1 / 8

On November 12, at the NA sitting pursuant to Article 123 of the constitutional law the NA Rules of Procedure and by the demand of at least one third of the total number of the NA deputies the debate on the urgent topic of public interest on Armenian Prisoners of War being held in Azerbaijan took place.

The main rapporteur, the representative of the deputies presented the demand Tigran Abrahamyan noted that ahead of the 20^th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change going on in Azerbaijan, as well as the ongoing negotiations between Armenia and Azerbaijan, when different players conveyed positive signals on possible understanding of the parties, Azerbaijan continues speaking the language of blackmail and threat with the Republic of Armenia. “This not only shows the policy of intolerance and hatred of Azerbaijan, but also as a basis of the settlement of the conflict for this country the use of force or the threat thereof continues to be imposed,” the rapporteur underscored.

It was noted that the real goal of Azerbaijan is not the regulation of the relations with Armenia, but the, but the realization of the expansionist aspirations of Turkey and Azerbaijan at the expense of the vital interests of Armenia. “The aggressive policy of Azerbaijan in the last 4 years has also shown that, in addition to speaking the language of blackmail and threats, in order to achieve their idealistic plan, the subject of manipulation of captured persons and prisoners of war is also used against the Republic of Armenia,” the deputy spoke up.

According to Tigran Abrahamyan, the crime committed against the Armenians of Nagorno Karabakh by Azerbaijan is an example of ethnic cleansing, which is enshrined in the International Criminal Court Charter ratified by Armenia and a number of states participating in COP29 as an element of a crime against humanity.

It was noted that because of the Azerbaijani genocidal policy at this moment, according to the official news and confirmation of Azerbaijan, 23 Armenians are in prisons of Baku, including the former military-political heads of Nagorno Karabakh. “I would like to remind the leadership of Azerbaijan that based on the fundamental provisions of international law and human rights, Azerbaijan is obliged to immediately release all Armenian prisoners of war and captives,” the rapporteur stressed.

“The international practice stipulates that the conclusion of a peace treaty between countries implies that there has been return of prisoners, prisoners of war between them. The gross violation of this cornerstone principle led to the fact that during the period of 2020-2024, Azerbaijan used the issue of captured persons to extract concessions from Armenia and serve its own agenda, which is reprehensible, the deputy underlined and opined that the parliament should not only express a position, but also focus the attention of the international players and structures on the urgent release of our captives and prisoners of war.

The opposition MPs spoke about the need to exert pressure on that country in order to return the Armenian prisoners of war held in Azerbaijan within the framework of COP29. The MPs called to adopt the draft law.

The NA Vice President Ruben Rubinyan gave an extraordinary speech. Touching upon the statement by the opposition Artsvik Minasyan that Armenia’s position regarding prisoners is not clear, he noted: “All our diplomatic representations in all actions and announcements mention the necessity to return Armenian prisoners of war and other detained persons to Armenia. According to the MP, the return of Armenian prisoners of war and other detained persons depends not on adopting or not adopting a statement, but on Armenia's diplomatic work. In this context, Ruben Rubinyan advised his opposition colleagues to actively get engaged in parliamentary diplomatic work.

On behalf of the Armenia Faction, Artsvik Minasyan gave a speech. According to the Secretary of the Faction, being against the presented approach, the political majority is against the Armenian people’s collective will and interest.

The Head of the Civil Contract Faction Hayk Konjoryan reminded that since 2020 the RA Government works every day on urgent return of Armenian prisoners of war and other detained persons being held in Azerbaijan to Armenia. “Taking into consideration the fact that the RA government continues to work towards the return of prisoners regardless of any occasion, and also taking into consideration the fact that this statement does not solve the problem, we cannot provide the right solutions to the problems with the wrong tools, therefore the faction will not participate in the vote on the statement,” the deputy mentioned.

In his final speech Tigran Abrahamyan voiced the content of the NA Draft Statement on the debate of the urgent topic of public interest on Armenian Prisoners of War.

As a result of voting, the draft was not adopted.