5 years after the war, Azerbaijan continues to detain Armenian POWs, civilian captives, and former political figures: Ruzanna Avagimyan at the OSCE

Today, on October 7, at the OSCE ODIHR Human Dimension Conference in Warsaw, Ruzanna Avagimyan, a lawyer and advocate for the “Union of Informed Citizens” NGO, spoke about the systemic violations of international humanitarian and human rights in the South Caucasus. In her speech, Ruzanna Avagimyan emphasized that there can be no genuine dialogue or inclusion without justice and freedom for all prisoners of war and civilian captives. The text of Ruzanna Avagimyan’s speech is below.

“Distinguished delegates, human rights experts,

My intervention will focus on the catastrophic failure of accountability and the systemic deconstruction of International Humanitarian and Human Rights Law in the South Caucasus. The principle of non-derogation from core humanitarian norms has been rendered meaningless.

Reports by Human Rights Watch and extensive case submissions to the ECHR confirm that the Armenian service personnel and civilians, including elderly, were subjected to extrajudicial killings, severe torture, cruel and degrading treatment while in Azerbaijani custody. Videos circulated by the perpetrators themselves show soldiers out of combat (hors de combat) being summarily executed.

The level of depravity has reached a point where the mutilation and desecration of the dead are documented. Reports cite instances of bodies (including women’s bodies) being stripped, filmed, and carved with military insignias—a barbaric act that is a severe war crime under Geneva Conventions. The perpetrators of these documented crimes largely enjoy total impunity, with evidence of some even being awarded by the leadership, demonstrating that these are not isolated incidents, but acts condoned by the state.

5 years after the war, Azerbaijan continues to detain Armenian POWs, civilian captives, and former political figures, often refusing to recognize their status under Geneva Conventions.

Beyond the battlefield, the violations of International human rights law expose a deeper, systemic policy of ethnic discrimination and institutionalized hate speech.

The ICJ and the ECHR have repeatedly issued provisional measures. The ICJ ordered Azerbaijan to ensure unimpeded movement along the Lachin Corridor. And this order was ignored, leading to a humanitarian catastrophe and culminating in the forced displacement and ethnic cleansing of over 100,000 Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh. This act is a gross violation of the right to life and the freedom from torture.

In the face of this overwhelming evidence we cannot hide behind neutral language. There can be no genuine dialogue or inclusion without justice and freedom for all prisoners of war and civilian captives.

I thank you”.