Sabina Aliyeva briefed OIC Ombudsmen Association members on the consequences of the military aggression of Armenia against Azerbaijan

The Commissioner for Human Rights (Ombudsman) of Azerbaijan, Ms. Sabina Aliyeva has participated at the online Meeting of Ombudsmen Association of Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), in which she is represented in the Board of Directors. The Meeting brought together various ombuds institutions, including Turkey, Azerbaijan, Iran, Marocco, Sudan and Djibouti ombudspersons.   

The main goal of this Meeting was to discuss the issues of strengthening the cooperation in the field of human rights, effective prevention of violations of human rights, and the activities of the ombuds institutions during the COVID-19 pandemic, education, mediation and other issues.   

Opening the event, President of the Association and Chief Ombudsman of Turkey, Mr. ?eref Malkoç spoke about future cooperation strategies and prospects for cooperation. He condemned Armenia's military provocations and aggression against Azerbaijan and stressed the importance of the immediate liberation of our occupied territories.

During her speech, the Ombudsman Ms. Sabina Aliyeva said that at a time when the world is fighting the COVID-19 infection, Armenia, taking advantage of the current situation, continues its military hostilities against Azerbaijan with new claims.

The Ombudsman briefed the participants about deliberate and indiscriminate heavy artillery and missiles attacks on densely populated Azerbaijani cities and districts, including Ganja, Mingachevir, Horadiz, Barda, Aghdam, Agjabadi, Beylagan, Tartar, Jabrayil, Khizi, Absheron, and civilian settlements by the Armenian armed forces since September 27, 2020. She also said that many civilians, including women and children, were killed and injured in the attacks, and that serious damage were exposed to civilian homes, historical and cultural monuments, administrative buildings, educational institutions and social facilities.

Ms. Aliyeva said that she conducted fact-finding missions in the conflict-affected areas to investigate the facts of human rights violations due to the Armenia’s missile shelling and to convey the truth to the international community. It was also noted that the Mission Reports were then sent to international organizations and called on them to take actions for legal liability for Armenia.

The Ombudsman also added that the findings of the Missions once again shows that deliberate attacks on civilians and strategic infrastructure are severe violations of international humanitarian law and is a war crime, for which Armenia is legally liable.

At the Meeting, it was also said that the Ombudsman of Azerbaijan urged the ombudspersons attended the event, to condemn Armenia's military attacks on civilians and support the settlement of the conflict through the implementation of four relevant UN Security Council Resolutions demanding the occupying forces to immediately and unconditionally being withdrawn from the occupied areas of Azerbaijan.

Ms. Aliyeva also stated the Government of Azerbaijan  is currently taking all necessary measures to meet the needs of people in the conflict-affected areas, but also reiterated that for all that, at this stage, we need particularly the attention and support by the international community and human rights institutions.

In conclusion, the Commissioner invited her colleagues to Azerbaijan to get acquainted with the grave consequences of the attacks of the Armenian armed forces on civilian settlements. The President of the Association supported the Ombudsman’s proposal. Other members of the Board also condemned Armenia's military attacks on Azerbaijan and stressed the importance of resolving the conflict in the frame of territorial integrity of Azerbaijan and the norms and principles of international law.