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Los Angeles City Council calls on Azerbaijan to release Armenian POWs

On April 21, the Los Angeles City Council adopted a resolution calling upon Azerbaijan to immediately release the Armenian prisoners of war and captured civilians, the Armenian Consulate General in Los Angeles informs.

This important resolution was authored and presented to the City Council by Councilmember Paul Krekorian. The significance of the resolution is also stipulated by the fact that Los Angeles is the second largest city in the United States.

“On November 9, 2020, Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Russia signed a tripartite statement to end the conflict, and all parties agreed that the “exchange of prisoners of war, hostages and other detainees as well as the remains of the fatalities shall be carried out.” “Despite Azerbaijan’s obligations under the Geneva Conventions and its commitment in signing the November 9 statement, more than 100 days after the end of the conflict, the government of Azerbaijan continues to detain an estimated 200 Armenian prisoners of war, hostages, and detained persons, misrepresenting their status in an attempt to justify their continued captivity,” the Los Angeles City Council resolution states.

The Los Angeles City Council members further stated that “there is great and legitimate concern about the current condition of prisoners of war and captured civilians and their ongoing treatment, including the possibility that detainees could be subject to torture, sexual assaults and other mistreatment.” This concern is also confirmed by Human Rights Watch, which “reported that Azerbaijani military forces have mistreated ethnic Armenian prisoners of war and subjected them to “physical abuse and humiliation.”

“Columbia University’s Institute for the Study of Human Rights issued a report on the conflict that “document[s] crimes against humanity and other atrocities committed by Azerbaijani armed forces and Turkish-backed lslamist fighters against Armenians, including beheadings, summary executions, and the desecration of human remains.”

The Los Angeles City Council expressed its support to “the currently pending in the U.S. House of Representatives is a Resolution (H.Res. 240-Schiff) which would call upon Azerbaijan to immediately return all Armenian prisoners of war and captured civilians; and would urge the Secretary of State to engage at all levels with Azerbaijani authorities, including through the OSCE Minsk Group process, to make clear that Azerbaijan must adhere to its obligations, under the November 9 statement and international law. to immediately release all prisoners of war and captured civilians.”

The City of Los Angeles also “called upon the Biden Administration to engage at all levels with Azerbaijani authorities, including through the OSCE Minsk Group process, to demand that Azerbaijan adhere to its obligations. under the November 9 statement and international law, to immediately release all prisoners of war and captured civilians.”

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