Ani Samsonyan's letter to OSCEPA members of Denmark

NATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF THE REPUBLIC OF ARMENIA
«BRIGHT ARMENIA» FACTION MEMBER
Your Excellencies,
This letter is to inform you about ongoing tensions on the Armenian-Azerbaijan border. On
July 12, 2020, at about 11 pm the military forces of the Republic of Azerbaijan started
shelling in the direction of Tavush Region of the Republic of Armenia. The hostilities from
the Azerbaijani side have been continuing till now (2 days).
There were several attempts to break the frontline and penetrate into the Armenian
positions with the use of heavy artillery, as well as tanks.
After the response of the Armenian forces, the Azerbaijani military forces started to use
civilian targets in the same region. Several villages (including Movses, Chinari, etc.) have
been targeted, several houses were damaged by the artillery. In the latest blatant attacks on
Armenian civilian infrastructures, the Azerbaijani military has opened fire in the direction of
a face mask production factory which plays an essential part in Armenia’s coronavirus
response.
By these actions the Republic of Azerbaijan has violated Article 2(4) of the UN Charter. The
United Nations Charter in Article 2(4) controls the use of force by member states: “All
members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against
the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, or in any other manner
inconsistent with the purposes of the United Nations.”
This is one of the jus cogens principles of International Law, a peremptory norm of general
international law, which is a norm accepted and recognized by the international community
of States as a whole as a norm from which no derogation is permitted. Moreover, using force
against civilian population and targeting civilian buildings are prohibited by the
International Humanitarian law and are considered as grave violations of the latter, war
crimes and crimes against humanity, both in conventional and customary level.
We strongly condemn the shelling and that it is carried out in the immediate vicinity of
peaceful settlements of the Republic of Armenia, with real danger for civilian population,
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their health and life, as well as their property. This is even more condemnable during the
global pandemic (COVID- 19).
Hope, you will use your political influence at domestic and international level for
condemning such actions and prohibiting the Republic of Azerbaijan from continuing the
grave violations of International Law.
By doing so, International Community - we all will force the Azerbaijani side to come back
to the table of negotiations and peaceful settlement of all disputes, which is one of the basic
principles of International law, set in the Article 2(3) of the UN Charter: “All Members shall
settle their international disputes by peaceful means in such a manner that international
peace and security, and justice, are not endangered.”
Meanwhile, the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs are the only platform, which has been given
the mediation mandate by the UN Security Council to deal with the very issue.
In the light of the abovementioned we seek your input for condemning the violations of the
Principles of International Law, International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights by the
Republic of Azerbaijan and thus, dealing with the disputes only by the peaceful settlement.
I would like to express our gratitude in advance.
Ani Samsonyan
Member of the Parliament of the RA.
Vice-President of the Standing Committee on Protection of Human Rights and Public Affairs
Alternate Member of Armenian Delegation of the Parliamentary Dimension of the OSCE