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On-Site Investigation Report on Human Rights in Karabakh



              tlements in the region before the minefields are cleared and the region is
              made safe. Mines threaten not only human life but also the life of all living
              things. It is not possible for internally displaced people (IDPs) to return to
              their homes. In addition, mines do not allow agriculture and animal hus-
              bandry, which is an important economic activity in Karabakh.

              Within the framework of the aforementioned issues, it is a requirement of
              human rights for Armenia to give mine maps to Azerbaijan in order to clear
              immediately the areas where Armenia laid mines during the occupation pe-
              riod, which indiscriminately threaten the lives of civilians, hinder the recon-
              struction activities of the city, do not allow agriculture and animal husband-
              ry, and as a result of all of them, do not allow internally displaced people
              (IDPs) to return to their homes they had to leave.


              II. Personal Property in Occupied Territories

              One of the most striking findings regarding internally displaced people (IDPs)
              within the framework of our on-site examination is that all of the houses left
              behind by these people were demolished, both in Aghdam, in Fuzuli, and in
              the villages on the route we followed, and we did not encounter even a single
              solid house. First of all, it was noticed that the structures of the houses in the
              region were similar to each other and that they were all made of stone. How-
              ever, despite the fact that the houses were destroyed, there were no stones
              in the surroundings, and there was no furniture left in the houses. In this
              context, the information given by the guides accompanying the delegation
              that the stones and items were sold by the occupiers during the occupation
              period is consistent. However, in the Hague Convention of 1899 and 1907,
              damage to, seizure and looting of the enemy property was prohibited, with
              the exception of the obligations arising from the war. Section III of the 1949
              Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of
              War is about “Occupied Territories”, and Article 53 prohibits any destruction
              by the occupying power of real or personal property belonging to private
              persons or public, except where such destruction is rendered absolutely nec-
              essary by military operations.
              Article 52 of the 1  Protocol on the Protection of Victims of International
                              st
              Armed Conflicts, Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 2 August 1949, is
              on the “General protection of civilian objects”, and all objects that are not
              military objectives are defined as civilian objects, and such objects are pro-
              hibited to be the object of attack or of reprisals.






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