The Western Azerbaijan Community sent a letter to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, requesting him to send of a special UN mission to Armenia for launching the process of safe and dignified return of Azerbaijanis expelled from this country.
"Our organization, which was established in 1989, deals with protection of the rights of Azerbaijanis, who were expelled from Armenia. The expelling of Azerbaijanis from the current territory of Armenia, where they once constituted an absolute majority, was completed in 1991," the letter said.
As a result of the ethnic cleansing, not a single Azerbaijani is left in Armenia, while Azerbaijani historical and cultural heritage were destroyed on a large scale.
Besides, according to the letter, expelling Azerbaijanis from Armenia is an unprecedented injustice given its political, legal, and humanitarian dimensions.
"We have developed and published our concept for a peaceful, safe and dignified return, which was circulated as official documents of the UN Security Council, General Assembly and Economic and Social Council under reference numbers A/77/801-S/2023/134 and E/2023/53 respectively," the letter reads.
As with other similar situations, enabling the voluntary, safe and dignified return of Azerbaijanis expelled from Armenia, requires substantial international input, the letter also noted.
According to the document, appropriate reconstruction and reconciliation measures under international supervision will also be required to ensure the sustainable rehabilitation and re-integration of the returnees.
As the document pointed out, ignoring the rights of Azerbaijanis from Armenia is the perpetuation of injustice, which does not help the maintenance of international peace and security.
The community representatives asked to send a UN mission to Armenia to perform the following tasks:
"To assess the state of Azerbaijani cultural heritage and identify steps required to restore the damaged and obliterated pieces of heritage. To carry out an inventory of illegally seized property belonging to Azerbaijanis," the statement reads.
They also urged to gather information on the impact of the conflict on the rights of ethnic Azerbaijanis, who were forced to flee; conduct a technical field assessment of the security situation.
The Western Azerbaijan Community said they are ready to interact with the UN in carrying out activities to ensure the right to return of Azerbaijanis expelled from Armenia, and thereby help maintenance of justice, peace and security in the region.
