In violation of international law, Armenia still doesn’t provide accurate maps of minefields to Azerbaijan, Ambassador-at-Large of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry Elshad Isgandarov said during an event “Landmine Free South Caucasus” organized in Geneva by the LINKS Europe Foundation with the support of the EU as part of the intersessional meeting of the 2023 Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention, SİA informs.
Isgandarov noted that as a result of the occupation, which lasted almost 30 years, about 10% of the Azerbaijani territory was deliberately contaminated with mines by Armenia, where more than 1.5 million mines were planted.
It was emphasized that the continued targeted mining of the territories of Azerbaijan is one of the main threats that impede the achievement of sustainable peace in the region, the ongoing large-scale restoration and construction work, the civilian population operating in these territories, as well as the peaceful return and residence of former internally displaced persons on their lands. The ambassador stated that as a result of 179 incidents that occurred in the liberated Azerbaijani territories from November 2020 to this time, 57 citizens were killed and 247 were seriously injured.
During the speech, it was also emphasized that Armenia still refuses to provide Azerbaijan with accurate maps of minefields, violating the requirements of international humanitarian law. It was noted that despite the existing difficulties, a tenth of Azerbaijan’s mined territories had already been cleared. The participants of the event were informed about the importance of showing international solidarity on this issue, as well as the readiness of the country to cooperate with international organizations.
Head of Division for Conventional Disarmament, Arms Control and Confidence and Security Building Measures Worldwide Albrecht von Wittke, Head of the Disarmament Section of the European Union Delegation to the UN in Geneva Marketa Homolkova, Permanent Representative of Georgia to the UN Office at Geneva Alexander Maisuradze, Director of LINKS Europe Dennis Sammut also spoke at the event. Speakers stressed that landmines are a serious obstacle to sustainable peace and development in the South Caucasus region and the need for international solidarity in this humanitarian issue. In this context, the importance of organizing an international evaluation and facilitation conference with stakeholders was noted.
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