Mirzoyan: Armenia and Azerbaijan took decisive actions towards  establishing long-term peace in the South Caucasus region

ArmInfo.After decades of violent conflicts and humanitarian emergencies, Armenia  and Azerbaijan have taken decisive actions towards establishing long- term peace in the South Caucasus region. Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan made this statement his speech at a high-level meeting of the UN Human Rights Council.

He noted that last year's Peace Summit in Washington not only  established peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan but also paved the  way for trade, connectivity, and people-to-people contacts. " To take  this path beyond the agreements between governments, we are also  planting the seeds of genuine dialogue and trust between our  societies, including affected populations. Though the painful  humanitarian consequences of the conflict are still to be resolved  and the wounds of the distant and recent past linger on, we have  chosen the difficult path of reconciliation. This is indeed a  difficult endeavor with 19 Armenian detainees still being held in  Baku, and need for clarification of the fates of missing persons and  cases of enforced disappearances, and amid dissemination of distorted  historical narratives. Nevertheless, Armenia remains firmly committed  to pursuing this path to its future-oriented conclusion with the  understanding that further institutionalization of peace will foster  a more conducive environment for addressing the consequences of the  conflict."

  At the same time, the Armenian minister emphasized  that "despite the  immense pressure on multilateral institutions, we should remain  voices of principled optimism and express our strong conviction that  the human rights system and the United Nations as a whole will emerge  from this process with reinvigorated capacities to fulfill their  global mandate." 

Mirzoyan then complained about hybrid threats, but did not specify  their source. "Like many other democracies these days, our society is  also facing a huge wave of hybrid threats, including disinformation,  manipulation and foreign interference. Those are targeted, systemic,  hostile campaigns designed to achieve specific goals, including  undermining trust of our citizens in democratic institutions and the  effective enjoyment of human rights. Confronting these challenges has  become a daily activity through continuous strengthening of the  democratic resilience," Mirzoyan said.

In conclusion, Mirzoyan praised the country's achievements in human  rights, the rule of law, and democracy. " We seek to contribute  substantively to the strengthening of global safeguards against the  gravest violations of international law. In this context, at the  present session of the Human Rights Council, Armenia will once again  table the resolution on the Prevention of Genocide. The progressive  development of this resolution has reflected emerging challenges at  the intersection of international human rights law, international  humanitarian law and international criminal law and has consolidated  international consensus on the means to address them. Support by all  member states to this important resolution will be a much needed  signal of our shared obligation to end the scourge of genocide," he  concluded.