Ukraine calls for restoration of Azerbaijani refugees’ rights

By Sara Rajabova

Ukrainian National Assembly (UNA) appealed to the OSCE and the European Union over the occupied Azerbaijani lands.

UNA President, Chairman of the Joint Congress of Ukrainian Azerbaijanis Rovshan Tagiyev have held meetings with OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities Astrid Thors, former NATO Secretary General and former EU High Representative Javier Solana and representatives of other organizations, Azerbaijan State Committee for Work with Diaspora toldTrend news agency.

An appeal in connection with the situation in Ukraine, as well as about human rights violations in the conflict areas in Azerbaijan, Moldova and Georgia was handed over to them on behalf of the UNA.

Tagiyev also expressed concern of the Azerbaijanis living in Europe, on the violation of the rights of millions of Azerbaijanis expelled from their native lands, and the continuing occupation of Azerbaijani lands.

He noted the importance of inter-ethnic relations in the region, as well as protection and restoration of the rights of people who are victims of aggression.

Tagiyev urged international organizations to take the necessary measures to restore the rights of more than one million Azerbaijani refugees.

The bloody war, which flared up in the late 1980s due to Armenia's territorial claims against its South Caucasus neighbor, left 700,000 civilians of Nagorno-Karabakh and the regions adjoining it, as well as the regions bordering with Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh without homes.

They are temporarily settled in more than 1,600 settlements across 62 cities and regions of Azerbaijan.

Moreover, 250,000 Azerbaijanis were expelled from Armenia and became refugees due to Armenia's ethnic cleansing policy after the emergence of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict with Azerbaijan. The Azerbaijanis who had displaced from their homes as result of the brutal war were forced to live in refugee camps, tents and wagons in very difficult conditions.

As a result of the military aggression of Armenia, over 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed, 4,866 are reported missing and almost 100,000 were injured, and 50,000 were disabled.

The UN Security Council has passed four resolutions on Armenian withdrawal from the Azerbaijani territory, but they have not been enforced to this day

/AzerNews/