ArmInfo. In the process of delimitation and demarcation of the border in the Tavush region, the rights and safety of the local population should be considered. This is stated in a joint statement by several Western-oriented non-governmental human rights organizations.
"The undersigned public organizations and human rights activists express deep concern about the methods and pace of delimitation and demarcation of the border between the Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Azerbaijan in the Tavush region in recent days. It is clear that the demarcation process between the two states is important, but it must be carried out in strict accordance with the principles of international law and the requirements of the internal legislation of Armenia.
Firstly, according to the statement of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia, the demarcation of the border is carried out under the threat of obvious aggression against the Republic of Armenia, which already gives reason to assert that the delimitation and demarcation of the border is not carried out on the basis of international law," the statement says.
Human rights organizations state that real and stable peace in the region can only be established if the use of force and the threat of force are excluded. In this vein, attention is drawn to the fact that to this day Azerbaijan has not taken any real and effective steps to withdraw its armed forces from the territories occupied as a result of attacks on the Republic of Armenia and invasion of the RA sovereign territory (both as a result of attacks back in the 1990s and in 2021 -2022).
The statement also draws attention to the fact that, according to statements by the executive power of Armenia, border demarcation processes are carried out on the basis of the principle of transforming the administrative borders of the USSR into a state border, in accordance with the principle of uti possidetis. "At the same time, the other day the head of the Armenian Foreign Ministry once again stated that Azerbaijan is avoiding unequivocal confirmation that it will be guided by the administrative borders inherited from the USSR and will be the legal successor of these borders.
Without a written agreement on the fundamental principle of maintaining inherited borders, whether administrative or state, and considerin Azerbaijan's claim to be the successor to the First Republic, which create the basis for territorial ambitions regarding Armenia, and military attacks on Armenian territory, and also, in the context of the development of the narrative about the so-called "Western Azerbaijan", which includes the entire territory of the Republic of Armenia, legitimate delimitation cannot continue.
At the same time, demarcation is carried out without observing the proper legal procedures provided for by the legislation of the Republic of Armenia. It is carried out on the basis of the consent of the demarcation commissions, which still do not have a clear and pre-adopted scope of powers and work regulations, which cannot be considered a legal process based on the Constitution of the Republic of Armenia and other legal acts," the statement further says. In this regard, attention is drawn to the fact that demarcation in this manner contradicts the internal legislation of the Republic of Armenia and the government's approaches regarding the demarcation of the state border between Armenia and Georgia.
Human rights NGOs remind that the RA Law "On the State Border" requires that the Republic, when establishing and changing the state border and regulating relations with bordering states, be guided by the following principles: protection of the territorial integrity of the RA; ensuring the security of the Republic of Armenia and fulfilling accepted international obligations; multilateral mutually beneficial cooperation with foreign countries; peaceful resolution of border issues. The statement notes that the current demarcation processes are not based on the protection of the territorial integrity of the Republic of Armenia, since the deoccupation of the territory of the Republic of Armenia is not part of the agreements, and this process is carried out with the threat of the use of force.
"The security of the Republic of Armenia, as well as the protection of the rights and legitimate interests of citizens of the Republic, as provided for by the Constitution of Armenia and international obligations, is also not ensured. Ensuring the rights and safety of citizens living in the border areas of the Republic of Armenia is mandatory," human rights NGOs further emphasize.
Human rights activists state that the ongoing policy of Armenophobia in Azerbaijan at the state level, war crimes committed by the Azerbaijani armed forces against Armenians in recent years, including the killing of civilians (beheadings, executions, torture, direct attacks), the constant destruction of the Armenian cultural heritage and traces of the Armenian identity, the forced displacement of the entire population of Artsakh from their homeland and complete impunity for all heinous crimes, the deployment of Azerbaijani forces, including border guards, in close proximity to vital civilian areas creates serious and real security threats.
It is noted that the undersigned human rights organizations have recorded many facts of alleged war crimes committed by the border troops of Azerbaijan during the war that Azerbaijan waged against the Nagorno- Karabakh Republic since September 27, 2020, including the killing of prisoners of war, torture of corpses, and torment. Moreover, a group of Armenian servicemen is still considered missing after coming under the control of the Azerbaijani border troops.
In this vein, NGOs recalled the illegal actions and crimes committed by Azerbaijani border guards against the residents of Syunik since 2020, including deliberate shelling in direction of villages and houses, attacks on civilians, cases of animal theft, closure of the Goris-Kapan road, intimidation of people traveling along the road, including children.
Human rights organizations believe that a similar situation could also develop in Tavush, given that the RA-Georgia interstate road will pass through supposedly "Azerbaijani territories", and Azerbaijani troops will be directly deployed near the homes of civilians. As a result, vital infrastructure facilities and schools will be under direct target of the Azerbaijani armed forces, including, for example, the Kirants school, since the village will be located only 70 meters from the proposed border with Azerbaijan.
"As a result of demarcation, the property of a number of citizens, including houses, land will be located in allegedly Azerbaijani territory or in close proximity to the border, which will make it impossible to use this property. In addition, it is also necessary to state that the authorities of the Republic of Armenia, represented by the Prime Minister, do not exclude the possibility other threats and the use of military force by Azerbaijan even after the demarcation of the border. And in these conditions, it becomes mandatory to apply international law and generally accepted experience and principles in the process of delimitation and demarcation," the NGOs noted, adding that these actions will lead to the encirclement of the villages of Kirants, Voskepar and Kayan and their subsequent devastation.
The NGOs also touched upon the actions of the police against demonstrators in the village of Kirants and emphasized the unacceptability of violence against civilians and their detention. "The police, within the framework of their powers, are obliged to ensure the rights and freedoms, dignity and public safety of residents and every person. The suppression of legitimate concerns and struggles of residents by the police is illegitimate and can cause residents to have an even greater sense of insecurity and mistrust," the human rights organizations added.
In this regard, NGOs demanded that the Armenian government, in the process of demarcation and demarcation with Azerbaijan, rely on the norms and principles of international law, strictly comply with the requirements of the Constitution of the Republic of Armenia and other legal acts; guarantee the rights and safety of residents of border villages as defined by the Constitution in the process of demarcation and demarcation; review the composition of the Commission and working groups on delimitation and demarcation issues with the involvement of international law specialists, cartographers and other relevant specialists; provide transparency, predictability and certainty to the public in delimitation processes, including delimitation principles and the tools used; refrain from unilateral actions that do not ensure the protection and security of the territorial integrity of the Republic of Armenia.
The statement was signed: Protection of Rights without Borders ; Helsinki Citizens' Assembly-Vanadzor, Transparency Transparency International Anti-Corruption Cente, Helsinki Association for Human Rights, human rights activist Zaruhi Hovhannisyan.