Armenian and Azerbaijani experts have distributed the text of the document in the media, developed at a meeting in Tbilisi, and finally agreed during an online discussion. The text of the memorandum sent to Turan Agency, said that it includes recommendations for international organizations and local authorities and donors, as well as representatives of civil society in the region of the Karabakh conflict and beyond.
According to the memorandum, at this stage, to restore confidence between the parties, the following measures are necessary:
- Monitoring and creation of a data bank of all incidents in the area of armed conflict, affecting the civilian population, to facilitate involvement in the monitoring of civil society;
- Monitoring of speeches and officials of the conflicting parties and the media on the subject of xenophobia, hate language and the development and implementation of international mechanisms to minimize them;
- Development of specific measures to prevent civilian and military casualties, including minimising the actions of snipers all over the frontline, monitoring and the analysis of such incidents and strengthening public control over observance of the cease-fire;
- Create a set of legal rules and ethical rules to avoid violence and exclusion from the rhetoric and the threat of force;
-Developing mechanisms to review the system of teaching social sciences and review humanities textbooks that contain images of the enemy;
- Activation of existing, and creation of new, venues for dialogue in order to strengthen contact between the various segments of society involved in the conflict (youth, athletes, students, etc.); and to strengthen contact between individuals (leaders) who influence the formation of public opinion (experts, art figures, media, politics, etc.);
- Strengthening contacts with environmental organizations to address the Karabakh conflict, development and implementation of mechanisms for the effective control and involvement of environmental NGOs in order to minimize environmental risks;
- Activation of contacts, and meetings between people directly affected by the conflict (families of the victims, missing persons, etc.). It is noted that at a time when the process of the settlement of the Karabakh conflict needs some stimulation, in particular, the increase of the role of civil society in building confidence between the parties to the conflict, the initiative group of experts offers active promotion of the above ways and means of promoting trust and the development of cooperation between parties to the conflict.
The project is implemented with the support of the center for the practice of peacemaking Faculty Conflict Analysis and Resolution, George Mason University, and the Centre for Conflict Transformation "Imagine" and supported by the British Foreign and Commonwealth Issues Ministry. -02D-
Politics
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Armenia is not against the dissolution of the OSCE Minsk Group, but does not consider it appropriate to discuss this issue now. "In the context of peace, we consider it possible to make a decision on the dissolution of the OSCE Minsk Group. When peace is an established fact, the existence of such a format may raise questions," Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said at a press conference today. "The whole question is about the timing, we need to understand how effectively and correctly to turn such topics into a subject of discussion right now," the Armenian Prime Minister added.
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He expressed his willingness to meet with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev at the border between the two countries. "A meeting with Ilham Aliyev could take place at the Armenian-Azerbaijani border. I am open to such a format," Pashinyan said at a press conference today. According to Pashinyan, Armenia recently presented another proposal for a peace treaty to Azerbaijan.
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On August 31, Azerbaijan observes a "day of silence" before the Sunday’s early parliamentary elections for the unicameral Milli Majlis. All electoral campaigning is prohibited 24 hours before the voting. The early elections were initiated by the ruling Yeni Azerbaijan Party. This decision was motivated by the overlap of the scheduled elections in November with the global UN forum - the COP20 climate conference taking place in Baku.
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On August 30, at approximately 22:55, the Armenian Nuclear Power Plant in Metsamor was disconnected from the country's power grid, as reported by the Armenian Ministry of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure. The shutdown was caused by a lightning strike, which triggered the plant's safety systems to switch the station to a safe shutdown mode. Currently, the plant's staff is working on restarting the facility.
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