Western Azerbaijan Community Condemns UN High Commissioner’s Statements
Baku, The Gulf Observer: The Western Azerbaijan Community (WACC) has strongly condemned recent statements made by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk at the UN Human Rights Council, calling them biased and selective.
In an official statement, WACC expressed disappointment that the High Commissioner did not address key issues concerning Armenia’s past occupation of Azerbaijani territories. The Community noted that the consequences of this occupation include the destruction of religious and cultural heritage, the ongoing threat of landmines, and the unresolved fate of approximately 4,000 missing Azerbaijanis.
“The High Commissioner failed to condemn the grave consequences of Armenia’s occupation of Azerbaijani lands, including cultural and religious destruction and mine terrorism,” the statement read. “We expected a call for Armenia’s sincere cooperation with Azerbaijan in determining the fate of the missing Azerbaijanis.”
The statement also criticized Türk for his lack of response to recent remarks by Armenia’s first President, Levon Ter-Petrosyan, which WACC described as racist and indicative of efforts to establish a mono-ethnic state through the forced deportation of Azerbaijanis. Additionally, the Community highlighted concerns over the construction of a restaurant on the ruins of an ancient mosque in Yerevan and repeated revanchist statements by Armenian officials.
“We anticipated that the High Commissioner would urge Armenia to engage in dialogue with us, Western Azerbaijanis, who seek a peaceful return to our ancestral lands. However, instead of addressing these legitimate concerns, he undermined Azerbaijan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity by advocating for the release of war criminals responsible for the Khojaly genocide. Such statements effectively encourage impunity,” WACC stated.
The Community called on Türk to uphold the principles of international law, international humanitarian law, and human rights law without bias. It urged him to refrain from interfering in the judicial processes of a sovereign nation and to adopt a more balanced approach in addressing regional issues.
