Following President Ilham Aliyev's criticism of the Council of Europe in his speech at the IV Global Media Forum in Shusha, government officials and MPs made statements criticising the Council of Europe. MP Elman Nasirov claimed that the Council of Europe has not adopted any resolution against Armenia in the context of the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict.
However, contrary to the MP's claim, the Council of Europe has adopted resolutions against Armenia in the context of the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict. In addition, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), an institution of the Council of Europe, also confirmed in its ruling the fact of Armenia's occupation of Azerbaijani territories.
Resolutions of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE)
In resolutions adopted in 2005 and 2016, PACE clearly indicated that Armenia occupied Azerbaijani territories.
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Resolution 1416 (2005): PACE clearly stated that Armenia held Azerbaijani lands under occupation: “Considerable parts of the territory of Azerbaijan have been occupied by Armenian forces, and separatist forces are still in control of the Nagorno-Karabakh region.” The Assembly pointed out that as a result of the occupation, hundreds of thousands of people fled their places of residence and continue to live in dire conditions. The resolution noted that the occupation of a member state's territory by another member state (Armenia) constitutes a grave violation of its obligations.
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Resolution 2085 (2016): PACE stated that Armenia occupied Nagorno-Karabakh and other adjacent territories of Azerbaijan. The resolution noted that the lack of maintenance at the Sarsang reservoir creates a danger for the entire region. It also condemned the non-cooperation of the Armenian side during the preparation of the report and demanded Armenia's withdrawal from the occupied territories.
Ruling of the European Court of Human Rights
The European Court of Human Rights, an organ of the Council of Europe, also confirmed in its judgment that Armenia occupied Azerbaijani territories. In its ruling on Application No. 13216/05 (Chiragov and Others v. Armenia), the court stated that Armenia exercised effective control over Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding territories, and that the so-called "Nagorno-Karabakh Republic" continued to exist due to Armenia's military, political, and financial support.
The court also found that the applicants were forced to flee their places of residence, could not access their property or receive compensation, and were unable to return to their homes. It ruled that Armenia must provide mechanisms to restore the applicants' property rights.
Azerbaijani government officials welcomed this judgment at the time. Chingiz Asgarov—currently Vice-Chairman of the Supreme Court, who served in 2016 as Agent of the Republic of Azerbaijan before the ECHR—stated that the document demonstrated Armenia's occupation of Azerbaijani lands and its full responsibility for the violations committed in those territories.
PACE affirmed in its resolutions that Armenia occupied Azerbaijani territory, that hundreds of thousands of people became displaced as a result of this occupation, and that Armenia must withdraw from the occupied territories. Furthermore, the ECHR confirmed in its 2015 judgment that displaced Azerbaijani applicants' property rights were violated, that they were forced to flee their homes, and that Armenia occupied Azerbaijani territories.
According to the finding of Fakt Yoxla, the claim is false.
