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The case accuses Azerbaijan of glorifying racism and permitting hate speech in opposition to Armenians.
Azerbaijan has known as on the UN Worldwide Courtroom of Justice to dismiss the case alleging ethnic cleaning carried out by its neighbor and rival Armenia.
Azerbaijan's attorneys argued on Monday that the case doesn’t meet the phrases of the UN anti-discrimination treaty on which it’s primarily based. He additionally claimed that the ICJ doesn’t have jurisdiction to adjudicate on the problems coated by the criticism.
The 2 Caucasian nations have been contesting the Nagorno-Karabakh area within the three many years because the collapse of the Soviet Union. Yerevan has tried to attract worldwide consideration to the mountainous area because it took management of Baku in a army operation in September.
The ICJ case filed by Armenia in 2021 accuses Azerbaijan of glorifying racism and permitting hate speech in opposition to Armenians and destroying Armenian cultural websites. Baku has denied all claims.
The case stems from the 2020 battle over Nagorno-Karabakh, which left greater than 6,600 folks lifeless, one in all three full-scale conflicts the pair have fought over the problem.
'earlier than time'
The United Nations Conference on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination has a clause that permits disputes to be resolved by the ICJ if bilateral negotiations fail to supply a settlement.
Azerbaijan's consultant Elnur Mammadov claimed in court docket that Armenia has failed to interact in negotiations with Azerbaijan in an effort to resolve the problem and due to this fact the lawsuit is “untimely”.
Mammadov mentioned there have been “restricted negotiations” however Yerevan “didn’t pursue them”. “From the very starting, Armenia was strongly centered on initiating these proceedings earlier than the court docket … and utilizing the very fact of those proceedings to conduct a public media marketing campaign in opposition to Azerbaijan.”
Worldwide legislation professor Stephen Talman, representing Azerbaijan, mentioned Armenia “by no means provided an opportunity for negotiations”.
He argued that “With none actual effort at dialogue and negotiation, that is principally the top of Armenia's utility”.
Azerbaijan additionally mentioned many of the allegations in Armenia's case fall outdoors the scope of the discrimination conference, that means the court docket doesn’t have jurisdiction.
Armenia is scheduled to answer Azerbaijan's arguments on Tuesday.
Azerbaijan has additionally filed a case in opposition to Armenia within the court docket accusing it of violating the identical conference. A listening to on objections filed by Armenia in that case might be held later this month.
The 2020 battle ended with a Russia-brokered ceasefire settlement that gave Azerbaijan management over elements of Nagorno-Karabakh in addition to some adjoining areas.
Azerbaijan then launched a forceful army marketing campaign in Nagorno-Karabakh in 2023, leading to many of the area's 120,000 residents fleeing the area.
In December, either side agreed to start negotiations on a peace treaty. Nonetheless, many residents of Armenia's border areas have opposed the demarcation effort, seeing Azerbaijan as encroaching on areas they take into account their very own.