Page 17 - KDK

The Report on Human Rights Violations Committed by the
16 Armenian Armed Forces during Azerbaijan & Armenia War

Shusha, Lachin, Akdere (Agdara), Kalbajar, Agdam, Fuzuli, Jabrayil, Horadis and
Zengelan regions. 2

Between 1988 and 1994, it is estimated that approximately 750.000 to 800.000 Azeri
citizens were forced to migrate, and they became internally displaced people (IDPs).
3
During this process in 1992 in order to put an end to the conflict between
Azerbaijan and Armenia in a peaceful way, OSCE Minsk Group was founded and
to this aim, a conference was planned in Minsk. However, this conference was
never realized. Although the efforts shown by the Minsk Group to bring peace to
the region were insufficient, it led to the issuance of 4 resolutions in 1993, 822,
853, 874 and 884 by the Security Council of UN. The aim of the aforementioned
resolutions was to put an end to the armed conflict and demanded Armenia to
pull back from the occupied territories of Azerbaijan. Consequently, UN accepts that
Nagorno-Karabakh is a part of Azerbaijan and within this context the interferences
of Armenia is assessed as violation of the international law.

It is estimated that during the conflicts between 1988 and 1994, approximately
30.000 people lost their lives and hundreds of thousands of them became
refugees. Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding seven regions were
occupied by Armenian forces. These occupied regions, which cut the link
between Azerbaijan and Nagorno-Karabakh, were turned into no man’s land. 4
In the ceasefire agreement signed in Bishkek in 1994, there was no mention about
the evacuation. Accordingly, the Azerbaijan territories could not be saved from
the occupation of Armenia, and as a result, about a million IDPs were not able
to return their homes. Besides, ceasefire violations continued resulting in the
loss of lives from both sides and a peace agreement was not reached. In OSCE
Summit held in Madrid in 2007, for a peaceful settlement of the conflict, the
Co-chairs of Minsk Group proposed some “Basic Principles” which were named
“The Madrid Principles”. According to these principles; the districts surrounding
Nagorno-Karabakh should be returned to Azerbaijan, a corridor adjoining
Armenia to Nagorno-Karabakh should be introduced, the right to return to their
former places of residence should be given to all IDPs and refugees , a temporary
status that guarantees self-governing and security to Nagorno-Karabakh should

2 Azer C., Yukarı Karabağ Sorunu ve Minsk Grubu, Ermeni Arastırrmaları, (2013), Sayı 44
3 Human Rights Watch, Seven Years of Conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh, 1994
4 Tuncel, T., Güney Kafkasya’da 2-5 Nisan 2016’da Yaşanan 4 Gün Savaşı, Ermeni Araştırmaları,
(2016), Sayı:53