imperative resolution and initiate practical measures to impose peace in Artsakh pursuant to the goals and principles enshrined in the UN Charter’s Chapter 1 and guided by Chapter 7.

“The Republic of Artsakh is committed to saving its people from the disaster of war, to reiterating faith for the fundamental human rights and freedoms, and equal rights of large and small nations, thus it expects from these organizations to create the kind of conditions that would ensure respect towards obligations stemming from the norms of international law, and promote the safeguarding of the dignified life of the Artsakh people in conditions of freedom,” reads a part of the resolution.

It noted that under the 9 November 2020 trilateral agreement, Russia – which deployed peacekeepers to Nagorno Karabakh - exercised the provisions of the UN Charter’s Chapter 6 on Pacific Settlement of Disputes, bringing the dispute settlement to the framework of mediation, consent and negotiations, but this has been undermined by Azerbaijan’s continuous aggression which created a regional crisis with the involvement of the direct and indirect parties to the conflict.

“On the other hand, the subjectivity and the expression of will of the Republic of Artsakh and its people continue to be ignored. The people of Artsakh exercised its right to self-determination in line with well-known norms and principles of the international law and the USSR legislation, proclaiming the Nagorno Karabakh (Artsakh) Republic on September 2, 1991, and then holding an independence referendum on December 10,” reads the statement adopted by parliament.

It added that the Russian peacekeepers in Nagorno Karabakh don’t have an international mandate and that this greenlights Azerbaijan to commit violations, jeopardizing regional security and stability.

The statement says that the blockade of Lachin Corridor by Azerbaijan, Azerbaijan’s disruption of infrastructures, continuous terror against civilians, promotion of ethnic hatred, deliberate destruction of Armenian churches and historical and cultural landmarks constitutes a policy of ethnic cleansing which amounts to a crime against humanity.

Lachin Corridor, the only road connecting Nagorno Karabakh with Armenia and the rest of the world, has been blocked by Azerbaijan since late 2022. The Azerbaijani blockade constitutes a gross violation of the 2020 Nagorno Karabakh ceasefire agreement, which established that the 5km-wide Lachin Corridor shall be under the control of Russian peacekeepers. Furthermore, on February 22, 2023 the United Nations’ highest court – the International Court of Justice (ICJ) - ordered Azerbaijan to “take all steps at its disposal” to ensure unimpeded movement of persons, vehicles and cargo along the Lachin Corridor in both directions. Azerbaijan has been ignoring the order ever since. Moreover, Azerbaijan then illegally installed a checkpoint on Lachin Corridor. The blockade has led to shortages of essential products such as food and medication. Azerbaijan has also cut off gas and power supply into Nagorno Karabakh, with officials warning that Baku seeks to commit ethnic cleansing against Armenians in Nagorno Karabakh. Hospitals have suspended normal operations and the Red Cross has been facilitating the medical evacuations of patients.