21. In particular, the Council of Europe could offer its expertise in confidence-building measures, aiming toallow the Armenian population of this region to feel confident enough to return to its homeland and to live inpeaceful and trustful relations both with the Azerbaijani authorities and its neighbours in the region.

22. The Assembly considers that in addition to the urgent need for access to the region for the Council ofEurope relevant institutions and bodies, the authorities of Azerbaijan should regularly provide the SecretaryGeneral and the Committee of Ministers with full and detailed information on the measures which havealready been taken and that are planned to protect and enhance the rights and freedoms of the Armeniansfrom this region under the European Convention on Human Rights, in particular with a view to securingconfidence in a safe return for those who so wish.

23. Conscious of the focused scope of this report, which is centred exclusively on the humanitariansituation which has affected the Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh following Azerbaijan’s militaryoperation of 19-20 September 2023, the Assembly stands ready to examine in further depth the political andlegal implications of the unfolding situation and the measures to come. Should Azerbaijan fail to fulfil itsobligations, the Assembly shall have no other alternative than to call for the initiation of a complementary jointprocedure between the Committee of Ministers and the Parliamentary Assembly in response to a seriousviolation by Azerbaijan of its statutory obligations and challenge the credentials of the Azerbaijani delegationat its first part-session of 2024.

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