Motion for a resolution | Doc. 13546 | 24 June 2014

The armed occupation of Azerbaijani territories by Armenia

Signatories: Mr Elkhan SULEYMANOV, Azerbaijan, EPP/CD ; Mr Alejandro ALONSO, Spain, SOC ; Ms Sirkka-Liisa ANTTILA, Finland, ALDE ; Mr Viorel Riceard BADEA, Romania, EPP/CD ; Mr Egemen BAĞIŞ, Turkey, EDG ; Mr Agustín CONDE, Spain, EPP/CD ; Mr Arcadio DÍAZ TEJERA, Spain, SOC ; Mr Şaban DİŞLİ, Turkey, EPP/CD ; Ms Aleksandra DJUROVIĆ, Serbia, EPP/CD ; Mr Claudio FAZZONE, Italy, EPP/CD ; Mr Giuseppe GALATI, Italy, EPP/CD ; Mr Francesco Maria GIRO, Italy, EPP/CD ; Mr Zbigniew GIRZYŃSKI, Poland, NR ; Mr Antonio GUTIÉRREZ, Spain, SOC ; Mr Ögmundur JÓNASSON, Iceland, UEL ; Mr Mustafa KARADAYI, Bulgaria, ALDE ; Ms Elena KOUNTOURA, Greece, EDG ; Mr Thierry MARIANI, France, EPP/CD ; Ms Meritxell MATEU PI, Andorra, ALDE ; Ms Marija OBRADOVIĆ, Serbia, EPP/CD ; Mr Cezar Florin PREDA, Romania, EPP/CD ; Mr Gabino PUCHE, Spain, EPP/CD ; Ms Karin STRENZ, Germany, EPP/CD ; Mr Konstantinos TZAVARAS, Greece, EPP/CD ; Mr Egidijus VAREIKIS, Lithuania, EPP/CD ; Mr Morten WOLD, Norway, EDG ; Mr Łukasz ZBONIKOWSKI, Poland, NR

This motion has not been discussed in the Assembly and commits only those who have signed it.

As a consequence of an armed Armenian aggression, 20% of Azerbaijani territories, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven neighboring regions, were occupied and over 1 million Azerbaijanis became internally displaced people due to ethnic cleansing policy by Armenia in these territories. The armed occupation caused great material and moral damage to Azerbaijan.

The illegal character of this armed occupation of Azerbaijani territories was confirmed in the resolutions and documents of the United Nations Security Council, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, the European Parliament, the OSCE, and other international organisations, demanding the immediate and unconditional end of the occupation. Armenia holds international legal responsibility for this occupation before the international community for over 22 years.

In Resolution 1416 (2005) the Assembly reaffirmed that “independence and secession of a regional territory from a State may only be achieved through a lawful and peaceful process based on the democratic support of the inhabitants of such territory and not in the wake of an armed conflict leading to ethnic expulsion and the de facto annexation of such territory to another State.” The Assembly, at the same time, reiterated that “the occupation of foreign territory by a member State constitutes a grave violation of that State’s obligations as a member of the Council of Europe”.

The Assembly should report on the current situation of the occupied Azerbaijani territories, confirm that this occupation is a grave violation of Armenia’s obligations as a member State of the Council of Europe and take political actions which can contribute to end this illegal occupation.