A security zone should be created around the Syunik province of Republic of Armenia (RA) in order to guarantee the rights of the RA citizens and foremost, the rights of the border residents.
At its core, the following is what is contemplated and meant:
1) Near the communities of Syunik region, or on the roads between those communities, there should be no servicemen of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces or Border Troops;
2) There should be no Azerbaijani signs and flags on the roads between the communities of Syunik region;
3) These elements must be 10km away from the places where they are today;
4) The servicemen of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Armenia or the Border Troops of the Republic of Armenia, who are the guarantors of the life, property and other vital rights of the citizens of the Republic of Armenia, must be deployed directly in front of the deployment of Azerbaijani servicemen.
5) The security zone must be fully accessible to the residents of the Republic of Armenia in order to restore their normal life in the border areas.
This includes unrestricted access to water and other natural resources, forests, land, including pastures, and grasslands in the safety zone.
6) There is no substantiation for the assumptions or allegations that the current deployment of Azerbaijan is based on the division of the Soviet state border.
First off, due to the current Azerbaijani settlements in Syunik under the threat of war, rights of property, economic activity and other rights of the people of Armenia have been grossly violated, including but not limited to vital rights of mental and physical inviolability, and right to dignity. We are referring to internationally recognized rights guaranteed by the RA Constitution.
Separate and aside from the foregoing, a question: who decreed the current Azerbaijani deployments in Syunik to be on their state borders?
There has been no demarcation or delimitation between Armenia and Azerbaijan, and all that has occurred and taken place are the product of gross violations of international human rights requirements and standards.
At the heart of this security concept is human rights.
I have presented the foundations and justifications of these assessments in detail during my press conference (https://www.facebook.com/100017676420633/videos/816795168919690/) on March 5, 2021. The final summary of the concept in the form of a report will be completed in the near future. The report will be sent to international bodies. Currently, Russian forces with their peacekeeping mission play an important role in human rights: this question will be also touched upon from human rights standpoint.
The report will refer to the Syunik province, and with some unique peculiarities, it will also highlight the matter as it relates to the Gegharkunik province.
The details of the concept have been submitted by me to the President of RA on March 17, 2021, and I consider the President’s stance in this respect to be of importance: “There have not been any official demarcations or delimitations between Azerbaijan and Armenia, which means that the process of determining the state borders is, at a minimum, legally uncertain at the moment. In addition, there are the violations of the rights of RA citizens in Syunik, and/or their significant endangerment.
Such an official position was also expressed to the Human Rights Defender by the RA Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which we published on December 30, 2020.
Arman Tatoyan
The Human Rights Defender of Armenia
