ARF briefs PES Congress on importance of full protection of Artsakh Armenians rights

On November 10-11, the Congress of the Party of European Socialists (PES) was convened in Malaga, Spain, hosted by the Socialist Workers’ Party.

The ARF Central Committee notes that the PES Congress is the main assembly of that large inter-party organization, which specifies the organization’s political priorities, activity guidelines, and elects a new leadership. The ARF has been an observer member of the PES since 2015. The ARF delegation was represented by Mario Nalbandian, the vice president of Socialist International; Gaspar Karapetyan, the president of the European office of the ARF; and Hakob Ghazanchyan, the head of the Cyprus delegation of the ARF.

The ARF delegation actively participated in the work of the Congress, within the framework of which it had about two dozen meetings and discussions, including with the leaders of several European states, ministers of foreign affairs, and socialist deputies of the European Parliament.

During the meetings, the ARF representatives underscored the importance of the full protection of the rights of the Artsakh Armenians, ensuring their right to return through the use of effective international mechanisms, the protection of Artsakh’s cultural heritage, the need for a fair resolution to the conflict, the withdrawal of Azerbaijani forces from the sovereign territory of Armenia, and the political priorities of applying targeted sanctions against the Azerbaijani officials and holding them accountable for their crimes to prevent further military provocations, as well as the genocidal actions, crimes against humanity, and ethnic cleansing.

The ARF, both through the global network of the ANCA committees and offices and with the full capacity of the party’s international relations, will continue the work of protecting the interests of the Republics of Armenia and Artsakh.