On September 7, the conference entitled "Human Rights and Nagorno Karabakh/Artsakh War 2020" was held in the European Parliament (EP). The conference was organized by the ARF European Armenian Affairs Office (EAFJD).
The main speakers were Gegham Stepanyan, human rights defender of the Republic of Nagorno Karabakh, and Siranush Sahakyan, the legal representative of the Armenian prisoners of war at the ECHR.
The conference was attended by members of the European Parliament from various political groups, European Parliament advisors, politicians, diplomats and civil society representatives.
In the opening speech, EAFJD President Gaspar Karapetyan welcomed the participants and thanked EP deputy Peter van Dalen for hosting the conference:
“The second Artsakh war started by Azerbaijan in 2020 was another attempt to carry out ethnic cleansing of the native Armenian population of Artsakh. The right of the indigenous Armenian people to live freely and independently in their homeland is a fundamental human right. The European Parliament condemned the anti-Armenian policy of Azerbaijan at the state level with an urgent resolution, which once again confirms that the native Armenian people cannot live under Azerbaijani rule," added the EAFJD president.”
The speakers referred to gross violations of human rights and international humanitarian law by Azerbaijan during and after the Artsakh war in 2020.
Artsakh HRD Gegham Stepanyan noted.
“Azerbaijan's policy of ethnic cleansing, threats, use of force, and psychological pressures is aimed at disrupting normal life and creating uncertainty about the future among the Armenian population of Artsakh. This uncertainty is aggravated especially because the status of Artsakh is not clearly resolved in the current negotiations, including through the mediation of the European Union.”
Siranush Sahakyan, the legal representative of the Armenian prisoners at the ECHR, elaborated from a legal point of view, including the relevant judgments of international courts against Azerbaijan:
“Armenian hatred has become a defining characteristic of Azerbaijan, which is expressed in the forms of hate speech, cruel treatment of Armenian prisoners, glorification of ethnic violence against Armenians, ethnic cleansing, denial of history.”
The meeting ended with a question-and-answer session with the participants of the event, including Azerbaijanis.