Nagorno Garabagh

The rule of law shall be basis of international relations and conflict resolution processes, Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hikmat Hajiyev said at a press conference on Monday, APA reports.

He recalled that Azerbaijan’s First Vice-President Mehriban Aliyeva during her meeting with members of the CIS Council of Interior Ministers comprehensively pointed out the ongoing illegal economic activities in Azerbaijan’s occupied territories.

“The Foreign Ministry of Azerbaijan prepared such fundamental documents as a report “Illegal economic and other activities in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan” and “Legal opinion on third party obligations with respect to illegal economic and other activities in occupied territories of Azerbaijan,” Hajiyev said.

He noted that Armenia’s illegal economic and other activities are classified as establishment of settlements/encouraging transfer of Armenian population into the occupied territories, exploitation and trade of natural recourses of Azerbaijan, economic and financial activities, change in infrastructure and exploitation of the telecommunication network, alteration of the cultural character and heritage of the occupied territories, promotion of the occupied territories as a touristic destination, organization of illegal visits and other activities.

Hajiyev emphasized that Armenia is responsible for internationally wrongful acts, several of which constitute serious breaches of obligations arising from peremptory norms of general international law. These include, most notably:

- The use of force in order to impose the de facto secession of the Nagorno-Karabakh region and other districts of Azerbaijan occupied by Armenia in violation of the Charter of the United Nations;

- The ensuing violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan;

- The ethnic cleansing of the occupied territories of Azerbaijan, including the establishment of settlements and the transfer of populations resulting in the change of the demographic composition of those territories;

- The gross violations of the law of belligerent occupation, in particular of article 43 of the Regulations respecting the Laws and Customs of War on Land of 1907 and article 49 of the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War of 1949;

- The exploitation of the natural recourses of the occupied territories without consideration for the primacy of the interests of the population (as it existed before the ethnic cleansing of the region);

- The alteration of the cultural heritage of the region.

The foreign ministry spokesperson added that mentioned serious breaches call for the application of the special consequences resulting from aggravated responsibility namely:

- The non-recognition of the situation created by such breaches;

- The prohibition of aid or assistance in maintaining that situation;

- The exclusion of any immunities for the authors of these breaches

- All States are required to invoke responsibility and to take measures against it, including by means of sanctions, as well as criminal prosecutions and civil proceedings.

Hajiyev noted that the rule of law shall be basis of international relations and conflict resolution processes.

“We call on international community, relevant international organizations, OSCE Minsk Group co-chair states, foreign legal and natural persons to take into consideration Legal Opinion on third party obligations with respect to illegal economic and other activities in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan and other fundamental legal reports regarding legal aspects of Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict,” he added.