Armenia on Thursday urged the United Nations’ highest court to grant a new interim ruling against Azerbaijan to prevent what the leader of Armenia’s legal team called permanent “ethnic cleansing” in Nagorno-Karabakh by Azerbaijan.
Armenia asked judges at the International Court of Justice to issue 10 “temporary measures” aimed at protecting the rights of ethnic Armenians from the Nagorno-Karabakh region reclaimed by Azerbaijan last month, following a lightning military operation.
Members of Azerbaijan’s legal team in court vehemently denied the accusations, while referring to the region simply as Karabakh.
“Azerbaijan is not involved and will not be involved in acts of ethnic cleansing or any form of attacks against Karabakh civilians,” said Deputy Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan Elnur Mammadov.
In a 24-hour operation on September 19, the Azerbaijani army succeeded in driving out Armenian troops who were short of personnel and weapons, forcing them to surrender.
The separatist government in the region then agreed to dissolve itself at the end of this year.
More than 100,000 ethnic Armenians fled Nagorno-Karabakh.
“Nothing – other than targeted and decisive temporary measures – can protect the rights of ethnic Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh, which will be enough to prevent the continuation and permanence of ethnic cleansing by Azerbaijan,” said the leader of the Armenian legal team, Yeghishe Kirakosyan , to the judges.
After six years of separatist fighting ended in 1994 following the fall of the Soviet Union, Nagorno-Karabakh was controlled by ethnic Armenian forces backed by the Armenian government.
Azerbaijan took parts of the region south of the Caucasus Mountains in a six-week war in 2020, as well as surrounding areas previously claimed by Armenian forces.
Nagorno-Karabakh is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan’s sovereign territory.
The International Court of Justice is considering two cases that focus on deep-rooted tensions between the two countries.
Armenia filed a case in 2021, accusing Azerbaijan of violating international conventions aimed at preventing racial discrimination.
A week later, Azerbaijan filed its own case, accusing Armenia of violating the same convention.
The court has issued interim decisions in both cases.
The rulings are intended to protect the rights of both countries and peoples, while their cases are processed slowly.
Armenia on Thursday accused Azerbaijan of pushing citizens of Armenian descent out of Nagorno-Karabakh despite ongoing legal disputes.
