March 3, 2023

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Statement by the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights on the obstruction of the Lachin Corridor

The Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights of the Parliament Assembly of the Council of Europe is greatly concerned by the humanitarian crisis unfolding due to the ongoing obstruction of the Lachin Corridor. This corridor is the lifeline between those living in Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia, and the Committee fully supports the public statement made by the Parliamentary Assembly co-rapporteurs for the monitoring of Armenia on 24 February 2023, calling for “immediate action” and “the immediate cessation of the unlawful and illegitimate obstruction of the Lachin corridor”.

The Committee also calls on the Azerbaijani authorities to implement without delay the measures addressed to it by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) of 22 February 2023 and of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) of 21 December 2022 whose decisions noted the obligation on Azerbaijan under the Trilateral Statement, signed on 9 November 2020, to “guarantee the security of persons, vehicles and cargo moving along the Lachin Corridor in both directions” (Article 6 of the Trilateral Statement).¹ The Committee furthermore refers to other international statements addressed to the authorities of Azerbaijan on the same issue, including

- the joint statement of the four co-rapporteurs of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe for the monitoring of Azerbaijan and Armenia of December 16, 2022, which states that “Freedom and security of movement of persons and goods must be urgently restored along the corridor. We call on all parties to the Trilateral Statement of 9-10 November 2020 to immediately take the necessary measures”, and

- the European Parliament resolution of 19 January 2023 on the humanitarian consequences of the blockade in Nagorno-Karabakh.

1- According to the Order of the ICJ of 22 February 2023 “The Republic of Azerbaijan shall, pending the final decision in the case and in accordance with its obligations under the International Convention on Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, take all measures at its disposal to ensure unimpeded movement of persons, vehicles, and cargo along the Lachin Corridor in both directions.”,
- In its decision of 21 December 2022, the ECtHR indicated to the Government of Azerbaijan, under Rule 39 of the Rules of Court, “… to take all measures that are within their jurisdiction to ensure safe passage through the “Lachin Corridor” of seriously ill persons in need of medical treatment in Armenia and others who were stranded on the road without shelter or means of subsistence.”