The Armenian Bar Association assembled and with the cooperation of partner associations filed five separate and comprehensive reports with the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (“Committee”) as the Committee prepared to conduct its period review of Azerbaijan’s compliance with the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (“CERD”) at its 107th session to be held in Geneva, Switzerland in August 2022. The Committee is the body of independent experts that monitors implementation of CERD by its State parties. During the periodic review, the Committee examined various reports, including those submitted by the Armenian Bar Association, and addressed its concerns and recommendations to the State party (in this case, Azerbaijan) in the form of “concluding observations.”
On August 30, 2022, The Committee issued its fifth report on Azerbaijan found (among other things) that in Azerbaijan there is “Incitement to racial hatred and the propagation of racist stereotypes against persons of Armenian national or ethnic origin, including on the internet and social media, as well as by public figures and governmental officials, and the lack of detailed information on investigations, prosecutions, convictions and sanctions of such acts.” Furthermore, it is “concerned about reports that school textbooks promote prejudice and incitement to racial hatred, particularly against ethnic Armenians, the marginalization of ethnic minorities in history education in the State party.”
These findings are consistent with our submissions. While ruling Azerbaijan for 29 years, the Aliyev regime has built its dictatorship on hatred against ethnic Armenians in Artsakh, and any resolution of the still unresolved Artsakh conflict must be based on this fact.
The strength and number of the Armenian Bar’s reports reflect the caliber and dedication of the organization and of its partner associations. These reports will be crucial assets for years to come in asserting and upholding the rights and security of Armenians and Artsakhtsis under international law and holding Azerbaijan accountable for violations. All of the reports will appear on the web page of the CERD session. The submissions and topic areas were as follows: Armenian Bar Association: 1. Arbitrary killings of civilians in Artsakh; 2. Hate speech toward Armenians in the diaspora; 3. Destruction of cultural heritage sites with partner Association of Armenian Lawyers (Russia); 4. Prisoners of War with partner French-Armenian Lawyers Association; and 5. Inability to return to ancestral lands with partner CNA of Argentina.
Armenian Bar member Alexander Bedrosyan of Hughes, Hubbard & Reed, LLP represented the Armenian Bar during the Committee’s meetings with the NGOs.
