PACE Co-rapporteurs Report Severe Obstruction of Lachin Corridor Call on Baku to Authorize Sending a Fact-Finding Mission

In a declassified information note, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) co-rapporteurs for the monitoring of Armenia, Kimmo Kiljunen (Finland, SOC) and Boriana Åberg (Sweden, EPP/CD), shared on March 21 their findings with the PACE Monitoring Committee following their visit to Armenia on 17-19 February, PACE reported.

It said the purpose of their visit was to assess the situation on the border with Azerbaijan and at the entrance of the Lachin Corridor. During their stay, they visited the cities of Jermuk, Goris, and Vardenis, their surroundings, and met with local officials and Nagorno-Karabakh residents, blocked in Goris due to the ongoing obstruction of the Lachin Corridor.

Based on their observations, movement along the corridor is “severely obstructed”, making the transport of some essential supplies impossible. This situation could soon result in a humanitarian crisis.

Referring to the Trilateral Statement signed in November 2020, the rapporteurs called on Azerbaijan to allow an independent assessment of the situation.

“We urge the Azerbaijani authorities to authorize an independent fact-finding visit and to allow independent journalists to operate freely in the whole area,” Mr Kiljunen and Ms Åberg added.

Today, on March 22, the PACE Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights adopted a statement on Azerbaijan’s unlawful blockade of the Lachin corridor, reported Vladimir Vardanyan, the chairman of the Armenian National Assembly Committee on State and Legal Affairs.

The Committee expressed great concerned by the humanitarian crisis unfolding due to the ongoing obstruction of the Lachin Corridor.

The Committee also called on the Azerbaijani authorities to implement without delay the measures addressed to it by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) of 22 February 2023 and of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) of 21 December 2022 whose decisions noted the obligation on Azerbaijan under the Trilateral Statement, signed on 9 November 2020, to “guarantee the security of persons, vehicles and cargo moving along the Lachin Corridor in both directions” (Article 6 of the Trilateral Statement).