The Coordinating Council of Armenian Organizations of France (CCAF) has petitioned to the International Criminal Court with a request that the court to open a criminal case against President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan.
The document submitted to the ICC emphasizes that Azerbaijan’s military operations in Nagorno-Karabakh, from September 27, 2020 to October 4, 2023, led to the forced displacement of 120,000 Armenians and the loss of their centuries-old cultural heritage, the CCAF said in a statement.
In its filing, the CCAF said that under Article 15 of the Rome Statute, the ICC prosecutor take the following measures:
- Recognize the existence of sufficient grounds to open an investigation into the crimes committed against the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh between 2020 and 2023;
- Refer the matter of the ICC’s territorial jurisdiction over Nagorno-Karabakh to the ICC Pre-Trial Chamber;
- Issue an international arrest warrant for Ilham Aliyev, as well as all accomplices in the crimes committed in Nagorno-Karabakh, from 2020 to 2023.
The CCAF had earlier called on the French government to refer this case to the ICC, but, according to this organization, “the West has not shown any determination so far.”
“This is the second time since 1915 that Armenians have faced such a denial of justice. Such a situation is unacceptable,” the CCAF statement added.
Armenia ratified the Rome Statute, becoming a full-fledged member of the ICC.
Last week, however, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan told the Atlantic Council in Washington that his government inclined to drop proceedings currently pending in international courts against Azerbaijan, to fulfill one of two remaining contentious points in a peace agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Pashinyan emphasized that his proposal was that future claims not be filed by either party and urged Baku to withdraw its existing claims as well.
Pashinyan’s comments drew considerable condemnation from members of the international legal and right communities, who said withdrawal of existing claims already being considered in the ICC and the European Court of Human Rights would be a detrimental setback for Armenia and the rights of Artsakh Armenians.
