The issue discussed following the speech made by the representatives of the Permanent Mission was of great importance for the UN Security Council, the international community, and in particular for Azerbaijan.

The world community was informed that the civilian population suffered, tens of thousands of civilians were killed or injured, millions of people were expelled from their houses as a result of new conflicts or conflicts lasting for a long time, active conflicts or those suspended as a result of the ceasefire regime.

The detailed information on Armenia’s occupation policy and its consequences, in particular, on the damage to the Azerbaijani civilian population and infrastructure, and the ongoing illegal activity of the occupying country, was provided during the speech.

The representatives of the Permanent Mission stressed that 250,000 Azerbaijanis were deported from Armenia at the end of the 1980s of the last century.

Armenia started a war against Azerbaijan in late 1991-early 1992, as a result of which tens of thousands of people were killed and the infrastructure was damaged.

During the speech, the representatives of the Permanent Mission of Azerbaijan also emphasized that an ethnic cleansing policy was carried out against Azerbaijanis in the occupied Nagorno-Karabakh region and adjacent territories, as a result of which over a million of Azerbaijanis were expelled from their houses.

The occupying country continues to flagrantly violate the requirements of relevant resolutions and international law.

Moreover, Armenia is carrying out the work on military construction and is conducting the purposeful policy in the direction of changing demographic, cultural and physical characteristics in the above-mentioned territories.

The representatives of the Permanent Mission emphasized that this activity is a threat to the regional peace, security and stability and added that the rights and freedom of hundreds of thousands of people were violated.

While referring to the recently published comprehensive report entitled “War crimes in the Azerbaijani territories and the responsibility of Armenia”, the representatives of the Permanent Mission emphasized that it contains the facts and evidence confirming Armenia’s war crimes.

During the speech, the representatives of the Permanent Mission emphasized that the UN Security Council must focus on the issue of protection of civilians who have suffered during the armed conflicts; at the same time, the parties to the armed conflicts must be aware about the requirements for their commitment to the obligations arising from the international law.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on the withdrawal of its armed forces from Nagorno Karabakh and the surrounding districts.