No direct threat to Karabakh civilians French human rights activists refute ethnic cleansing in Karabakh

The French human rights organisation Coordination des Associations et des Particuliers pour la Liberté de Conscience (CAP Freedom of Conscience) has confirmed that there was no ethnic cleansing by Azerbaijan against Karabakh Armenians.

Proceeding from the results of the monitoring conducted by this French organisation, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan also confirmed that there were no threats against the Karabakh civilians, Report informs citing the statement of CAP Freedom of Conscience in response to the petition of the European Centre for Law and Justice, which demands the suspension of Azerbaijan’s membership in the Council of Europe.

“The situation is stable. Information about mass casualties among civilians does not correspond to reality. Today there is no direct threat to Karabakh civilians,” Pashinyan said in September.

In turn, Representative of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees in Armenia Kavita Belani stated that there were no incidents or cases of harsh treatment against Armenians living in Karabakh.

According to the CAP-LC statement, the Azerbaijani authorities have announced security guarantees for Karabakh Armenians willing to stay in Karabakh and have launched a special website for those who want to return.

“The website (http://reintegration.gov.az ) contains information on social, economic and legal aspects of the integration of Karabakh Armenians into Azerbaijani society in several languages, including the Armenian language,” the statement says.

Thus, an objective analysis confirms neither the forced departure nor “prevention of return” and thus refutes claims of “ethnic cleansing,” the authors say.

“The organisation, as if ironically entitled “European Centre for Law and Justice,” initiated a petition demanding the suspension of Azerbaijan’s membership in the Council of Europe on the same grounds on which Russia’s membership was suspended,” CAP-LC notes and gives reasons, according to which this requirement is unfair and misleading.

“As opposed to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Azerbaijan acted on its own territory and in accordance with international law. The operation lasted less than a day. The availability of hundreds of pieces of heavy equipment, artillery and air defence systems, millions of ammunitions and dozens of fortified districts in Karabakh was confirmed by visual data. At the same time, the UN mission, which visited the region twice, reported that civilian infrastructure was not damaged. Thus, the operation was aimed against the military infrastructure of illegal armed groups,” the CAP-LC representatives said.

CAP Freedom of Conscience is a European non-governmental organisation (NGO) with consultative status with the UN, established in 1995, dedicated to protecting the right to freedom of religion or belief. This organisation fights against all forms of discrimination, notifying European and international organisations about it.