2024-05-09 01:29:17
A conference dedicated to the issue of Armenian prisoners of war held in Azerbaijan was held in the European Parliament.
The conference was held under the auspices of Andrei Kovachev, deputy of the EPP faction of the European Parliament, rapporteur on Armenian affairs. Members of the National Assembly of Armenia, Tigran Balayan, Ambassador of Armenia to Belgium, were also present at the conference.
According to the correspondent of “Armenpress” in Brussels, the main speakers of the forum organized to discuss the situation created 3 years after the adoption of the relevant resolution on Armenian prisoners of war by the European Parliament were Yeghishe Kirakosyan, RA representative for international legal affairs, “Eastern Europe-South Caucasus, International Cooperation for Human Rights” (IPHR) program director Simon Papuashvili, international law specialist, co-founder of the “Legal Path” NGO Siranush Sahakyan, head of the Migration and Issues Department of the Peace and Democracy Institute Arif Yunus and representative of the Libertas 2020 project, president of the Covcas Center for Law and Issues Settlement Hilda Choboyan. .
In his speech during the conference, the member of the European Parliament, Andrey Kovachev, emphasized that the European Parliament has always called for the issue to be resolved diplomatically, and prisoners of war and detained persons should be released immediately, without preconditions. “Despite the recent positive steps, the exchange of some prisoners of war, there is still a lot to be done. That is why the issue should be kept on the agenda and everything should be done for the peaceful settlement of relations”, Kovachev said.
According to Tigran Balayan, the ambassador of Armenia in Belgium, the issue is pending and is poisoning the environment. “Persons held by the Baku regime are not prisoners, they are captives. “Azerbaijan violates the tripartite declaration of ceasefire signed by itself, in which it is clearly stated that all prisoners of war must be returned mutually,” said Balayan.
Yeghishe Kirakosyan, RA representative for international legal issues, emphasized keeping the issue on the agenda. According to Kirakosyan, the international toolkit for returning prisoners of war to the homeland is limited, and against this backdrop, Azerbaijan is advancing the narrative of the so-called terrorists by bringing forward fictitious court cases.
Simon Papuashvili, program director of the “Eastern Europe-South Caucasus, International Cooperation for Human Rights” (IPHR) organization, speaking about the facts in their hands, noted that the Armenian prisoners of war are being subjected to unprecedented cruel torture. According to Papuashvili, Armenian prisoners of war do not have the opportunity to have a human rights defender of their choice. “No human rights defender in Azerbaijan wanted to undertake the protection of Armenian prisoners of war,” Papuashvili said.
Siranush Sahakyan, a specialist in international law, also noted that the torture and psychological suffering of Armenian prisoners held in Baku is an obvious reality.
Arif Yunus, head of the migration and issues department of the Institute of Peace and Democracy, in his turn emphasized that all court cases regarding Armenian prisoners of war in Baku contradict not only international law, but the very constitution of Azerbaijan. “It is important for Aliyev to show that he not only took Nagorno Karabakh, but also punishes everyone,” said Yunus.
Hilda Choboyan, one of the speakers, mentioned in her speech that Azerbaijan uses prisoners of war for political purposes and it should be opposed. Choboyan called to join the campaign started by his organization for the freedom of prisoners of war.
At the end of the conference, the chairman of the Standing Committee on European Integration of the National Assembly of Armenia, Arman Yeghoyan, thanked Andrey Kovachev for the initiative and noted that the ideas expressed during similar discussions sooner or later turn into practical steps.
Ambassador Balayan also thanked the rapporteur on Armenian affairs for his active support to Armenia in this CE session.