The Advisory Committee on the Council of Europe’s Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities urges the Azerbaijani authorities to create the political, legal and practical conditions necessary for safe, unimpeded and sustainable return of displaced Armenians from Karabakh and to set up a dedicated mechanism to deal with property issues.
The authorities are also urged to inventory, protect and preserve all Armenian religious and cultural sites and artefacts and to investigate all allegations of vandalism, destruction and alteration of historic and cultural monuments and cemeteries used by ethnic Armenians in the region.
Finally, citing a strong public narrative against the Republic of Armenia in the context of the Karabakh conflict and its direct impact on the attitudes towards ethnic Armenians, the Advisory Committee urges the Advisory Committee urges the authorities to refrain from and condemn firmly any manifestation of intolerance and spreading of ethnic hatred against persons belonging to the Armenian community, in order to facilitate the reconciliation process.
