France-based COJEP International issues a report on civilian casualties

France-based COJEP International organization has published a report “On the civilian casualties and destructions caused by attacks of Armenia on densely populated areas of Azerbaijan between 27 September – 28 October 2020”.

The report features an introduction highlighting the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. “The Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict is one of the longest-standing protracted conflicts in the region, which has been going on for nearly 3 decades. As a result of this, the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan and 7 adjacent districts of Azerbaijan, namely Lachin, Kalbajar, Aghdam, Fuzuli, Jabrayil, Gubadli and Zangilan, were occupied by Armenia. The conflict affected the lives of over a million of Azerbaijanis who lived in the Nagorno-Karabakh region and 7 adjacent districts of Azerbaijan, causing a number of social, economic and humanitarian problems. The above-mentioned 7 districts are not a part of the Nagorno-Karabakh region. The total area of Nagorno-Karabakh region is 4400 km2, while the total area of 7 districts is almost 3 times larger (11.000 km2). More than 90% of the total number of IDPs (which is more than 1 million) represent those 7 districts. It should also be mentioned that the number of Azerbaijani people forced to leave the Nagorno-Karabakh region is now 86 thousand people,” the report says.

“The UN Security Council Resolutions 822, 853, 874 and 884 of 1993 define the frameworks of the settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict on the basis of norms and principles of international law,” it mentions.

“On September 27, the armed forces of Armenia launched a largescale provocation along the entire frontline. The armed forces of Armenia are intensively firing on the settlements, historical and cultural buildings, as well as the objects of strategic importance in the frontline an the densely populated areas situated far from the conflict zone using heavy artillery, aircraft, special missile systems and prohibited weapons.

The Declaration on the Protection of Women and Children in Emergency and Armed Conflict adopted by the UN General Assembly on 14 December 1974, stresses that attacks and bombings on the civilian population, inflicting incalculable suffering, especially on women and children, who are the most vulnerable members of the population, shall be prohibited, and such acts shall be condemned. All States shall abide fully by their obligations under the Geneva Protocol of 1925 and the Geneva Conventions of 1949, as well as other instruments of international law relative to respect for human rights in armed conflicts, which offer important guarantees for the protection of women and children,” the document says.

The full text of the report is available at the following link:

http://cojep.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/COJEP-Int.-Report-Azerbaidjan-Armenia-2020-oct..pdf.

Source : AZERTAG