Rights and safety of Tavush population should be considered in border  delimitation and demarcation process - Statement

ArmInfo. In the process of delimitation and demarcation of the border in the Tavush region, the rights and safety of the local population should be considered. This is stated in a joint statement by several Western-oriented non-governmental human rights organizations.

"The undersigned public organizations and human rights activists  express deep concern about the methods and pace of delimitation and  demarcation of the border between the Republic of Armenia and the  Republic of Azerbaijan in the Tavush region in recent days. It is  clear that the demarcation process between the two states is  important, but it must be carried out in strict accordance with the  principles of international law and the requirements of the internal  legislation of Armenia.

Firstly, according to the statement of the Prime Minister of the  Republic of Armenia, the demarcation of the border is carried out  under the threat of obvious aggression against the Republic of  Armenia, which already gives reason to assert that the delimitation  and demarcation of the border is not carried out on the basis of  international law," the statement says.

Human rights organizations state that real and stable peace in the  region can only be established if the use of force and the threat of  force are excluded. In this vein, attention is drawn to the fact that  to this day Azerbaijan has not taken any real and effective steps to  withdraw its armed forces from the territories occupied as a result  of attacks on the Republic of Armenia and invasion of the RA  sovereign territory (both as a result of attacks back in the 1990s  and in 2021 -2022).

The statement also draws attention to the fact that, according to  statements by the executive power of Armenia, border demarcation  processes are carried out on the basis of the principle of  transforming the administrative borders of the USSR into a state  border, in accordance with the principle of uti possidetis.  "At the  same time, the other day the head of the Armenian Foreign Ministry  once again stated that Azerbaijan is avoiding unequivocal  confirmation that it will be guided by the administrative borders  inherited from the USSR and will be the legal successor of these  borders.

Without a written agreement on the fundamental principle of  maintaining inherited borders, whether administrative or state, and  considerin Azerbaijan's claim to be the successor to the First  Republic, which create the basis for territorial ambitions regarding  Armenia, and military attacks on Armenian territory, and also, in the  context of the development of the narrative about the so-called  "Western Azerbaijan", which includes the entire territory of the  Republic of Armenia, legitimate delimitation cannot continue.

At the same time, demarcation is carried out without observing the  proper legal procedures provided for by the legislation of the  Republic of Armenia. It is carried out on the basis of the consent of  the demarcation commissions, which still do not have a clear and  pre-adopted scope of powers and work regulations, which cannot be  considered a legal process based on the Constitution of the Republic  of Armenia and other legal acts," the statement further says. In this  regard, attention is drawn to the fact that demarcation in this  manner contradicts the internal legislation of the Republic of  Armenia and the government's approaches regarding the demarcation of  the state border between Armenia and Georgia.

Human rights NGOs remind that the RA Law "On the State Border"  requires that the Republic, when establishing and changing the state  border and regulating relations with bordering states, be guided by  the following principles: protection of the territorial integrity of  the RA; ensuring the security of the Republic of Armenia and  fulfilling accepted international obligations; multilateral mutually  beneficial cooperation with foreign countries; peaceful resolution of  border issues.  The statement notes that the current demarcation  processes are not based on the protection of the territorial  integrity of the Republic of Armenia, since the deoccupation of the  territory of the Republic of Armenia is not part of the agreements,  and this process is carried out with the threat of the use of force.

"The security of the Republic of Armenia, as well as the protection  of the rights and legitimate interests of citizens of the Republic,  as provided for by the Constitution of Armenia and international  obligations, is also not ensured. Ensuring the rights and safety of  citizens living in the border areas of the Republic of Armenia is  mandatory," human rights NGOs further emphasize.

Human rights activists state that the ongoing policy of Armenophobia  in Azerbaijan at the state level, war crimes committed by the  Azerbaijani armed forces against Armenians in recent years, including  the killing of civilians (beheadings, executions, torture, direct  attacks), the constant destruction of the Armenian cultural heritage  and traces of the Armenian identity, the forced displacement of the  entire population of Artsakh from their homeland and complete  impunity for all heinous crimes, the deployment of Azerbaijani  forces, including border guards, in close proximity to vital civilian  areas creates serious and real security threats.

It is noted that the undersigned human rights organizations have  recorded many facts of alleged war crimes committed by the border  troops of Azerbaijan during the war that Azerbaijan waged against the  Nagorno- Karabakh Republic since September 27, 2020, including the  killing of prisoners of war, torture of corpses, and torment.  Moreover, a group of Armenian servicemen is still considered missing  after coming under the control of the Azerbaijani border troops.

In this vein, NGOs recalled the illegal actions and crimes committed  by Azerbaijani border guards against the residents of Syunik since  2020, including deliberate shelling in direction of villages and  houses, attacks on civilians, cases of animal theft, closure of the  Goris-Kapan road, intimidation of people traveling along the road,  including children.

Human rights organizations believe that a similar situation could  also develop in Tavush, given that the RA-Georgia interstate road  will pass through supposedly "Azerbaijani territories", and  Azerbaijani troops will be directly deployed near the homes of  civilians. As a result, vital infrastructure facilities and schools  will be under direct target of the Azerbaijani armed forces,  including, for example, the Kirants school, since the village will be  located only 70 meters from the proposed border with Azerbaijan.

"As a result of demarcation, the property of a number of citizens,  including houses, land will be located in allegedly Azerbaijani  territory or in close proximity to the border, which will make it  impossible to use this property. In addition, it is also necessary to  state that the authorities of the Republic of Armenia, represented by  the Prime Minister, do not exclude the possibility other threats and  the use of military force by Azerbaijan even after the demarcation of  the border. And in these conditions, it becomes mandatory to apply  international law and generally accepted experience and principles in  the process of delimitation and demarcation," the NGOs noted, adding  that these actions will lead to the encirclement of the villages of  Kirants, Voskepar and Kayan and their subsequent devastation.

The NGOs also touched upon the actions of the police against  demonstrators in the village of Kirants and emphasized the  unacceptability of violence against civilians and their detention.  "The police, within the framework of their powers, are obliged to  ensure the rights and freedoms, dignity and public safety of  residents and every person. The suppression of legitimate concerns  and struggles of residents by the police is illegitimate and can  cause residents to have an even greater sense of insecurity and  mistrust," the human rights organizations added.

In this regard, NGOs demanded that the Armenian government, in the  process of demarcation and demarcation with Azerbaijan, rely on the  norms and principles of international law, strictly comply with the  requirements of the Constitution of the Republic of Armenia and other  legal acts; guarantee the rights and safety of residents of border  villages as defined by the Constitution in the process of demarcation  and demarcation; review the composition of the Commission and working  groups on delimitation and demarcation issues with the involvement of  international law specialists, cartographers and other relevant  specialists; provide transparency, predictability and certainty to  the public in delimitation processes, including delimitation  principles and the tools used; refrain from unilateral actions that  do not ensure the protection and security of the territorial  integrity of the Republic of Armenia.

The statement was signed: Protection of Rights without Borders ;  Helsinki Citizens' Assembly-Vanadzor, Transparency Transparency  International Anti-Corruption Cente,  Helsinki Association for Human  Rights, human rights activist Zaruhi Hovhannisyan.