Armenia on Tuesday urged the International Court of Justice to hold Azerbaijan responsible for ethnic cleansing of Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh.
“After threatening to do so for years, Azerbaijan has completed the ethnic cleansing of the region and is now systematically erasing all traces of ethnic Armenians’ presence,” Armenia’s representative, Yeghishe Kirakosyan, said on the second day of hearings at the United Nations’ top court.
“There is no better example of racial discrimination, upsetting peace and security than Azerbaijan’s recent armed aggressions. which resulted in ethnic cleansing of all of Nagorno Karabakh,” he said.
“To the great regret of Armenia and the international community, not even this Court was able to stop Azerbaijan’s race of ethnic cleansing. In September 2023, after starving the ethnic Armenians of Nagorno Karabakh for nine months by blocking the Lachin corridor, in fragrance violation of the Court’s two orders on provisional measures, Azerbaijan launched an unprovoked attack killing hundreds and forcing over 100,000 ethnic Armenians to flee their ancestral homes,” Kirakosyan stated.
On Monday, Azerbaijan told the court that most of Armenia’s complaints related to the armed conflicts over Nagorno-Karabakh did not fall within the scope of the UN treaty.
It also accused Armenia of not genuinely engaging in negotiations before bringing the case to the ICJ.
Kirakosyan rejected these claims and emphasized that “Armenia negotiated with Azerbaijan in good faith and pursued discussions far beyond the point of utility.”
“Armenia has no claims on Azerbaijani territory and is committed to establishing conditions for genuine and enduring peace,” Kirakosyan said.
He declared that Azerbaijan’s efforts “are frivolous and cynical,” adding that Azerbaijan’s inability and difficulty in presenting evidence to the court stems from its non-existence, characterizing it as a “desperate attempt by Azerbaijan to establish equality.”
“History has taught us that genuine peace is built on justice, accountability, truth and reconciliation,” Armenia’s representative stated.
In his presentation, Kirakosyan reminded the ICJ that on September 16, 2021, Armenia initiated proceedings against Azerbaijan, citing the state’s implementation of “an egregious policy of racial discrimination against Armenians by nationality.”
“Azerbaijani children are instructed to hate and kill Armenians through school textbooks. State media actively spread hate speech, and government officials openly advocate for the complete extermination of Armenians. It’s state-permitted racism,” emphasized Kirakosyan.
He explained that Azerbaijan’s long-standing state policy of racial discrimination reached its zenith when Azerbaijan initiated an aggressive war against the ethnic Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh, with the stated objective of eliminating and expelling Armenians from their homeland.
Kirakosyan also quoted Azerbaijani President Aliyev’s recent remarks, where he stated that the hatred of the enemy—Armenians—is what propels Azerbaijanis forward.
“For 44 days, Azerbaijani soldiers killed and tortured ethnic Armenians, proudly filming their atrocities…,” Kirakosyan reminded the court. “This violence and intimidation were employed by Azerbaijan to ethnically cleanse the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh, resulting in the expulsion of at least 30,000 Armenians from their homeland.”
Kirakosyan added that following these events, Armenia invoked the UN’s convention on stamping out racial discrimination and petitioned the court to promptly safeguard the vulnerable ethnic Armenians who had not yet been killed or expelled from their homeland.
Kirakosyan also noted that the International Court of Justice had ordered Azerbaijan to open the Lachin corridor, but Azerbaijan failed to comply with the court’s decision.
“Azerbaijan has not taken any measures to ensure the safe return of those who wish to go back to their homeland after these events,” Kirakosyan stated, referring to the potential return of forcibly displaced Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh.
He reminded the court that Azerbaijan is systematically erasing the Armenian cultural heritage of Nagorno-Karabakh, underscoring that these circumstances were the basis for Armenia’s application to the court.
