YEREVAN, JANUARY 19, ARTSAKHPRESS. The European Parliament adopted a resolution on the humanitarian consequences of the blockade in Nagorno-Karabakh, calling on Azerbaijan to respect and implement the trilateral statement of 9 November 2020 and immediately reopen the Lachin corridor and to refrain from undermining the functioning of transport, energy and communication connections between Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh in future. The resolution underlines the need for a comprehensive peace agreement, which must guarantee the rights and security of Nagorno-Karabakh’s Armenian population.
Below is the full text of the European Parliament resolution on the humanitarian consequences of the blockade in Nagorno-Karabakh which was adopted on January 19 after debates on the issue.
“The European Parliament,
– having regard to its previous resolutions on Armenia and Azerbaijan,
– having regard to Rules 144(5) and 132(4) of its Rules of Procedure,
A. whereas the only road connecting Nagorno-Karabakh with Armenia and the outside world, the Lachin corridor, has been blocked by self-proclaimed environmentalists from Azerbaijan since 12 December 2022; whereas this has disrupted access to essential goods and services, including food, fuel and medication, for the 120 000 Armenians living in Nagorno-Karabakh, effectively placing them under a blockade;
B. whereas the blockade has led to a severe humanitarian crisis, significantly affecting the most vulnerable populations; whereas the transfer of critically ill patients is nearly impossible, with one death resulting from this situation; whereas hundreds of families remain separated;
C. whereas this humanitarian crisis was further aggravated by Azerbaijan’s disruption of the natural gas supply to Nagorno-Karabakh, which left houses, hospitals and schools without heating;
D. whereas by sustaining the blockade of the Lachin corridor, Azerbaijan is breaching its international obligations under the trilateral ceasefire statement of 9 November 2020, under which Azerbaijan must guarantee the security of persons, vehicles and cargo moving along the corridor in both directions;
E. whereas the impediments to the use of the Lachin corridor set back the peace process between Armenia and Azerbaijan and undermine international confidence;
- Deplores the tragic humanitarian consequences of the blockade of the Lachin corridor and the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict;
- Urges Azerbaijan to respect and implement the trilateral statement of 9 November 2020 and immediately reopen the Lachin corridor to enable free movement and ensure access to essential goods and services, thus guaranteeing security in the region and safeguarding residents’ livelihoods;
- Underlines the need for a comprehensive peace agreement, which must guarantee the rights and security of Nagorno-Karabakh’s Armenian population; calls on Azerbaijan to protect the rights of Armenians living in Nagorno-Karabakh and refrain from its inflammatory rhetoric that calls for discrimination against Armenians and urges Armenians to leave Nagorno-Karabakh;
- Urges Azerbaijan to refrain from undermining the functioning of transport, energy and communication connections between Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh in future;
- Strongly condemns Azerbaijan’s scapegoating of human rights defenders and CSOs and calls on EU and Member State representations to support their work;
- Condemns the inaction of Russian ‘peacekeepers’; considers that their replacement with OSCE international peacekeepers, under a UN mandate, should be negotiated urgently;
- Calls for international organisations to be granted unimpeded access to Nagorno-Karabakh to assess the situation and provide the necessary humanitarian assistance;
- Calls for a UN or OSCE fact-finding mission to the Lachin corridor to assess the humanitarian situation on the ground;
- Calls for the urgent resumption, without preconditions, of negotiations based on the principles of the Helsinki Final Act;
- Calls for the EU to be actively involved and ensure that the inhabitants of Nagorno-Karabakh are no longer held hostage by Baku’s activism, Russia’s destructive role and the Minsk Group’s inactivity;
- Instructs its President to forward this resolution to Armenia, Azerbaijan and international institutions.”
