“Genocide is being committed in NK” – Former Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court
Ocampo’s opinion on the situation in NK
“The blocking of the Lachin corridor by Azerbaijan is a genocide against the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh.” This conclusion was reached by the former prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, a leading expert in the field of international law, Luis Moreno Ocampo. He referred in his report to the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. The expert recalled that according to the convention, genocide is also considered “the deliberate creation of such living conditions for any group that are calculated for its complete or partial physical destruction.”
“There are no crematoria or machete attacks. Hunger is the invisible weapon of genocide. Without immediate cardinal changes, this group of Armenians will be destroyed within a few weeks,” the expert believes.
He studied the situation at the request of the president of the unrecognized republic and published a conclusion, titled “Armenian Genocide in 2023”. Ocampo asserts that hunger “as a method of extermination of people was ignored by the international community when it was used against Armenians in 1915, later against Jews and a number of other peoples.”
“Urgent Request”
On July 29, the president of the unrecognized NKR addressed Luis Moreno Ocampo with an “urgent request”, requesting an expert opinion on three issues:
- “Can the blockade of our people by Azerbaijan from December 12, 2022, and especially the blocking of all types of humanitarian aid supplies to the Republic of Artsakh from June 15, 2023, be considered a crime of genocide?
- Does the International Criminal Court have jurisdiction to deal with this issue?
- Who can be personally responsible for this crime?”
It is reported that Arayik Harutyunyan attached to his request a folder of documents with factual data on the situation. Two days later, Ocampo replied to the letter. He stated that he would be honored to analyze this issue and promised to “give an unbiased assessment”:
“Given the severity of the problem, including the risk of starvation for 120,000 Armenians, I plan to publish my report in 7 days. For analysis, please report all new circumstances that may affect the situation.”
Ocampo: “The organizer of the genocide is the President of Azerbaijan”
Answering the question “who is directly responsible”, Ocampo stated:
“President Aliyev should be held accountable for the genocide because he heads the state apparatus and controls decisions in the political, military and diplomatic spheres.”
Ocampo points out in his report the facts that testify to the genocidal intentions of the President of Azerbaijan:
- “Aliyev deliberately blocked the supply of vital goods to the Armenians living in Nagorno-Karabakh,”
- “openly disobeyed the decisions of the International Court of Justice to ensure the unhindered movement of people, vehicles and goods along the Lachin corridor in both directions.”
In addition, Ocamo asserts that the President of Azerbaijan received notifications from the International Criminal Court about the “real and immediate danger created for the health and life of Armenians as a result of the blockade.”
Who else can be on the “list of criminals”
According to Ocampo, it is possible to identify “other criminals involved in the blockade.” At the same time, he notes that there are no direct indications of their involvement in the genocide, an investigation is needed.
Referring to the information he received, the expert nevertheless published a list of names whose involvement should be investigated:
- Zakir Hasanov – Minister of Defense of Azerbaijan
- Elchin Guliyev – Head of the State Border Service of Azerbaijan,
- Akshin Maharramov – commander of the border guard detachment of the state border,
- Misir Aliyev – Rapid Response Brigade of the Rapid Response Forces of the State Border Service,
- Farid Shafiev – Center for Analysis of International Relations.
About possible liability
Ocampo referred to Article 4 of the Genocide Convention, according to which the perpetrators of genocide “shall be punished, whether they are constitutionally responsible leaders, officials or private individuals”. According to Luis Moreno Ocampo, “no national authority” can be investigated against the President of Azerbaijan, since he, as head of state, has immunity.
He focused on three possibilities for initiating an investigation in the International Criminal Court:
- Azerbaijan becomes a state party to the Rome Statute.
- Azerbaijan allows court intervention on its territory (Article 12.3 of the Rome Statute),
- The UN Security Council transfers the investigation of the situation after December 2022 in the Lachin corridor and the NK to the ICC.
“Azerbaijan is not a state party to the Rome Statute and does not allow the intervention of the ICC on its territory. Accordingly, immediate action is required to adopt a UN Security Council resolution that will refer the situation in the Lachin corridor and Nagorno-Karabakh to the ICC,” he stressed.
Speaking of precedents, he recalled that in March 2005 the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 1395, by which the situation in Darfur was referred to the ICC. Five years later, Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir was accused of committing genocide.
“Immediate political decisions are needed”
According to Ocampo, in order to prevent the physical destruction of the Armenians living in Nagorno-Karabakh, the following steps should be taken:
- lift the blockade and restore the supply of essential goods within a couple of weeks;
- ensure that institutional decisions are made on disputed territorial claims.
- He says that the second point must be completed before May 2025, because after that Baku can achieve the termination of the activities of the Russian peacekeeping mission in NK.
At the same time, the decision of the International Court of Justice, sanctions or diplomatic instruments will not have a quick and strong effect. He believes that it is necessary to achieve a unified position between Russia and the United States “to stop the ongoing genocide”:
“Russia, which is responsible for maintaining peace in Nagorno-Karabakh, and the United States, which facilitates negotiations between Armenia and Azerbaijan, are parties to the genocide convention. They are in a privileged position to prevent this genocide. Their sharp confrontation, caused by the Ukrainian conflict, should not become a reason for turning the Armenians into indirect victims.”
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Ocampo’s opinion on the situation in NK
