Azerbaijan has pledged to guarantee safe movement along the Lachin road within its authority

Baku/23.04.23/Turan: The UN Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered Azerbaijan to “take all steps at its disposal” to allow free movement of vehicles on the only road between Armenia and the Armenian-populated part of the Karabakh region of Azerbaijan, AP reports.

The legally binding decision of the International Court of Justice 13-2 is the result of the recent legal relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Each country filed a lawsuit accusing the other of violating the convention aimed at eliminating racial discrimination.

Azerbaijan accuses  Armenia in the 30-year occupation of 20 percent of its territory, which resulted in ethnic cleansing, the death of tens of thousands of people and about a million refugees. Based on four UN resolutions, in 2020, as a result of the 44-day war with Armenia, Azerbaijan liberated its territories and established control over Karabakh, which is recognized by the international community as part of Azerbaijan.

The President of the International Court of Justice, Joan E. Donohue, stated that the evidence presented by Armenia established that the blockade “prevented the transfer of persons of Armenian national and ethnic origin hospitalized in Nagorno-Karabakh to medical institutions in Armenia for emergency medical care.”

It also interrupted the supply of “essential goods to Nagorno-Karabakh, causing shortages of food, medicines and other vital medical supplies,” Donohue said.

In their decision, by a majority vote, the judges of the court ordered Azerbaijan “to take all measures at its disposal to ensure the unhindered movement of people, vehicles and cargo along the Lachin corridor in both directions.”

The Azerbaijani Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that the court's decision “took note of Azerbaijan's statement that Azerbaijan has taken and undertakes to continue taking all steps within its authority and at its disposal to guarantee safe movement along the Lachin Road.”

The statement says that Azerbaijan “will continue to defend the rights of all people in accordance with international law and hold Armenia accountable for its ongoing and historical serious human rights violations.”

The court stated in its ruling that Armenia's request to the judges to oblige Azerbaijan to “stop organizing and supporting” the protests in the Lachin corridor was unfounded.”

The judges rejected Armenia's request to oblige Azerbaijan not to block gas supplies to Nagorno-Karabakh, saying that the Armenian lawyers did not provide sufficient evidence to support their claim that Azerbaijan carried out interruptions in gas supplies.

The judges also rejected Azerbaijan's request for a decision to stop or prevent the installation of landmines and booby traps by Armenia in the areas of the region to which Azerbaijani citizens should return.

A little over a year ago, the world court ordered both countries to prevent discrimination against each other's citizens after the war and not to aggravate the conflict even more.

Recall that on December 12, 2022, representatives of the civil society of Azerbaijan blocked  The Lachin road after the Armenian side disrupted the monitoring by specialists of the Ministry of Ecology of Azerbaijan at two illegally operating mines in Karabakh. Activists freely pass civilian cargo and persons of Armenian nationality who follow this road.—0—