ArmInfo. The Nagorno-Karabakh Republic is willing to cooperate with the UN in every possible way, NKR President's Spokesperson David Babayan has told ArmInfo's correspondent, when responding to the criticism of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights regarding the lack of opportunity to visit the Karabakh conflict zone starting from April 2016.
"I suppose the criticism was first of all addressed to Azerbaijan, where everyone is perfectly aware of the human rights situation in Azerbaijan. However, as always, the Azerbaijani side attempted to distort everything and shift the whole criticism on the authorities of Armenia and the NKR as if it is the Armenian side that creates obstacles for visits to Karabakh. If we attentively read the statement of the UN High Commissioner, we will see that it is addressed to the Azerbaijani side rather than to the Armenian one. By showing such a reaction, Azerbaijan demonstrates that it is already ready to recognize Karabakh as an independent state," Babayan says.
Babayan also thinks that the UN High Commissioner's statement contains a call for cooperation. "I think the statement suggests some cooperation with the NKR authorities. We are willing to cooperate with the UN. I should recall that in 2004 the UN representatives visited Karabakh and familiarized themselves with the living standards of people," he says.
He notes that the representatives of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights have repeatedly visited the so-called camps of refugees from Karabakh and that they perfectly know who lives there in fact.
Babayan points out that today the US Congress will hold hearings on human rights in Azerbaijan and such a response of Azerbaijan is a protective reaction on the threshold of the hearings. Babayan is also convinced that in the near future the UN High Commissioner will come out with even stronger targeted criticism about the human rights situation in Azerbaijan.
To note, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Prince Zeid bin Ra'ad has recently expressed regret over the fact that the employees of his Office cannot enter Crimea, Abkhazia, South Ossetia and Nagorno- Karabakh. He stressed that his Office keeps receiving reports about violations, including murders, detentions, torture, etc. Other problems concern the missing persons, the lack of opportunity to provide funds for education, administrative documentation, activities of civil society and independent media. He also recalled that starting from April 2016 his Office representatives have had no opportunity to visit the Karabakh conflict zone.