Today RA Human Rights Defender Arman Tatoyan has welcomed a group of high-ranking speakers of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe on democracy issues, led by the chairman of the delegation, permanent representative of Sweden in the Council of Europe, Ambassador Marten Ehnberg. Paruyr Hovhannisyan, permanent representative of RA in the Council of Europe, was present at the meeting too.
Arman Tatoyan together with human rights lawyer Siranush Sahakyan presented the evidence of war crimes and the substantiation of torture.
The Human Rights Defender of Armenia presented the war crimes committed by the Azerbaijani armed forces during the war in Artsakh in November-December 2020.
He noted that the Azerbaijani armed attacks were accompanied by inhumane and cruel treatment, beheadings and torture of both POWs and civilian captives.
Arman Tatoyan presented evidence that hatred against Armenians is endless in Azerbaijan. It is generated by the authorities of Azerbaijan, including the highest bodies, and then widely used and promoted by cultural, sports and other public figures in almost the same terms and received public praise, often targeting children.
The defender also conveyed information regarding the facts of the violation of the rights of border residents of the Republic of Armenia by the Azerbaijani authorities.
According to him, the issues related to the RA state border should be considered from the point of view of human rights, so that they are not relegated to the secondary plan and the state's opportunities to protect these rights are not limited.
The defender elaborated that as a result of Azerbaijani illegal actions, people were deprived of their houses and lands that belonged to them since Soviet times, as a result of which not only social, but also serious security problems arose. The illegal presence of the Azerbaijani military in the sovereign territory of the Republic of Armenia, for example in Black Lake, has caused serious security problems for the surrounding settlements. They are under target, and the Azerbaijani military is also firing shots.
Some people are unable to engage in farming, which is the source of income for their families, and in Gegharkunik and Syunik regions, they are unable to keep large and small cattle in cattle sheds near pastures, drink water or graze in certain places. Moreover, a number of villages are deprived of water.
Arman Tatoyan emphasized that demarcation with Azerbaijan alone is not enough. It is important to have a security zone, Azerbaijani armed officers, their signs and cameras must be removed, otherwise it will become a reason for new violations of the rights of RA citizens and new tension.
During the meeting, Arman Tatoyan and Siranush Sahakyan also discussed in detail the urgency of the return of Armenian prisoners held in Azerbaijan. They emphasized that presenting the captives as "terrorists" or "saboteurs" grossly violates international requirements.
Siranush Sahakyan noted that all servicemen and civilians of the Armenian side are prisoners by status. They should be immediately released and returned to their homeland without any political or other preconditions, and the Azerbaijani authorities artificially delay and politicize the process, grossly violating the rights of the prisoners and their families.
According to the defenders, the violations will continue until the Azerbaijani side is not held accountable for war crimes.
The delegation also included permanent representative ambassadors of Russia, France, Finland, Andorra, Estonia, Iceland, Switzerland, as well as the head of the General Directorate of Programs of the CE General Secretariat, Verena Taylor, the head of the CE office in Yerevan, Martina Schmidt, and others.