David Babayan Addresses the Secretary General of the Council of Europe

David Babayan, the Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Artsakh, has sent a letter to Maria Pejčinović, the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, regarding the closure of the road connecting Artsakh to Armenia by Azerbaijan. This information has been reported by the Artsakh Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The letter states that Azerbaijan has violated the fundamental rights of approximately 120,000 individuals residing in Nagorno-Karabakh, including children, the elderly, persons with disabilities, and women. It emphasizes that Azerbaijan does not respect the provisions of the European Convention on Human Rights, which guarantees the rights of everyone, including those living in conflict zones, to life, freedom of movement, and security.

In this context, the letter calls for:
– the utilization of the full toolkit of the Council of Europe to eliminate Azerbaijan's illegal and inhumane blockade of the population of Nagorno-Karabakh,
– the dispatch of a Council of Europe observation mission to the area to prevent further violations of the Convention,
– the suspension of Azerbaijan's representation rights in the organization due to violations of Article 3 of the Council of Europe’s Statute by Azerbaijan.

Copies of the letter have also been sent to the President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, the Commissioner for Human Rights, and the Secretary General of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe for their information.