At Monday’s plenary session of the autumn session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), the resolution, entitled “Humanitarian consequences of the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan,”—and which was prepared based on the report by Paul Gavan, PACE Rapporteur on Migration, Refugees—was adopted by a vote of 80 for, 18 against, and 3 abstentions.
The resolution states that the “Assembly recalls that both Armenia and Azerbaijan committed themselves, upon their accession to the Council of Europe in January 2001, to use only peaceful means for settling the conflict. Therefore, the 6-week war in 2020 constitutes a breach of these commitments and should be duly addressed by the Council of Europe.”
It is stated that the “Assembly is appalled by the number of people killed or who went missing during the 6-week war: reportedly over 3 900 Armenian and 2 900 Azerbaijani military killed or missing, 163 Armenian and 548 Azerbaijani civilian casualties and around 243 Armenians and 7 Azerbaijanis missing.”
Also, the Assembly “notes the concerns of the European Court of Human Rights, communicated to the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe on 16 March 2021, in relation to 188 Armenians allegedly captured by Azerbaijan (some of whom have since been returned to Armenia).”
The Assembly is “deeply concerned about the fate of around 30 Armenians, allegedly seen, filmed or photographed in captivity, with no indication as to their current whereabouts. The Assembly is alarmed at allegations that these persons have been subjected to enforced disappearances and possibly killed.”
Therefore, the Assembly “calls on the Azerbaijani authorities to expedite their investigations on this matter and provide relevant information to the European Court of Human Rights and to Armenia.”
The Assembly “remains concerned about the detention conditions of around 48 Armenians captured after the Trilateral statement, who are still in captivity, most of whom have undergone or are undergoing speedy criminal trials, which raise fair trial issues under the European Convention on Human Rights (ETS No. 5).”
The Assembly “calls on the Azerbaijani authorities to release all remaining captives and return them to Armenia without further delay.”
In addition, the Assembly “encourages the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) to carry out an ad hoc visit, notwithstanding that the ICRC has regular access.”
Also, the Assembly cites disturbing evidence of the “use by Azerbaijan, with Turkey’s assistance, of Syrian mercenaries.”
The Assembly “condemns the destruction over the last 30 years of Armenian cultural heritage in Azerbaijan for which Azerbaijan is responsible, notably in Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, and condemns the damage deliberately caused to cultural heritage during the 6-week war, and what appears to be the deliberate shelling of the St. Holy Saviour; Ghazanchetsots Cathedral in Shusha/ Shushi as well as the destruction or damage of other churches and cemeteries during and after the conflict.”
The Assembly “remains concerned, in the light of past destruction, about the future of the many Armenian churches, monasteries, including the monastery in Khutavank/Dadivank, crossstones and other forms of cultural heritage which have returned under Azerbaijan control.”
The Assembly “expresses concern about a developing narrative in Azerbaijan promoting a ‘Caucasian Albanian’ heritage to replace what is seen as an ‘Armenian’ cultural heritage.”
The Assembly “invites UNESCO to look into the developing narrative promoting a ‘Caucasian Albanian’ heritage, to ensure it is not manipulated by either side.”
Before the adoption of this resolution, a rather complicated and tense discussion took place at PACE. First, at the suggestion of the Armenian side, the words “Nagorno Karabakh conflict” were added after the word “conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan” to the title of the resolution.
The proposal added—by the proposal of the Azerbaijani side—that the PACE is concerned that the member states are not fulfilling their commitments, and that is why the negotiations between Armenia and Azerbaijan have not yielded significant results in the last 30 years.
Also, the Azerbaijani delegation proposed to change the name of St. Ghazanchetsots Armenian Church in Shushi, Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh), to “Ghazanchetsots/Ghazanchi” in the resolution. But the Armenian delegation objected, noting that this church was built by Armenians for Armenians. The Azerbaijani proposal, however, was accepted by the PACE majority.
In addition, the Azerbaijani side proposed to add to this resolution that—allegedly—Armenian mercenaries had taken part in the Artsakh war last fall. But this proposal did not pass.
PACE is useless, as are the EU, NATO, US, and, of course, Russia.