Hate speech and discrimination are the foundation upon which this aggression and war are built: Ruzanna Avagimyan at the OSCE

On October 13, during the plenary session of the OSCE ODIHR Human Dimension Conference held in Warsaw, Ruzanna Avagimyan, Attorney-at-Law and Lawyer of the “Union of Informed Citizens” NGO, spoke about Azerbaijan’s state-supported policy of hatred and intolerance. Avagimyan emphasized that the Republic of Azerbaijan has turned the ideas of human dignity and equality into mockery by instilling Armenophobia, from educational institutions to state-controlled media.

She also addressed the issue of religious intolerance, noting that in the territories under Azerbaijan’s control, millennia-old Armenian churches, cross-stones, and monuments are subjected to vandalism and erasure simply because Armenian history contradicts the narrative of a religiously homogeneous land.

The text of Ruzanna Avagimyan’s speech is below:

“RUZANNA AVAGIMYAN, ARMENIA

Madam Moderator, distinguished delegates,

We convene here to discuss the principles of human dignity and equality, yet the Republic of Azerbaijan has made a mockery of these very ideals. The war waged is not merely over territory; it is an ideological campaign of state-sanctioned hate speech and animosity, from classrooms to state-controlled media, rooted in a deep-seated pathology of hate directed against the Armenian people.

Military-political leaders routinely use genocidal language, fostering a poisonous atmosphere where discrimination and violence are not just permissible, but encouraged.

The grotesque display known as the “Trophy Park” in Baku – where mannequins and wax figures of fallen Armenian soldiers, complete with their helmets, are paraded for public spectacle – is perhaps the best manifestation of this systemic xenophobia and a mockery of the dead. It is a museum dedicated to humiliation, a monument for the glorification of ethnic hatred. This public endorsement of disdain strips an entire people of their humanity and legitimizes their erasure in the eyes of the perpetrator.

This persecution also carries a distinct and ancient religious vector: targeting one of the oldest Christian nations is often weaponized to paint a civilizational conflict.

This religious intolerance manifests in the systematic cultural destruction witnessed across territories under Azerbaijani control. Millennia-old Armenian churches, cross-stones, and monuments are subjected to vandalism and erasure simply because our history contradicts the narrative of a religiously homogeneous land.

We must look beyond an armed conflict and confront the underlying venom: the systematic, state-sponsored ideology of anti-Armenian racism and xenophobia that fuels it. Hate speech and discrimination are the foundation upon which this aggression and war are built.

The international community must rise against the weaponization of hatred, promotion of xenophobia, religious intolerance, and discrimination before it consumes the very fabric of peace. History will judge us by what we protect.

I thank you”.