120,000 Indigenous Armenians are Being Starved to Death by Azerbaijan Without the UN Taking Any meaningful Action to Stop It
NEW YORK — Thousands to Demonstrate at the United Nations SDG Summit Demand that the UN intervene and end the Artsakh (formerly Nagorno-Karabakh) Genocide being perpetrated by Azerbaijan.
Azerbaijan is carrying out an eight-month-long genocide against the indigenous Armenians of the Republic of Artsakh.
On December 12, 2022, Azerbaijan imposed a blockade on all transportation routes connecting Artsakh to Armenia and the rest of the world. This blockade has resulted in the cessation of private and commercial transportation of goods and medicines, leading to the confinement of 120,000 Armenians in Artsakh. Consequently, stores and pharmacies have depleted their supplies, necessitating food rationing through a coupon system. Surgical procedures have been suspended, and only the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), accompanied by Russian Peacekeepers, has been facilitating the transportation of critically ill individuals to Armenia on a sporadic basis. Additionally, Azerbaijan has periodically blocked electricity and gas supply, resulting in prolonged disruptions in home heating during winter months, communication and internet access.
To worsen the crisis, on June 15, 2023, Azerbaijan halted the transportation of all humanitarian aid destined for the people of Artsakh. Consequently, the 120,000 Armenians residing in Artsakh, which includes 30,000 children, are now deprived of necessities such as food, medicines, gas, electricity, and internet access. They live in an open prison, surrounded by Azerbaijani soldiers who frequently engage in gunfire and military attacks against Armenian farmers and residents of Artsakh, inflicting terror and loss of life. On June 27, 2023, the day the Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers arrived in Washington, DC, for peace talks with mediation from the U.S. Secretary of State, Azerbaijan launched preemptive drone and artillery attacks in Artsakh, killing four service members.
In a wide-ranging report publicized and published in August, leading international legal expert and the former lead prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Luis Moreno Ocampo, said there is an ongoing genocide being committed against 120,000 Armenians living in Artsakh. He also noted that Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev’s actions signal that he has ‘genocidal intentions.’
Moreno Ocampo compiled the detailed report in response to a request from former Artsakh President Arayik Harutyunyan, who appealed to the legal expert late last month to provide his assessment on the matter.
His conclusions were based on assessing the current conditions in Artsakh and international legal precedents confirming that ‘deprivation of food, medical care, shelter or clothing’ constitutes Genocide within the meaning of Article II(c) of the Genocide Convention.’
The 2023 SDG Summit will begin a new phase of accelerated progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals with high-level political guidance on transformative and accelerated actions leading up to 2030.
Convened by the President of the General Assembly, the Summit will mark the halfway point to the deadline for achieving the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals. It will be the centerpiece of the High-level Week of the General Assembly. It will respond to the impact of multiple and interlocking crises facing the world and is expected to reignite hope, optimism, and enthusiasm for the 2030 Agenda.
On Monday, August 21, a former United Nations expert on Genocide, Juan Mendez, warned of serious risks facing the population of Artsakh that correspond to the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide.
Focusing on the prevention duty of the international community, Juan Mendez highlighted that the facts constitute sufficient reason to proffer an early warning to the international community that the population of Nagorno-Karabakh is at risk of suffering “serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group” as defined in Article 2 of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide.
‘The lack of compliance with a binding interim measure issued by the ICJ to protect a population at risk is at least as severe an early warning than refusal to cooperate with judicial investigations,’ Professor Mendez concluded, pointing out to Azerbaijan’s defiance of the legally binding order of the International Court of Justice as an indication that necessitates the exercise of the UN’s early warning and prevention capacities.
The group will demonstrate in front of the UN building on Monday, September 18, and Tuesday, September 19. They have a list of demands from the United Nations, including the UN Security Council. There is a 45-minute program on Monday, September 18, at noon, including speeches by elected officials, community leaders, and genocide experts.
Contact vic@thebluntpost.com
Please see the following video: https://youtu.be/tx5X-bwQ3tI?si=e349cjkrq7slBbjJ