Karabakh marks anniversary of Independence Referendum and adoption of Constitution

The Office of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic in the USA has issued on December 10 a statement in connection with the 19th anniversary of the Indpendence Referendum and the fourth anniversary of the adoption of the Constitution.
Below is the text of the statement:

December 10 marks the 19th anniversary of the national Referendum in NKR, which served as a public endorsement of the political status of the newly-formed NKR as the nearly all eligible Artsakh voters (98.9%) voted for an “independent state acting on its own authority to decide forms of co-operation with other states and communities”.

More than a decade later, on the same day in 2006, Artsakh people reaffirmed their commitment to live in a free and independent state by adopting Artsakh’s main law – Constitution of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic , which consolidated all basic principles of state sovereignty and determined a new stage in republic’s development.

Conducted in full compliance with international norms and acting legislation, the referenda represent pillars of Artsakh’s independent statehood and mark key stages of continued democratic development.
Symbolically, December 10 is also the day of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights marked by the United Nations, which, inter alia, provides that “everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person”.

In connection with this fateful day, the republic’s President Bako Sahakyan delivered a congratulatory address, stressing that the birth and existence of Artsakh entirely correspond to the norms and principles of the international law. (Below read the full text of President Sahakyan’s address)