Statement by the Commissioner for Human Rights (Ombudsman) of the
Republic of Azerbaijan on 31 March - the Day of Genocide of Azerbaijanis
For more than a century, Azerbaijanis have been purposely subjected to a policy of genocide and ethnic cleansing by Armenians. As part of this policy, since the beginning of the XX century, Azerbaijanis, whose origin was Turk and Muslim, have been subjected to crimes of genocide committed in Azerbaijan and in the territory of present-day Armenia on a systematic way and with special impunity.
These acts of genocide committed against Azerbaijanis in 1918 are engraved in our memories as one of the bloodiest pages in our history, including massacres committed on grounds ethnic and religious hatred. Anti-Muslim, anti-Azerbaijani policy conducted by Armenian nationalists resulted in massacres, destruction of villages and cities, historical, religious, cultural monuments, cemeteries, total destruction of families, and violent expulsion of Azerbaijanis from their native lands.
Massacres committed in Baku, Shamakhi, Guba, Karabakh, Zangezur, Irevan, Nakhchivan, Lankaran, Ganja, Goychay, Shaki, Sabirabad, Salyan, Kurdamir and other regions had intended the purpose of erasing the presence of Azerbaijanis in these lands.
Thus, during the incidents occurred in March, 110 villages of Shamakhi Gaza, more than 150 villages of Karabakh, 115 villages of Zangezur Gaza, 98 villages of Kars province, 167 villages of Guba province were burned by Armenians and their innocent population was mercilessly murdered. The countless human bones of that period, which were later found in Guba, reflecting the traces of criminal acts being committed with cruelty, brutality and vandalism, clearly prove that the Armenians, who were the direct executors of these massacres, killed the innocent people on the ground of hatred, simply because they were Azerbaijanis.
The existence of verified documents and historical records is an irrefutable indicator of these atrocities. The archive details, including testimonies of survivors at the time, as well as other legal documents confirm the scale of the massacres in details, and that these incidents took place in a planned manner, rather than separately, and intended to solely ethnically cleansing. The analysis of the documents proves that, in accordance with international law, the crimes committed constitute genocide.
Unfortunately, throughout our history, incidents of genocide committed against our ethnic compatriots with particular cruelty have not established fair attitude internationally so far.
By the Decree of the Great Leader Heydar Aliyev “On the Genocide of Azerbaijanis” of March 26, 1998, with the declaration of March 31 as the Day of Genocide of Azerbaijanis, relevant research was carried out in order to provide policy and legal assessment for acts of genocide, and appropriate measures were initiated to uncover the truth.
Giving political and legal appreciation to crimes of genocide committed against Azerbaijanis, international recognition and widespread commemoration of the victims of genocide are crucial in order to prevent further crimes such as those committed against mankind from ever being repeated or prevented.
The international community should conduct a political and legal assessment to the crimes of ethnic cleansing and genocide committed against Azerbaijanis, recognize the crimes committed in 1918 as genocide, and make serious efforts to restore historical and legal justice.
Sabina Aliyeva
The Commissioner for Human Rights
(Ombudsman) of the Republic of Azerbaijan
The statement has been sent to the UN Secretary-General (UNSG), UN Security Council (UNSC), UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), UN International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the heads of the European Union (EU), Council of Europe (CoE), Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), International Ombudsman Institute (IOI) and European Ombudsman Institution (EOI), Asian Ombudsman Association (AOA), Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), and the Association of Ombudsman of Member States of this Institution (OICOA), Association of Ombudsmen and National Human Rights Institutions of Turkic States (TURKOMB), OIC Independent Permanent Human Rights Commission (OIC-IPHRC), European Network of Ombudspersons of Children (ENOC), International Peace Bureau (IPB), ombudspersons and national human rights institutions (NHRIs) of different countries, diplomatic missions of Azerbaijan in foreign countries and the diplomatic missions of foreign countries in Azerbaijan, and diaspora organizations of Azerbaijan.
