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 dealing with a humanitarian disaster.
Armenia requested for the assembly saying Azerbaijan’s blockade of the Lachin Hall, the one highway 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 underneath the management of ethnic Armenian forces who had been backed by the Armenian navy in separatist combating that led to 1994. Azerbaijan regained management of the encompassing territory in a six-week conflict 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 international locations urged Azerbaijan to instantly reopen the highway, pointing to orders from the Worldwide Courtroom 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 challenge any assertion however U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield, who chaired the assembly, informed 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 informed 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 crucial that the ICRC’s supply of humanitarian aid be allowed to renew by way of any obtainable routes.”
Armenia’s Overseas Minister Ararat Mirzoyan informed the council that on account of the blockade, there isn’t any financial exercise in Nagorno-Karabakh, 1000’s 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 Felony Courtroom, saying “there’s a cheap 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 quick dramatic change this group of Armenians might be destroyed in a couple of weeks.”
Mirzoyan stated stopping such a disaster is an obligation of the Safety Council, which is charged with making certain 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 may 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 towards my nation.”
He {accused} Armenia of participating 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 highway to safeguard its sovereignty and safety and forestall Armenia from utilizing the route “for unlawful navy and different actions” together with rotating its 10,000 navy personnel “illegally stationed” in Azerbaijani territory, and transferring weapons and munitions in addition to unlawfully extracted pure sources.
He known 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 supply to produce good by way of the city of Aghdam.
Aliyev additionally held up what he stated had been images 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, informed the council “humanitarian entry should not be politicized by any actors,” and the Lachin Hall should be reopened instantly.
“Azerbaijani authorities bear the accountability to ensure security and freedom of motion alongside the Lachin Hall, and to make sure the disaster doesn’t escalate additional,” he stated.
