Reports submitted by Ombudsman Sabina Aliyeva to international and regional organizations prove the facts of Armenian war crimes

As a result of the Armenian military aggression against Azerbaijan that has been continued since September 27, 2020, many civilians have been killed and educational, health facilities, social, cultural, historical and religious facilities have been destroyed with the use of heavy artillery and prohibited weapons and there were numerous victims of war  and crimes against peace and humanity.

From the very beginning, the Ombudsman Sabina Aliyeva has conducted several fact-finding missions in Naftalan, Tartar, Ganja and Barda, including surrounding villages, as well as prepared 7 reports, issued 8 statements and 12 appeals,  also over 50 press releases have been released. In addition, the international organizations have been  informed and urged on the concerned matter. The Mission Reports and other relevant information have been  placed in Azeri and English languages on the Ombudsman’s official website, as well as  the information was regularly shared on social network platforms, such as through Facebook and Twitter accounts.

The reports have contained the factual and objective evidences of the crimes committed by Armenia that targeted civilian objects and civilians located far from the active zone of hostilities, killed numerous peaceful citizens, including children and women, and looted historical, cultural and religious monuments, cemeteries by operational and tactical ballistic missile systems.

The statements of protest addressed to the United Nations Children’s Fund and other organizations, which manifestly demonstrated unfounded positions, also allowed taking  effective action.

The representatives of international organizations, national human rights and ombudsman institutions of foreign countries, local and foreign TV Channels and other media outlets have also been involved by the Ombudsman in the fact-finding missions and investigation measures.

Thus, on the initiative of Sabina Aliyeva, the delegation led by the President of the of OIC Ombudsmen Association and the Chief Ombudsman of the Republic of Turkey was participated in the joint fact-finding mission, which was carried out in Ganja, and consequently, the Mission Report has already been published and presented to international community.

The facts concerning the committing by Armenia the environmental terror acts, including burning of forests in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan and using them for its military purposes, not considering its already serious damage caused to historical, cultural and religious monuments, including the environment, biodiversity, forests, underground and surface natural resources have also been presented to international organizations and urged to establish special procedures and measures to determine legal framework. The Ombudsman has also issued the Appeal concerning the repeated use of phosphorus-containing chemical weapons by the Armenian armed forces against the civilian population of our country during the 44-day war.

On the basis of the appeals to international organizations, the Ombudsman has also carried out a systematic work concerning the issue of the Azerbaijani prisoners of war.

The facts of ethnic cleansing and illegal settlement policies pursued by Armenia,  which accompanied with unlawful settlement of ethnic Armenians from Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and other countries in order to artificially increase the Armenian population and change the demographic situation in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan in gross violation of international law. Furthermore, the issue of unlawful settlement policy and recruitment of mercenaries and terrorist groups have also been raised before international organizations on the basis of facts.

The Appeals sent to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, UNICEF, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, the UN Secretary-General's Special Representative for Children and Military Conflict, and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) for the providing an international legal assessment of Armenian war crimes, including killing of children by the Armenian armed forces as a result of indiscriminate attacks at densely populated settlements of Azerbaijan located far from the frontline, using child soldiers, and using civilian objects as the military objectives, such as  using of kindergartens and schools as military command centers and ammunition depots have been verified by factual evidences.

The Ombudsman’s Reports based on the on-site investigations have also confirmed the patterns of serious violations of international treaties, to which Armenia is bound by. Consequently, during the investigations conducted, it was found that Armenia has blatantly violated 1949 Geneva Conventions, specifically III and IV Geneva Conventions, ECHR, CRPD, CRC and  its Optional Protocols, 1954 Hague Convention on the Protection of Cultural Property, World Heritage Convention, 1992 CoE Convention on the Protection of Archaeological Heritage and other international legal documents in gross violation of the international law, including IHL.

It should be noted that these facts, collected in terms of both the norms of international law and national legislation, will play an important role in the ongoing research and investigation procedures.