Armenia repeatedly warned of Azerbaijan`s racism and hateful rhetoric  - Mher Margaryan

ArmInfo.Time and again, Armenia has  alerted about the dangerously mounting level of racism and hateful  rhetoric dominating the political discourse in Azerbaijan where  state- led anti-Armenian policies - extensively reported and  documented by international institutions - seek to dehumanize one  particular nation, Armenia's Permanent Representative to the UN Mher  Margaryan said at the High Level Forum on the Culture of Peace.

He reminded that only last week, the UN Committee on the Elimination  of Racial Discrimination issued its latest report on Azerbaijan,  which finds, among other things, that there is incitement to racial  hatred against persons of Armenian origin, including by public  figures and governmental officials, and that school textbooks in  Azerbaijan promote prejudice and incitement to racial hatred,  particularly against ethnic Armenians.

"Such findings are consistent with Azerbaijan's systemic policy of  ethnic cleansing and genocidal disdain against the Armenian people,  most recently proven by its launching of war in an attempt to resolve  the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict by force, in flagrant violation of the  trilateral ceasefire agreements of 1994 and 1995.  The very fact that  a large-scale military aggression was unleashed amidst an  unprecedented pandemic is a crime of global proportion in itself and  should be evaluated and addressed as such.," Mr.  Margaryan said.

"Despite Azerbaijan's efforts to offer justifications for its  military aggression in September-November 2020, it was in reality the  product of an intentional decision to walk away from negotiations and  to begin a war, exposing the lives of thousands of people to imminent  existential danger,' he added.

"Emboldened by the results of the use of force, Azerbaijani  leadership resorts to systematic violence and military provocations  in blatant disregard to the norms of the international law. Equally  disturbing are the attempts to instrumentalize the issue of POWs and  civilian captives, whose return Azerbaijan continues to deny, in  violation of the Geneva Conventions, and in defiance of the  Provisional Measures issued by the International Court of Justice as  a matter of urgency on 7 December 2021," the envoy emphasized.

He stressed that obstruction of safe and unhindered humanitarian  access of the UN agencies, including UNESCO to Nagorno-Karabakh  undermines efforts for comprehensive assessment and response to the  humanitarian needs of the civilian population, while threatening the  existence of millennia-old Armenian heritage of Artsakh. 

"Arbitrary interpretations and distortions of the negotiation process  by Azerbaijan and disrespect towards its legally binding obligations  demonstrate lack of good faith and the intent to forcefully impose  unilateral solutions on Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh," Mher Margaryan  stated.

In this regard, he noted that neither the condescending tone, nor the  self-righteous posture of the Azerbaijani officials or their  representatives here at the United Nations are suggestive of anything  other than arrogance and boastfulness which only demonstrates that  for some, culture of threat, incitement and aggression continues to  prevail over culture of peace.

"Ensuring security, fundamental human rights and dignified life of  the people of Nagorno-Karabakh in their ancestral homeland is key for  achieving comprehensive, just and lasting settlement of the conflict  and sustaining peace in the region," the Ambassador said.

"Armenia will continue to work towards justice, equality, and  inclusion in line with our unwavering commitment to the purposes and  principles of the UN Charter and to the values and goals of the  Declaration and Programme of Action on the Culture of Peace," he  concluded.