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We demand a stop to Azerbaijan's policy of ethnic cleansing and genocide of Armenians in Artsakh and an assurance of the implementation of the November 9, 2020 Tripartite Declaration

To the member states of the United Nations (UN) Security Council,

To the leaders of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chair countries: the United States of America, the French Republic, the Russian Federation,

To the President of the Russian Federation, as the head of the country implementing the peacekeeping mission in Artsakh,

To the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia, as the head of government of the state that assumed legal and political responsibility for the Republic of Artsakh with the declaration of independence of the Republic of Armenia,

Since the November 9, 2020 signing of the tripartite declaration (hereinafter referred to as the Tripartite Declaration) by the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan, the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, and the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin, Azerbaijan has regularly violated and continues to violate a number of the document’s provisions with impunity: namely, by killing the residents of the Republic of Artsakh, occupying new territories, shooting at civilians engaged in agricultural work, keeping Artsakh under blockade since December 12, 2022, and setting up a checkpoint on the Berdzor (Lachin) corridor on April 23, 2023, thereby completely cutting off Artsakh's connection with the outside world.

Not only is there currently a serious humanitarian crisis in Artsakh, but Azerbaijan is also openly carrying out a genocidal policy of ethnic cleansing and depriving the indigenous people of Artsakh their homeland.

Since the signing of the Tripartite Declaration, Azerbaijan has grossly violated the following provisions:

• According to the first provision, the parties should have stopped in their positions and a full ceasefire regime was to be maintained.

However, as a result of the attacks by the units of the Azerbaijani armed forces, the Khtsaberd, Hin Tagher, Parukh, and Karaglukh settlements of the Republic of Artsakh came under the control of Azerbaijan after the signing of the Tripartite Declaration. Azerbaijani armed forces occupied other territories as well.

• According to point 6 of the document, the "Lachin Corridor" (5 km wide) would ensure the connection of Nagorno-Karabakh with Armenia and would be under the control of the peacekeeping troops of the Russian Federation.

Since December 12, 2022, Azerbaijan has closed the Lachin Corridor. Since April 23, 2023, Azerbaijan has unilaterally set up a checkpoint there, holding 120,000 Artsakh Armenians — including about 30,000 children — hostage.

• According to point 7 of the document, internally displaced persons and refugees shall return to the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh and adjacent regions under the supervision of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
• Paragraph 8 of the document provides for the exchange of prisoners of war, hostages, and other detained persons, as well as the bodies of the dead.

Azerbaijan has been preventing the implementation of these two points by all possible means since the very first day of the signing of the Tripartite Declaration.

Moreover, on December 7, 2021 and February 22, 2023, the UN International Court of Justice issued two interim measures, demanding Azerbaijan immediately cease its gross violations of international law. The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) also made such interim decisions in 2020-2022.

However, to this day, Azerbaijan still refuses to implement the decisions of these two courts, even though they are acts to be immediately executed.

We, the citizens of the Republic of Artsakh, through this petition-demand, draw the attention of the leaders of the aforementioned countries and the entire international community to Azerbaijan’s implementation of a policy of ethnic cleansing and genocide of the Armenians of the Republic of Artsakh, as well as to the gross violations of the provisions of the Tripartite Declaration by the military-political leadership of Azerbaijan for this same purpose. We demand the application of all international mechanisms without delay in order to ensure the implementation of the provisions of the Tripartite Declaration, as well as the decisions of the UN International Court of Justice and the ECHR.

Taking into account the current situation, we, on behalf of the entire population of Artsakh, demand:

Assurance of the implementation of the provisions of the Tripartite Declaration of November 9, 2020, as well as the decisions of the UN International Court of Justice of December 7, 2021 and February 22, 2023 and the European Court of Human Rights in 2020-2022:

1. withdrawal of Azerbaijani armed forces from Armenian territories occupied after November 9,
2. full observance of the ceasefire regime,
3. immediate unblocking of the corridor, the provision of uninterrupted communication with Armenia through the 5-km-wide corridor, the dismantling of the Azerbaijani checkpoint,
4. assurance of the right of captives and refugees to return to their homeland.

If the addressees do not take active steps to fulfill the aforementioned points within 7 days of the publication of this public petition-demand, we will have to resort to all necessary means and methods to protect our right to live in the homeland and the future of our children.

The "NO to the ethnic cleansing of Artsakh" movement