The Public Relations Department of the Human Rights Defender’s Office informs:

“The process of determining or clarifying Armenia’s borders with Azerbaijan [by whatever name it may be referred to, henceforth, conditionally, the decision] is accompanied by gross violations of the rule of law and human rights.

Therefore, it has no legitimacy; it must be stopped and reviewed immediately.

This conclusion of the Human Rights Defender of Armenia is based on the following key factors:

1) The process of determining the state borders of the Republic of Armenia is taking place under the obvious threats of war against the entire population of Armenia;

2) The President of Azerbaijan speaks about the whole Armenian people and the population of Armenia in the language of open threats of ethnic cleansing and genocide, as does the President of Turkey, comparing to the organizers and perpetrators of the Armenian Genocide in the Ottoman Empire, referring to the massacre of Armenians in Baku, the members of the Caucasus Islamic Army, declaring Armenia a worthless artificial state in comparison with them, and publicly calling Armenians dogs;

3) The President of Azerbaijan, by the general example he sets, leads public figures there to openly insult the dignity of the Armenian people, incite hostility on the basis of ethnicity, and does so to humiliate the personal dignity of every person living in Armenia (comparing Armenians to dogs, comparing Armenians to animals, calling Armenians evil, calls for the killing of Armenian children, women and the elderly, etc);

4) Absolutely unacceptable mechanical approaches are the only ones being utilized in the demarcation process, including, such as the use of a GPS, or a Google Map, a private company application; and

There are no professional approaches at all, no commission work is carried out, no preliminary inventory and assessment of people’s needs is carried out, there are no proper legal bases;

5) As a result of what has taken place, the socio-economic rights of the residents of Syunik and Gegharkunik regions of Armenia were grossly violated, including the deprivation of land and houses, with respect to which, their rights [including their right to property] have been subject to state registration by the Soviet or independent state bodies of Armenia.

Human rights, physical and mental inviolability, and other rights guaranteed by the Constitution of Armenia have been seriously endangered. The best interests of the children to live and develop in a peaceful, non-violent environment have been violated;

6) Azerbaijani servicemen and armed men have been deployed in the immediate vicinity of the Armenian civilians or in the community settlements themselves [for example, in the wider communities of Goris-Kapan, Syunik marz, on interstate or inter-community roads, or directly in neighborhoods, by dividing the sidewalks].

In order to ensure the lives and security of the civilians of Armenia in those very places, the border guards of Armenia and Russia have been justly deployed, that is, there are, yet again, more armed people.

The situation that has evolved as a result of all this has disrupted the safe organization of people’s lives and livelihoods in the peaceful communities of Armenia, which in turn, has seriously endangered the security of the people;

7) The inhabitants of the border settlements of Armenia have been deprived of pastures and other agricultural lands which, were of vital importance to them, and which have been the only source of income for their families for many years.

In addition, as a result of illegal actions, people have been deprived of the right to engage in economic activities, including business activities guaranteed by the Constitution of the Republic of Armenia, including property owned by them, bequeathed to then by the authority vested in the competent state bodies of Armenia;

8 )The security of the state borders of the Republic of Armenia is endangered;

9) The tripartite declaration of November 9, 2020, or any other document, does not set a schedule that is accessible and predictable for the people.

As a result, the impermissible speed of the border demarcation process, and especially the lack of proper information as to their vital rights (life, property, and other rights) and opportunities to protect those directly related to border residents, has led to uncertainty and unsubstantiated unpredictable situations.

In other words, the determination of the borders in the Syunik and Gegharkunik regions of Armenia is being carried out with gross human rights violations, it is taking place under the open threats of war and genocide directed by Azerbaijan against the entire population of our country, which consequently, contradicts the principles of the rule of law and thus has no legitimacy.

At the same time, what we are witnessing are violations of the rights of the entire population of Armenia, either directly or indirectly and, their serious endangerment.

The demarcation of the borders with the described approaches will not only not contribute to the peaceful coexistence of peoples in the region, but will also create fertile ground for the unceasing hatred and enmity of Armenians in Azerbaijan and its continuing dangerous manifestations.

At the heart of any human rights process must be the rule of law and, consequently, internationally recognized human rights which within our country, are also guaranteed by the Constitution. This is a fundamental principle of democracy.

It is obvious that in the current situation, the entire process of determining the borders of the Republic of Armenia as described above, undermines the foundations of the international human rights system, and it completely contradicts the very basic principles for which modern international law has been established since World War Two: to guarantee human rights and peace.”