8. Recognising that the absence of free and safe access through the Lachin corridor is part of a muchbroader issue, the Assembly is convinced that a humanitarian response alone is not sufficient and that apolitical solution is needed. Welcoming the negotiations underway between Armenia and Azerbaijan under theauspices notably of the European Union and the United States of America, the Assembly stresses that thecurrent situation is not sustainable and may well lead to the Armenian population being forced to leave theirhomes and communities if there is no resolution to the conflict. In this context, it urgently calls for addressingthe issues of the rights and security of the Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh through dialoguebetween Baku and Khakendi/Stepanakert and a neutral international involvement in any peaceimplementation mechanism to be put in place.

9. Noting the interim measures decided by the European Court of Human Rights on 21 December 2022under Rule 39 of the Rules of the Court calling on the Government of Azerbaijan “to take all measures that arewithin their jurisdiction to ensure safe passage through the Lachin Corridor of seriously ill persons in need ofmedical treatment in Armenia and others who were stranded on the road without shelter or means ofsubsistence”, the Assembly calls on Azerbaijan to implement this decision with no further delay.

10. Noting that the International Court of Justice ordered Azerbaijan to urgently “take all measures at itsdisposal to ensure unimpeded movement of persons, vehicles and cargo along the Lachin Corridor in bothdirections”, the Assembly calls on Azerbaijan to also comply with this order urgently.

11. While noting that the mirror applications brought by Azerbaijan against Armenia were rejected by bothinternational courts, the Assembly believes that Armenia must also play a role in de-escalating the tensions,and that it should be open to some form of international monitoring with the aim of assessing the veracity ofAzerbaijan’s allegations regarding the illegal weapons being brought into Nagorno-Karabakh.

12. The Assembly calls on Azerbaijan to invite a Council of Europe delegation to visit the Lachin corridorand Nagorno-Karabakh for a fact-finding mission, to assess the situation on the ground. It also calls onAzerbaijan to let other international organisations access the region, including United Nations agencies, inparticular the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the United Nations Educational,Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), in line with their respective mandates and relevant principlesregulating international humanitarian assistance.

13. The Assembly recognises the crucial role played by the International Committee of the Red Cross(ICRC) in transporting patients through the Lachin corridor, reuniting separated families and transportingmedicines, medical equipment, seeds and food to the inhabitants of Nagorno-Karabakh, as far as it was able.It recognises, as a key point, that such interventions should not be required, and that the fact that they are is aclear evidence that there is no free and safe access through the Lachin corridor.

14. In the full recognition of Armenia’s and Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity, the Assembly calls Azerbaijanfor a genuinely constructive and peaceful approach towards its neighbour Armenia and the Armenians living inNagorno-Karabakh. It strongly encourages Azerbaijan to invest all efforts for a free and safe movement bothways along the Lachin corridor. In the meantime, it urges Azerbaijan to restore electricity and gas supplieswithout delay or impediment, and to agree with Armenians a new route for gas supplies and the electricity gridthrough Armenian and not Azerbaijani territory.

15. The Assembly is extremely worried by the hostile and threatening rhetoric used against Armenians atthe highest level of Azerbaijan’s leadership and urges Azerbaijan to repudiate such rhetoric and take steps totackle both hate speech, including by public and high-level officials, and hate crimes. To this end, Azerbaijanis encouraged to introduce and implement appropriate legislation with the assistance of the Council of Europe.The Assembly is also aware of hate speech being used by individuals in Armenia and likewise urgesArmenia’s leadership to condemn such hate speech and the authorities to take appropriate measures topunish it.

16. Without anticipating the outcome of the peace negotiations, the Assembly believes that, regardless ofthe citizenship issue, which should in any case not be detrimental to the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh,innovative solutions could be found to protect the rights of the Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh, within thetoolbox provided by the Council of Europe, which includes standards, instruments and programmes. TheAssembly therefore calls on Armenia and Azerbaijan to take full advantage of the existing standards,instruments and programmes related to the enjoyment of minority rights, language and education, culturalheritage, decentralisation and local self-government options.

17. The consequences of the absence of free and safe access through the Lachin corridor have shown thatconfidence-building measures would certainly be useful in addressing certain situations. The Assemblytherefore recommends Armenia and Azerbaijan to engage in confidence building measures under the

Resolution 2508 (2023)

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