BY EDITH M. LEDERER AP
Armenia and Azerbaijan clashed at an emergency assembly of the U.N. Safety Council Wednesday over the plight of the 120,000 individuals within the Nagorno-Karabakh area that Armenia says are blockaded by Azerbaijan and going through a humanitarian disaster.
Armenia requested for the assembly saying Azerbaijan’s blockade of the Lachin Hall, the one street connecting primarily Armenian-populated Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia since July 15, had left its individuals with dwindling meals, drugs and electrical energy.
Nagorno-Karabakh is a part of Azerbaijan, however the area and substantial territory round it got here below the management of ethnic Armenian forces who had been backed by the Armenian army in separatist preventing that led to 1994. Azerbaijan regained management of the encircling territory in a six-week struggle with Armenia in 2020, and the Russian-brokered armistice left the Lachin Hall as Nagorno-Karabakh’s solely connection to Armenia.
On the council assembly, many nations urged Azerbaijan to instantly reopen the street, pointing to orders from the Worldwide Court docket of Justice, the U.N.’s highest tribunal, and all 15 nations urged Armenia and Azerbaijan to discover a diplomatic resolution to their practically 30-year battle.
The Safety Council didn’t subject any assertion however U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield, who chaired the assembly, advised the Related Press afterward that “there have been sturdy statements within the council from everybody that the Lachin Hall wanted to be reopened.” That was “the principle accomplishment,” she Stated.
U.N. humanitarian coordinator Edem Wasornu advised the council the Worldwide Committee of the Purple Cross, the one worldwide humanitarian physique with entry to the world, reported on July 25 that it had been unable to move meals by way of the Lachin Hall since June 14 and drugs since July 7.
Wasornu stated worldwide humanitarian regulation requires all events to facilitate speedy supply of support to all individuals in want, and “it’s due to this fact vital that the ICRC’s supply of humanitarian reduction be allowed to renew by way of any accessible routes.”
Armenia’s International Minister Ararat Mirzoyan advised the council that on account of the blockade, there isn’t any financial exercise in Nagorno-Karabakh, hundreds of persons are unemployed, shops are empty and ladies, youngsters and the aged stand in lengthy traces to have the ability to purchase bread, fruit and greens. As well as, he stated, Azerbaijan has disrupted the provision of electrical energy by way of the one excessive voltage line between Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh since Jan. 9.
Mirzoyan quoted a report from Luis Moreno Ocampo, the previous chief prosecutor of the Worldwide Legal Court docket, saying “there’s a affordable foundation to consider {that a} genocide is being dedicated” on account of the blockade.
“Hunger is the invisible genocide weapon,” he stated, warning that “with out rapid dramatic change this group of Armenians can be destroyed in a number of weeks.”
Mirzoyan stated stopping such a disaster is an obligation of the Safety Council, which is charged with guaranteeing worldwide peace and safety. “I do consider that this distinguished physique, regardless of geopolitical variations, has capability to behave as genocide prevention physique, and never as genocide commemoration when it is likely to be too late,” he stated.
Azerbaijan’s U.N. Ambassador Yashar Aliyev responded by “categorically rejecting all of the unfounded and groundless allegations on (a) blockade or humanitarian disaster propagated by Armenia in opposition to my nation.”
He {accused} Armenia of partaking in a “provocative and irresponsible political marketing campaign” to undermine Azerbaijan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, which incorporates Nagorno-Karabakh and the Lachin Hall.
Aliyev stated Azerbaijan put in a border checkpoint on the street to safeguard its sovereignty and safety and stop Armenia from utilizing the route “for unlawful army and different actions” together with rotating its 10,000 army personnel “illegally stationed” in Azerbaijani territory, and transferring weapons and munitions in addition to unlawfully extracted pure sources.
He referred to as the genocide allegations false, saying distinguished British human rights lawyer, Rodney Dixon, in a preliminary report stated there isn’t any basis for Ocampo’s declare, citing Azerbaijan’s provide to provide good by way of the city of Aghdam.
Aliyev additionally held up what he stated had been pictures from social media of individuals in Nagorno-Karabakh celebrating weddings and birthdays, saying they refute allegations about hunger and a humanitarian disaster.
Aliyev and Mirzoyan blamed one another for so-far failed diplomatic efforts.
The European Union’s deputy U.N. ambassador, Silvio Gonzato, advised the council “humanitarian entry should not be politicized by any actors,” and the Lachin Hall have to be reopened instantly.
“Azerbaijani authorities bear the duty to ensure security and freedom of motion alongside the Lachin Hall, and to make sure the disaster doesn’t escalate additional,” he stated.
