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The Autumn Meeting of the Parliamentary Assembly for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE PA) began its work in Dublin, in the capital of the Republic of Ireland.

The member of the RA NA delegation to the Organization Lilit Galstyan gave a speech during the Meeting, noting:

“Dear colleagues,

Over the past three years I used this platform to raise the alarm about the existential threat that the people of Nagorno Kharabakh were facing. I repeatedly asked if we were doing enough to prevent the disaster around us - in the Middle East, Eastern Europe or South Caucasus. Or are we satisfied with the reputation of our organization?

A year ago the crime of genocide was committed by a member of this organization. In blatant violation of the International Court’s orders, after a nine-month severe blockade, Azerbaijan launched its military aggression against the starving and deprived native Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh, forcing more than 120,000 to flee for life, to leave their millennia-old ancestral land.

Artsakh-Nagorno Karabakh, was ethnically cleansed of its indigenous population in broad daylight. Many international organizations classified it as genocide under Article II of the Genocide Convention. Moreover, 205sq.km of Armenia’s territory is currently occupied by Azeri forces. This organization was and is still silent. Petroleum and gas, political expediency and hegemonic schemes are the driving forces of current policy making. The Helsinki Final Act is trashed, all principles are disregarded.

The prevailing atmosphere of impunity serves as a carte blanche for Azerbaijan to commit new crimes by use of force.

As of today, in violation of the international humanitarian law, Azerbaijan not only refuses to return all Armenian POWs, civilian captives, the former political and military leadership of Artsakh, but it is also conducting mock-trials against them.

Azerbaijan continues to erase all Armenian footprint from Artsakh through the systematic destruction of the Armenian cultural and religious heritage. This genocidal act is being presented as “restoration of territorial integrity.”

Dear colleagues, it’s a grave mistake to assume that the Karabakh conflict could be resolved through the elimination of the Armenian population and identity. To remedy the blow to its reputation, this organization must demand, in unequivocal terms, the full observance of the safe and dignified right of return of the Armenians of Nagorno Karabakh to their ancestral home under international security guarantees. The right of return is a fundamental human right that applies directly to the 150,000 Armenians forcibly displaced by Azerbaijan. No one can deprive them of their inherent rights.

Thank you.”