The International Association of Genocide Scholars (IAGS) has adopted a resolution condemning Azerbaijan’s genocidal crimes, ethnic-cleansing, and violations of international law in Nagorno Karabakh.
The resolution mentions the killing and other violence, including torture, against Armenian civilians, the detention of political leaders of Nagorno-Karabakh, imprisoning of ethnic Armenian soldiers and civilians, destruction of Armenian cultural heritage in Nagorno-Karabakh.
Therefore, the International Association of Genocide Scholars:
1. Declares the blockade of Nagorno-Karabakh from December 2022 to September 2023, including the closure of the Lachin Corridor, was characteristic of actions considered imposing conditions of life designed to bring about the physical destruction of the ethnic Armenians in the territory and caused serious mental and bodily harm to the Armenians in the territory, which are recognized as genocidal crimes under the United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide;
2. Declares the forced removal of ethnic Armenians in September and October 2023 through siege and bombing as ethnic cleansing and the crime against humanity of deportation or forcible transfer of population (forced displacement);
3. Declares the bombing of civilian areas to be a violation of international humanitarian law;
4. Declares the torture and killing of ethnic Armenian prisoners of war and civilians to be a violation of international humanitarian law;
5. Calls upon the government of Azerbaijan to free all ethnic Armenians in Azerbaijani detention in unlawful circumstances;
6. Urges Azerbaijan to comply with orders and judgments of the International Court of Justice, and other obligations of international law including international human rights law and international humanitarian law;
7. Calls upon the government of Azerbaijan to prevent future violations of human rights and international law being perpetrated against the Armenians of the South Caucasus;
8. Calls upon Azerbaijan to prevent further displacement of Armenians from their homeland by respecting the Republic of Armenia’s territorial sovereignty;
9. Call upon Azerbaijan to respect, protect and prevent the destruction of any Armenian cultural property in Nagorno-Karabakh;
10. Calls upon the international community to protect Nagorno-Karabakh’s right to self-determination;
11. Calls upon the international community to take appropriate measures to guarantee the right to return and security of Armenians forcibly displaced from Nagorno-Karabakh, as confirmed by the International Court of Justice in its 17 November 2023 Provisional Measures Order;
12. Calls upon the international community, including national governments and international organizations, to recognize the atrocities perpetrated against the ethnic
Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh as constituting gross violations of human rights, war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity, as applicable, and to take appropriate measures in response to prevent further violations and crimes.
13. Recommends appropriate transitional justice measures including but not limited to: sanctions against those who are responsible; referral of the situation to the International Criminal Court to ensure justice for victims; commencement of proceedings against Azerbaijan in the International Court of Justice under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide and the Convention Against Torture; the creation of an international fact-finding mission to gather evidence of human rights abuses and crimes; the creation of a missing persons search process; and the use by state courts of universal jurisdiction to commence proceedings against individuals involved in the crimes.
14. Calls upon the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court to use Armenian ratification of the Rome Statute to investigate and prosecute the transboundary crime against humanity of deportation from Nagorno-Karabakh into Armenian territory.
15. Calls upon Azerbaijan to remove its soldiers from the territory of the Armenian Republic and to respect the right of self-determination of the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh as guaranteed under the United Nations Charter (Chapter I, Article 2).
