Note: This material was originally prepared in Azerbaijani. This English version was translated using artificial intelligence. The credible version is the Azerbaijani version.
Following President Ilham Aliyev’s criticism of the Council of Europe in his speech at the Fourth Global Media Forum in Shusha, government representatives and MPs issued statements criticising the organisation. MP Elman Nasirov claimed that the Council of Europe had not adopted any resolution against Armenia in the context of the Armenia–Azerbaijan conflict.
Contrary to the MP’s claim, the Council of Europe has adopted resolutions against Armenia in the context of the Armenia–Azerbaijan conflict. Furthermore, the European Court of Human Rights, an institution of the Council of Europe, also confirmed Armenia’s occupation of Azerbaijani territories in its judgment.
Resolutions of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE)
In resolutions adopted in 2005 and 2016, PACE explicitly stated that Armenia had occupied Azerbaijani territories.
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In Resolution 1416, adopted in 2005, PACE explicitly stated that Armenia was occupying Azerbaijani territories: “Considerable parts of the territory of Azerbaijan are still occupied by Armenian forces, and separatist forces are still in control of the Nagorno-Karabakh region.” The Assembly noted that hundreds of thousands of people had fled their homes as a result of the occupation and continued to live in poor conditions. The resolution stated that the occupation of another state’s territory constituted a violation of the obligations undertaken by a Council of Europe member state—Armenia.
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In Resolution 2085, adopted in 2016, PACE stated that Armenia had occupied Nagorno-Karabakh and the adjacent territories. The resolution noted that the prolonged lack of maintenance at the Sarsang reservoir posed a threat to the entire region. It also condemned the Armenian side’s failure to participate in the preparation of the report. The resolution demanded Armenia’s withdrawal from the territories it occupied.
The judgment of the European Court of Human Rights
The European Court of Human Rights, an institution of the Council of Europe, also confirmed Armenia’s occupation of Azerbaijani territories in its judgment. In its judgment in case 13216/05, the Court stated that Armenia exercised effective control over Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding territories, and that the self-proclaimed “Nagorno-Karabakh Republic” continued to exist through Armenia’s military, political and financial support. The Court also stated that the applicants had been forced to leave the areas where they lived. The judgment noted that the applicants had been unable to obtain compensation for their lost property or return to their homes, and that Armenia should provide alternative means of ensuring their access to their property.
Azerbaijani government officials even welcomed the judgment. Chingiz Asgarov, currently Deputy Chairman of the Supreme Court and Azerbaijan’s authorised representative before the European Court of Human Rights in 2016, stated that the document established that Armenia had occupied Azerbaijani territories and bore full responsibility for the violations occurring there.
Thus, both PACE, in its resolutions, and the European Court of Human Rights, in its judgment, confirmed Armenia’s occupation of Azerbaijani territory.
“Fakt Yoxla” concludes that the claim is false.
