The Deputy Chair of the OSCE PA Committee on Democracy, Human Rights and Humanitarian Questions, the Chair of the RA NA Standing Committee on Foreign Relations Sargis Khandanyan gave a speech at the OSCE Human Dimension Conference. In his speech he particularly, noted:
“The parliamentary dimension of the OSCE, throughout its existence, has been engaged in identifying and addressing humanitarian and human rights-related threats region through its annual declarations.
In its most recent Vancouver declaration, the OSCE PA among several human rights and humanitarian issues called for a full and speedy resolution of all outstanding humanitarian issues in the Armenia-Azerbaijan peace process and encouraged Azerbaijan to engage in developing a positive agenda with the aim of guaranteeing the rights and security of the Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh in close co-operation with the international community.
However, this call was dismissed by Azerbaijan, and action to the contrary was taken. After the almost 10-month-long complete siege of the peaceful population of Nagorno-Karabakh, Azerbaijan unleashed another large-scale military aggression against these people and as a result, the whole population of Nagorno-Karabakh was forcibly displaced to Armenia.
The security challenges in the South Caucasus region and their humanitarian consequences can be resolved only through political-diplomatic means by recognizing and strengthening the independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity of both Armenia and Azerbaijan. In this regard, I want to welcome the joint quadrilateral statement adopted by the European leaders in Granada a few days ago.
Dear friends,
The OSCE Parliamentary Assembly and its third committee remain important platforms for discussing and addressing the current humanitarian crises in the whole OSCE region. Therefore, it is important to continue the dialogue on this platform. The next statutory meeting of the assembly will be held in Yerevan, Armenia in a month and I want to invite all participating delegations to contribute actively to the Autumn Meeting for the sake of a more peaceful, secure, and stable OSCE region.”
