Organizations demand accountability for events in Nagorno-Karabakh
Published: Wednesday, Sep 18th 2024, 16:40
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One year after the surrender of the enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh to Azerbaijan, 13 human rights organizations are demanding justice for the displaced Armenians and the war crimes committed against them. The Federal Council should work to ensure that those responsible are held accountable.
The authoritarian South Caucasus republic of Azerbaijan will host the COP29 world climate conference in its capital Baku from November 11 to 22.
More than 100,000 Armenians were displaced after the government of the crisis region of Nagorno-Karabakh capitulated a year ago on Thursday. This was preceded by an almost ten-month siege of the internationally unrecognized republic proclaimed by Armenians. Azerbaijan received Russian and Turkish backing during the conquest.
Against this background, the 13 human rights and non-governmental organizations wrote on Wednesday that it was unacceptable for Azerbaijan to use the UN Climate Change Conference to whitewash itself of its crimes against humanity.
Like a number of parliamentary initiatives at cantonal and federal level, the organizations are calling on the Federal Council to ensure that Switzerland, together with other delegations, raises the issue of ethnic cleansing at the climate conference.
Further human rights violations and attacks by Azerbaijan on Armenia cannot be ruled out - especially after the conference. The organizations fear the destruction of Armenian cultural assets. Azerbaijan has announced that it will demolish all Armenian buildings erected in the last 32 years, they wrote.
The oil and gas-rich country on the Caspian Sea is an important energy supplier for the EU. During the early presidential election ordered by President Ilham Aliyev in February, the local authorities prevented Swiss election observer Nik Gugger (EPP/BE) from entering the country. After 20 years in power, Alijev was confirmed as the overwhelming winner.
In May, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi died in a helicopter while flying home from a meeting with him. In mid-August, Aliyev received Russian President Vladimir Putin on a state visit to the capital Baku for talks on a strategic partnership.
©Keystone/SDA
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