Armenia's "ethnic cleansing" claims fall short with UN report International court drama

"Yerevan cannot stop the investigation into events that occurred in Armenia or Nagorno-Karabakh over the last 3–4 years," said former prosecutor of the International Criminal Court Luis Moreno Ocampo. This was his reaction to the Armenian prime minister's statement about the possible withdrawal of lawsuits against Azerbaijan from international courts. After which (probably after thinking for a moment), he added: "Armenia has the right to withdraw lawsuits from the International Criminal Court, but the prosecutor still has the right to conduct investigations into crimes from the moment the jurisdiction was extended — May 10, 2021, and for one year after the withdrawal."

Our note: On September 28, 2023, Armenia filed a lawsuit against Azerbaijan at the International Court of Justice over the "alleged violation of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination concerning the Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh." Additionally, Armenia submitted four complaints to the European Court of Human Rights. There are plenty of "allegeds" — from the alleged invasion of Azerbaijani armed forces into the territory of Armenia to also the alleged "crimes committed on the territory of Armenia itself." The latest complaint concerns the supposed blockade of Karabakh, "massive human rights violations, and ethnic cleansing." In general, it’s a textbook example of hand-wringing, tears, and lamentations about the "ancient, talented, wise, and therefore long-suffering people," who are being wronged once again.

Nothing new here—we’ve already heard, seen, and lived through all of this. Especially the part about "wisdom," which seems to explain the Armenian knack for stepping on the rake over and over again. Just to remind everyone, here’s a line from the UN mission report that visited Karabakh in early October 2023: "The mission did not observe any destruction of agricultural infrastructure or dead animals from the road." So, in light of these facts—provided not by our editorial team, but by the UN mission itself—there’s no basis for claims of "massive human rights violations" or "ethnic cleansing." By the way, we’re not standing still on this either: on November 19, 2024, Azerbaijan filed a lawsuit against Armenia in the Permanent Court of Arbitration, accusing Armenia of violating Azerbaijan’s sovereign rights to energy resources. And, let’s be honest, that’s much more concrete.

Let me make this crystal clear: no one has invaded Armenia—certainly not the Azerbaijani armed forces, and definitely not the Dothraki or the Gamorreans (for those who remember Star Wars). Though as for the Gamorreans and Dothraki, I personally can't vouch for that; who knows what might appear in the minds of some in Armenia after the 44-day war—defeat, you know, doesn’t exactly encourage a balanced perception of the world around. The international community, and the International Court of Justice along with it, can rest easy and wait for their next financial instalment because no invasion has occurred. At least not from the Dothraki or Wookiees (who, by the way, are fictional), and the Azerbaijani Armed Forces are stationed along a "conditional" border—emphasis on "conditional," since, legally, borders remain conditional until demarcation and delimitation are finalized.

And let’s not forget, given Donald Trump’s executive order imposing sanctions on International Criminal Court (ICC) officials, ICC prosecutors will likely have far more pressing matters to focus on than investigating this situation. Honestly, we could even make a bet on that.

As for Ocampo himself—it turns out the old man has offshore companies in the Caribbean, where substantial funds were deposited during his tenure as prosecutor of the International Criminal Court. When asked something along the lines of "where’s the money coming from?" he boldly claimed that offshore firms aren't illegal and that he keeps his money there because he doesn’t trust Argentine banks. Brilliant statement, really. I mean, sure, I get it—“the old man doesn’t care anymore.” But what if the relevant authorities decide to investigate this? At that point, I doubt Luis Moreno Ocampo will have the energy to worry about Armenia’s quirky lawsuits against Azerbaijan. What Armenia, what lawsuits? “You need to run, Saddam, hide,” just like in that joke.

And now about an equally amusing piece of news: "Regional authorities in France express solidarity with Armenian refugees from Nagorno-Karabakh and the host Armenia." This was posted by the French Ambassador to Armenia, Olivier Decottignies, on his X microblog. He then added the following: "We thank the Governor of Armavir, Mr. Argishti Mekhakyan, and his team for exchanging views with the delegation of French regional authorities, gathered by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs and UNDP, on the situation of the 10,000 refugees living in his region."

In short, the regional authorities in France express their solidarity, but they have no intention of resettling Armenians themselves, leaving this dubious honour to, for example, the city of Armavir. By the way, this is not the same Armavir located in the Krasnodar region of the Russian Federation, where there are already plenty of Karabakh Armenians. Incidentally, I hope no one has forgotten how all Armenians who voluntarily left Karabakh were awarded the title of "honorary citizens of Paris"? However, a few days later, it turned out that the title of honorary citizen of Paris doesn't grant any rights, not only to French citizenship but even to an expedited and easy visa to France. In the end, some people were left disappointed—disappointed with blatant cynicism. Armenians rushed to Paris for their visas, only to be met with polite apologies, visa refusals, and the alternative of being sent, for example, to the delightful resorts of the Krasnodar region. As already mentioned, there's also an Armavir there, and the Russians will surely be thrilled. But, of course, that’s not our problem—"you are responsible for those you have tamed."