French FM holds phone calls with Armenian and Azerbaijani FMs

RA Ministry of Foreign Affairs reports that on March 18, Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan held a telephone conversation with French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian. Ararat Mirzoyan and Jean-Yves Le Drian exchanged views on the issues of the Armenian-French cooperation agenda, in particular, touching upon the implementation of the Armenian-French economic cooperation roadmap. The interlocutors discussed a number of issues of regional and international security. Ararat Mirzoyan presented to his colleague the situation that has developed as a result of provocations by Azerbaijan on the border with Armenia and in Nagorno-Karabakh and the ongoing violations of the ceasefire regime, the facts of targeting the civilian population, exerting psychological pressure.

Trend agency reports that on March 17, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov held a telephone conversation with French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian. Jeyhun Bayramov and Jean-Yves Le Drian discussed the situation in the region. "During the telephone conversation, the ministers touched upon the five proposals presented by Azerbaijan. Jean-Yves Le Drian expressed France's support for efforts to normalize relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia," the message reads.

Participation of UN representatives in the event organized in Shoushi will be undoubtedly used by Azerbaijan to legitimize its inhumane and aggressive policy. Artsakh MFA

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Artsakh has issued a statement on the occasion of holding an event in Shoushi dedicated to the 30th anniversary of Azerbaijan's membership to the UN, which runs as follows.

"Official Baku, in line with its style, continues to wage a destructive policy aimed at legitimizing the results of its aggression against Artsakh, trying to involve and exploit the international community and various structures in that process. The organization in Artsakh’s occupied town of Shoushi of a solemn ceremony dedicated to the 30th anniversary of Azerbaijan's membership to the United Nations and the participation of representatives of the UN and its structures in this event is another manifestation of this policy. The Foreign Ministry of the Republic of Artsakh strongly condemns the holding of such an event in Shoushi. The participation of the UN representatives in the event organized in the town, which has been one of the main targets of Azerbaijan's aggression and Armenophobia, contradicts the principles of activities, ideology and mission of this influential international organization, and will be undoubtedly used by Azerbaijan to legitimize its inhumane and aggressive policy. This is also a serious blow to the reputation of the UN, which will have a negative impact on the effectiveness of the organization’s activities."

Human Rights Ombudsman of Artsakh has published a trilingual interim report on "The Violations of the Rights of the People of Artsakh by Azerbaijan in February – March, 2022"

The human Rights Ombudsman’s Staff has published a trilingual (Armenian, Russian, English) interim report on "The Violations of the Rights of the People of Artsakh by Azerbaijan in February – March, 2022," which was sent to the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs, organizations with a primary human rights protection mandate and international human rights organizations.

The report briefs on the violations committed by Azerbaijan against the life, health, physical and psychological integrity of the people of Artsakh after the adoption of the trilateral statement on November 9, 2020.

The first section presents facts about the Azerbaijani criminal actions in the direction of the border settlements of the Republic of Artsakh in February – March, 2022. From March 7 to 12, 2022, the Azerbaijani side used a 60 mm grenade launcher, a total of 57 shells were fired at various regions of Artsakh. During that time, the ceasefire regime was continuously violated by firearms targeting residential houses and other civilian infrastructures. One civilian was injured.

The second section presents the humanitarian consequences of the disruption of gas supply by Azerbaijan in the territory of Artsakh. 65% of the schools in the country where 60% of the total number of students receive education are heated with gas. Due to the lack of proper heating, classes in all secondary schools have been suspended. The attendance of children in kindergartens is 22%. 12 kindergartens have ceased their activities at all, and some of them are working for a half day.90% of secondary vocational education institutions, art schools, medical and music collages, children’s creative centers heated by the use of gas which have completely ceased their activities.

70% of health organizations and hospitals are heated by the use of gas, where 419 citizens are currently receiving inpatient treatment, including 46 children in the children’s hospital, and 51 newborns and mothers in the maternity hospital. Hundreds of entrepreneurs also suffer great losses as a result of the gas supply disruption. Gas stations were particularly hard-hit causing personnel downtime, greenhouses operating with gas supply were also affected.

The third section presents the manifestations of psychological terrorism and information attacks carried out by Azerbaijan against the people of Artsakh which are aimed at creating an atmosphere of fear, despair among the civilian population under the threat of use of force and compelling the people to leave their homes.

The report was prepared on the basis of studies conducted by the Human Rights Ombudsman’s Staff, visits to various communities, educational and health institutions, settlements, private conversations with citizens, as well as information received from state authorized bodies. The report aims to document the cases of violations of rights of the people of Artsakh by Azerbaijan and their various manifestations, to draw the attention of international structures and human rights organizations to the situation in Artsakh.

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