Azeri actions in Nagorno-Karabakh might amount to war crime — Ex-UN Special Rapporteur

What happened in Nagorno-Karabakh could very easily be identified as ethnic cleansing, which might amount to a war crime or a crime against humanity in terms of international law, former UN Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues Fernand de Varennes told Armenpress.

When asked whether Azerbaijan’s September 2023 actions in Artsakh amount to an act of genocide, Fernand de Varennes said, “I don’t know all of the details that occurred in Nagorno-Karabakh to be able to qualify that. I would add to that also that you have to keep in mind that the crime of genocide in international law is actually a very difficult crime to establish, because you need a special kind of intention. Was the intention to destroy physically the Armenians living in Nagorno-Karabakh, or was the intent to get rid of them, have them removed? If it’s the latter, it does not fit the crime of genocide in international law. But it could be other types of crimes.”

According to him, no one would disagree that what occurred in Nagorno-Karabakh can be identified as ethnic cleansing.