Great tolerance for ongoing war crimes and human right abuses in Karabakh - Alfred de Zayas  

Hripsime Hovhannisyan

Aliyev should be indicted by the International Criminal Court, Alfred de Zayas, a lawyer and a former UN expert in international law, said recently on Twitter, addressing the Azerbaijani hostilities against Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) and Armenia.

In an interview with Tert.am, the expert elaborated on his remark, accusing the Azerbaijani leader of perpetrating aggression under Article 6 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC). Mr. Zayas noted the victims the said crime are legally entitled to appeal to the ICC, as well its member states and the UN Security Council.

"The case has to be submitted to Ms. Fatou Bensuda, the ICC Chief Prosecutor. It is the right time for the International Criminal Court to condemn aggression," he said, citing also a possible violation of Article 6.1 of the Treaty of London.

"There may be certainly elements of Article 6, i.e. - genocide, Article 7, i.e. - crimes against humanity and Article 8, i.e. - war crimes. If the ICC investigations are not in place, I would propose a temporary criminal tribunal, such as those created for Yugoslavia and Rwanda," he said.

As for Turkey's involvement in the war, Zayas ruled out any uncertainty over the issue, referring also to the French intelligence reports confirming mercenaries' presence.

"The UN Working Group on the Use of Mercenaries must be committed to probe into foreign engagement, especially Islamist mercenaries and terrorists," he said, noting that the issue may be also referred to the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial executions.

Mr. Zayas, who has also written a book on the Armenian Genocide, stressed also the importance of Armenia's consistent efforts towards involving international partners (from the US, Britain, France and other countries) in the campaign to urge the UN Security Council to condemn aggression and call for an immediate ceasefire.

"They must send their petitions to UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachele," he added.

Meantime the expert called for the international community's strong action to force Azerbaijan into ceasefire.

"But Azerbaijan has an ally, which is Turkey. And Turkey, globally, is in the worst situation when it comes to the protection of human rights. It is a country which, after the 2016 attempted coup, has the highest number of jailed analysts, professors, teachers and judges," he said, highlighting a visible application of double standards by European institutions.

"They are tolerant of Turkey, of what that country is doing, including also in the field of human rights. They refuse to apply sanctions against Turkey while enforcing sanctions against Belarus. This arises a question as to how international law really works."

The lawyer also stressed the importance of being vocal about the right of nations to self-determination.

"While in the case of Kosovo, international law says that the right to territorial integrity is subordinate to the right to self-determination, it calls for reservation in this particular case. Azerbaijan will not be willing to accept that, but in case the international community exercises more pressure on Azerbaijan rather than on Turkey. the issue may be easily resolved," he said.

Meantime, Mr. Zayas agreed that the international community, state leaders and politicians appear often to be devoid of any ethics or moral behavior (as they opt for using international law as a kind of weapon for their own interests to accuse, and exert pressure upon, the other side).

"It is an old practice. I saw that also forty years ago, when I wasn't yet at the United Nations and worked as a university professor. The media have to do something about this. They must provide an objective coverage of what is going on and urge the democratically elected US, British, French and German leaders to do their utmost to stop the fire. People die. So that is absolutely necessary; they must stop the fire. There is a great tolerance for the ongoing war crimes and human rights abuses," the expert said.

Commenting on the exercise of the Artsakh people's right to self-determination, Mr. Zayas referred to the UN General Assembly's earlier report on the theory and practice of that right.

"I singled out a very important point there - dealing also with Nagorno-Karabakh. It is not the right to self-determination that provokes a conflict, but rather its rejection that creates one. The exercise of the right of people to self-determination is a strategy," he said, referring to the remarks by Commissioner Bachele and António Guterres , the UN Secretary-General.

As an important step in the current circumstances, Zayas called for efforts towards internationalizing the issue and arranging a referendum. "It is possible to discuss how, but we must have respect for the right of people who live in Artsakh," he added.