Resolution of the European Committee of the Regions on the Situation in Nagorno-Karabakh after Azerbaijan’s attack
Date: 2023-10-11
Institutions: European Committee of the Regions
Subjects: Armenia, Azerbaijan, ethnic group, humanitarian aid, international human rights law, rights of minorities, settlement of disputes, territorial dispute, the EU's international role








C_202301322EN.000101.fmx.xml












Official Journal of the European Union


EN
Series C













C/2023/1322


22.12.2023






Resolution of the European Committee of the Regions on the Situation in Nagorno-Karabakh after Azerbaijan’s attack
(C/2023/1322)

THE EUROPEAN COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS (CoR),

1.   

Condemns the unjustified military attack by Azerbaijan against the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh and calls on Azerbaijani to refrain from further hostilities in the region, which have led to significant loss of life and displaced over 100 000 people;



2.   

Expresses its solidarity with the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh who have been forced to flee their homes and welcomes all efforts by the public authorities of Armenia to provide shelter and aid to the displaced Armenians. The CoR stresses that local authorities are the first line of support for refugees and the internally displaced people forced to move to Armenia. The CoR calls on local and regional authorities across the EU to help Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh as they did with refugees from Ukraine by providing temporary shelter;



3.   

Calls for the immediate release of Armenian civilians and local officials from Nagorno-Karabakh who were abducted and arrested by Azerbaijan;



4.   

Is deeply concerned about the consequences of Azerbaijan’s actions and emphasises that any forceful relocation of ethnic Armenian population may constitute an act of ethnic cleansing, which should be met with a strong response from the international community. Therefore the CoR calls on Azerbaijan to refrain from all actions directly or indirectly aimed at displacing the remaining ethnic Armenians from the region and allow safe return and offer guarantees as regards the protection of their rights, including the right to establish self-government institutions in the light of the Council of Europe’s European Charter of Local Self-Government, so as to maintain their distinct identity and enjoy their civil, cultural, social, religious rights and historical heritage in line with Unesco standards and international commitments.



5.   

Reminds Azerbaijan that it bears full responsibility for the safety and well-being of all people in Nagorno-Karabakh and must be held accountable and urges Azerbaijan to fully respect its commitment to the 1991 Almaty Declaration, which recognises and respects territorial integrity of signatory parties and inviolability of the existing borders, while preserving interethnic concord.



6.   

Demands that Azerbaijan ensure unimpeded humanitarian access to the population in need, for the International Red Cross as well as for relevant UN agencies, including through a full re-opening of the Lachin corridor in line with the Orders of the International Court of Justice of February and July 2023;



7.   

Condemns the fact that for more than nine months Azerbaijan cut off Nagorno-Karabakh’s gas and electricity supply, significantly deteriorating living conditions of citizens, and in particular of vulnerable groups, and hindering the functioning of medical, educational and local public institutions;



8.   

Supports the call of the Armenian authorities for the UN to monitor the region in order to prevent further escalation of the conflict and supports the call by the European Parliament for the EU and its Member States to strengthen the mandate of the EU civilian mission in Armenia (EUMA), increase its size and extend its duration in order to closely monitor the evolving security situation on the ground and actively contribute to conflict resolution efforts;



9.   

Calls for strong measures to prevent human traffickers from targeting and exploiting the people fleeing, especially women and children, particularly for the purposes of sexual or labour exploitation;



10.   

Offers the possibility to involve the deposed local authorities of Nagorno-Karabakh in the works of the Conference of Regional and Local Authorities for the Eastern Partnership (CORLEAP). The CoR declares that it will not recognise or collaborate with any local leadership installed unilaterally by the Azerbaijani authorities. The CoR also calls on the Congress of the Council of Europe to monitor the respect of fundamental rights of the population of Nagorno-Karabakh deciding to remain in their region;



11.   

Supports Armenia’s request for an increase of the European Union’s humanitarian and financial assistance, in particular in order to cope with the arrival of tens of thousands of refugees. The CoR welcomes the activation of the European Civil Protection Mechanism, which provides local and regional authorities with a channel to contribute to the humanitarian effort in a coordinated way;



12.   

Supports Armenia’s request for aid via the European Peace Facility under the condition that Armenia reconsiders its current military alliances;



13.   

Believes that the EU should play a more active role in the Caucasus region by providing Armenia with an ambitious plan for cooperation, upgrading the current Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement, anchoring it stronger in the community of democracies;



14.   

Considers that in order to strengthen strategic autonomy, the European Union should reduce its dependency on Azerbaijan’s gas exports and recognise that these exports include gas of Russian origin and thereby contribute to finance Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine;



15.   

Calls on the Euronest and the European External Action Service to reconsider the relations with Azerbaijan in the framework of the Eastern Partnership and its bodies, including the CORLEAP and the Civil Society Platform, and calls on the EU to speak with one voice;



16.   

Condemns the inaction of Russian ‘peacekeepers’ and the overall role played by Russia, who is using the conflict to pursue its own political purposes;



17.   

Instructs its president to transmit the present resolution to the presidents of the European Parliament, the European Commission, the Presidency of the European Council and the Spanish Presidency of the Council of the European Union.




Brussels, 11 October 2023.


The President of the European Committee of the Regions

Vasco ALVES CORDEIRO
            





ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/C/2023/1322/oj
ISSN 1977-091X (electronic edition)