Transparency International Anticorruption center joins its partner civil society organizations to respectfully request the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to stand for the protection of the core rights protected by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and to urge the Azerbaijani authorities not to hinder the exchange of prisoners of war; to open, with the engagement of international institutions, a secure corridor for civilians and other people in the territories under its control, to return the corpses of soldiers and civilians as well as to discontinue any action that puts the life and limbof prisoners of war and other individuals under imminent risk.

TIAC together with partner NGOs have issued a statement  on the consultation of the RA Prime Minister with the representatives of the law enforcement system, the judiciary and the representatives of other state authorities. 

On 27 September 2020, the Azerbaijani armed forces launched a widespread aggression against the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (also known as Artsakh Republic). During 44 day armed conflict the Azerbaijani armed forces targeted densely populated communities and villages of Artsakh making use of heavy weaponry such as multiple rocket launchers “Smerch” and “Grad” as well as large number of unarmed aerial vehicles directly targeting civilians, civilian objects and infrastructure.

The 44-day war and our defeat in it brought our nation and the state to multiple crises – security and safety of the state and people in Armenia and NK, justice and human rights, humanitarian and trust crises. While we are adamant that we shall overcome them and move forward, we realize that we have limited resources to do so, and absolutely no time to waste.

 

Dear compatriots,

We, civil society representatives, deeply sharing the pain and anger of our people, nonetheless call on the public to not lose the ability to judge rationally, not to give in to provocations, not to underestimate the need to be united in this difficult situation. The grief and the justified pain we all share should not overshadow our common sense.

 A group of Armenian civil society organizations including Transparency International Anti Corruption Center submitted a report to the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) on racial discrimination and ethnic hatred against Armenians in Azerbaijan. 

As of 27 September 2020 and continuing today, Azerbaijan has launched a military attack which targets civilian populations and civilian infrastructure in Artsakh and different regions of Armenia, and which has resulted in civilian deaths, injuries, and displaced persons, fleeing from Artsakh to Armenia, where they are accommodated in hotels and with guest families. In addition to civilian deaths and injuries, Azerbaijan’s attacks consequentially put the people Artsakh and Armenia at a greater risk of COVID-19 contagion due to the instant movement and accommodation of displaced persons, due to groups of people gathering in basements during bombardments, and because it threatens to overburden the healthcare systems of Artsakh and Armenia, which are already struggling with COVID-19 patients during the second wave of the pandemic.