“The OECD and the Council of Europe do not have the ability to oblige Armenia in any way or to make decisions that have consequences for Armenia,” Mr. Ara Khzmalyan International Law Expert said in a conversation with Iravaban.net, speaking of another “attack” by Azerbaijan.
Azerbaijani and Turkish news media reported that the Prosecutor General’s Office of Azerbaijan appealed to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the Council of Europe (CoE) regarding Armenia’s “environmental crimes”. The journalists note that an investigation is underway by the Prosecutor General’s Office of the Republic of Azerbaijan regarding the alleged pollution of Voghji, as well as the fact of the “pollution” of the Araks and Voghji rivers in the border zone of the Republic of Armenia. It is also noted that the long-term pollution of cross-border Voghji by the Zangezur copper-molybdenum combine and the Kapan Mining and Processing Company, as well as the construction of a large metallurgical combine in the village of Yeraskh without consulting the Azerbaijani side and the “violation of environmental protection standards” caused the need to take additional measures, and in this connection The Prosecutor General of Azerbaijan sent an application to the OECD and the Council of Europe. It should be emphasized that the step of the Azerbaijani side is also absurd due to the fact that neither Armenia nor Azerbaijan are even members of the OECD.
“If Armenia had committed any serious crime, those member states would also have adopted a decision or decisions on individual sanctions, as happened, for example, in the case of Russia. The issue of applying sanctions is discussed on the platforms of these 2 structures. In this case, it is ridiculous to talk about such consequences. This is another attempt by Azerbaijan to accuse Armenia of something else,” Ara Khzmalyan says.
According to the Expert of International Law, Azerbaijan tries to bring forward accusations against Armenia before any illegal act of its own. It is a step of protection on the one hand, and additional pressure on the other.
“We cannot talk about any legal consequences, because we are not talking about a legal, but a political process. Moreover, I do not think that Armenia has violated any norm provided by the mentioned conventions. In our region in general and in the world in general, there is a problem of transboundary ecological damage, but it is not the case that Armenia has acted dishonestly. Yes, there is a problem of river pollution in our country, in Azerbaijan, and in Turkey. ” Yes, the problem of river pollution exists in our country, in Azerbaijan, and in Turkey. Mining does not help the environment, but it also does not create risks that could be considered international violations, much less a crimes,” he notes.
According to Ara Khzmalyan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has work to do here, because the platforms where Azerbaijan regularly applies are not ecological platforms.
It should be noted that it is not the first time that Azerbaijan targets Armenia’s mining industry. Recently, Armenian and Azerbaijani NGOs signed the same statement, which also targets the mining sector. The Azerbaijani media also used the comments of Armenian experts, including the comment by Inga Zarafyan, the president of “EcoLur” NGO, targeting mining companies in Armenia.
In the legal field, the groundless and unpromising nature of the latter’s claims is also evidenced by the fact that Azerbaijan did not apply to the Committee for the Implementation of the Convention on Environmental Impact Assessment in a Transboundary Context, (Espoo Convention), which is aimed at assessing the adequacy of the implementation of the provisions of the convention by states and for this purpose to submit recommendations to the states. The latter tried to give a different solution to the issue, repeatedly opening fire in the direction of the factory, as a result of which two people were injured.
Iravaban.net sent inquiries regarding the investigation conducted by the Prosecutor General’s Office of Azerbaijan to the Government of the Republic of Armenia, the Prosecutor General’s Office, the Ministry of Environment, the Ministry of Territorial Management and Infrastructure, the Ministry of Justice, and the National Assembly and received the answers. None of the mentioned departments have any information on the mentioned topic. The international structures have not applied to the mentioned state bodies of the Republic of Armenia in any format.
Moreover, even the Azerbaijani press did not write about the developments of the mentioned application, the supposed reaction to it.
The Ministry of Territorial Administration and Infrastructures, in addition to the above, also noted that the position of the RA Government regarding similar statements was repeatedly presented by the RA Prime Minister during the Government sessions, and was also published on the official website of the RA Ministry of Environment.
For a long time now, the Azerbaijani side has not stopped its attacks on the mining sector of Armenia, which is one of the important sectors of Armenia’s economy. Azerbaijan’s desire to influence Armenia’s economy is so great that it has engaged not only “eco-activists”, but the law enforcement system and the state apparatus as well.
