Azerbaijan urges UN to stop Armenia from involving children in military

By Burc Eruygur

ISTANBUL (AA) – Azerbaijan on Wednesday said that a report on the involvement of children in the Armenian military and armed groups was distributed as a document of the UN General Assembly and the Security Council, calling for an end to "gross violation" of international laws by Armenia.

“The report prepared for the purpose of exposing Armenia's actions against international law once again contains detailed information on the involvement of children in the armed forces and armed groups by this country, and their use as a means of spreading ethnic and national hatred against Azerbaijan and our people,” a statement by the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry read.

The statement said that the report, prepared by the Foreign Ministry, is based on the information and visual materials, such as photos and videos, obtained from open information sources. It showed Armenia “grossly violated the provisions of a number of international conventions, threatening peace and security by instilling hatred on ethnic and national grounds.”

The statement also noted that the document distributed by the UN pointed out that Armenia is “continuing to involve children in military training and instilling hatred and enmity in them” in order to prepare them for “a new war with Azerbaijan.”

“This is a gross violation of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, along with children's rights and international humanitarian law,” the statement said.

It added that this especially constitutes an example of Armenia’s failure to comply with its obligation under the decision of the International Court of Justice on Dec. 7, 2021, concerning individuals and organizations operating in Armenia's own territory and targeting Azerbaijanis, which prohibits Yerevan from inciting racial hatred.

The document appealed to the UN and its specialized institutions to stop the country from involving children in armed forces and armed groups, the statement concluded.

Relations between the two former Soviet republics of Armenia and Azerbaijan have been tense since 1991 when the Armenian military occupied Nagorno-Karabakh, a territory internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, and seven adjacent regions.

In the fall of 2020, in 44 days of clashes, Azerbaijan liberated several cities, villages, and settlements from Armenian occupation. The Russian-brokered peace agreement is celebrated as a triumph in Azerbaijan.