Page 50 - karabag raporu eng

On-Site Investigation Report on Human Rights in Karabakh

remove or otherwise render them harmless to civilians, or facilitate their re-
moval.

The opinions and attitudes of the international community towards mines, and
thus their non-use and clearance, are clearly visible through campaigns, de-
cisions taken, and statements. The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of
Europe recognised the use of mines as a violation of international humanitari-
an law. In the publication on Customary Rules of International Humanitarian
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Law, prepared by the International Committee of the Red Cross, it was stated
that “[a] large number of UN Security Council and UN General Assembly res-
olutions have been adopted ... deploring the danger to civilians of mines re-
maining on or in the ground and specifying the need to ensure their removal; it
is no longer permissible for a party to a conflict to simply abandon mines they
have laid; [m]ilitary manuals and the various UN resolutions refer to removal
by the mine-layer, or the requirement to aid third parties, including interna-
tional bodies, to undertake such removal through the provision of information
or other appropriate resources.”
The information and findings we obtained as part of our visit for an on-site
examination explain the above-mentioned concerns and attitudes about why
mines should be banned and why minefields should be cleared. In his pres-
entation to our delegation in Baku, the President of the Board of Azerbaijan
National Agency for Mine Action (ANAMA), Mr Vugar Suleymanov, expressed
that there are mined areas in Aghdam, Fuzuli, Jabrayil, Qubadli, Zangilan,
Kalbajar, and Lachin and that ANAMA cleared 5,100 hectares of land by find-
ing and destroying 24,782 mines and unexploded ordnance, while the Minis-
try of Defence and the Ministry of Emergency Situations also carry out mine
clearance activities.

He added that 44,406 mines and unexploded ordnance were found and de-
stroyed. He also reported that 20 civilians have died, while 41 people have
been injured as of September 2021, and that one of those who lost their
lives was a woman, and one of those who were injured was a child. It was
found out that among the aforementioned civilians, there were 2 journalists
who lost their lives after their vehicles passed over a mine while working
in the Kalbajar region, which was liberated from the Armenian occupation.
In addition to the statements of the officials, as a result of our on-site exam-
ination, we observed that the reconstruction works of the settlements were
quickly started in the areas liberated from the occupation. However, it is not
possible to start the construction of highways and railways or start any set-

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