Azerbaijan`s foreign minister Elmar Mammadyarov has said those responsible for the crimes against peaceful Azeris must face the full force of the law.
“All those who were involved in the crimes against Azerbaijan`s peaceful population must be held accountable,” he told UN Security Council`s open debate on the Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict in New-York.
“Azerbaijan`s lands were occupied as a result of the war which had been started by Armenia and which continues to affect the lives of Azeri civilians. As a side effect of Armenia`s aggression Azerbaijan is today among the counties with the largest refugee and IDP population,” said the FM.
“Every 9th in the country is now a refugee or an IDP,” he added.
Mammadyarov touched upon the issue of the Khojaly genocide, which “was committed against Azerbaijani civilians in the town of Khojaly 21 years ago”.
“More than 600 people, many of them women, children and elders, were slaughtered in a night just because they were Azerbaijanis.”
The FM said ethnic cleansing, genocide and attacks on civilians were a gross breach of international humanitarian law.
“We are convinced that consecutive measures taken at the international level as well as the existing legal framework will help call all those responsible for the crimes against Azeri civilians during the conflict to account,” said Mammadyarov, urging the United Nations “to be more active on this issue”.
“All forms of armed conflicts, especially protracted ones, are in dire need of the attention of the United Nations,” said the Azerbaijani FM.
He noted the IDPs had the right to return to their homelands. “The issues of ownership, ethnic discrimination, demographic changes require a more consistent approach for putting an end to the illegal activities and ensuring the return of the displaced population to their homes,” Mammadyarov added.

AzerTAc