Statement by Armenia's Permanent Representative Mher Margaryan at the UNGA77 Third Committee on Promotion and protection of Human Rights

19 October, 2022

Mr. Chair,

Armenia is committed to effective multilateral cooperation for the promotion and protection of the human rights at national and international levels. Against the backdrop of the disturbing challenges of inequality, exclusion and radicalism, along with the continued tendencies of rise in hate speech and shrinking civil space, the objective of promoting inclusive, people-centered and human rightsbased dialogue and cooperation, without undue politization, is as relevant as ever.

At our national level, protection of human rights lies at the core of the ongoing reforms that seek to improve transparency and accountability, eradicate corruption, enhance independence of the judiciary, promote gender equality and help young people fulfill their potential in all spheres of public life. Armenia is a signatory to all the 18 core international human rights instruments, having already ratified 16 of them, including, most recently, the optional protocols of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Armenia remains strongly committed to advancing prevention, including the prevention of identity-based discrimination, mass atrocities and the crime of genocide. We are resolute to continue to contribute meaningfully to the efforts for genocide prevention and promotion of the early warning mechanisms. In December this year, the Fourth Global Forum Against the Crime of Genocide will take place in Yerevan to discuss the role and the use of new and emerging technologies in preventing mass atrocities, including in the context of addressing the attacks against cultural property and destruction of cultural heritage.

Mr. Chair,

The irresponsibility of flaring hate speech, racial and ethnic profiling, glorification of hate crimes cultivate fertile ground for further discrimination and human rights violations.

There is an urgent need to step up collective efforts for upholding human rights and human dignity, while addressing the serious challenges and conditions generating massive human rights abuses and violence. The continuous, systematic human rights violations require stronger engagement of the international community, including the human rights and preventive machinery of the UN system. In this regard we value the role of UN treaty body system in monitoring member states compliance with their international obligations and identifying worsening human rights conditions.

In our region, we continue to face systematic incitement to identity-based hatred and violence against the Armenian people. We have repeatedly alerted the international community about the dangerously mounting level of racism, an increasingly deteriorating human rights record and hateful rhetoric dominating the political discourse in Azerbaijan as extensively reported and documented by international institutions, the latest of which are the observations of the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.

The lack of an adequate international response, or its delay by those who choose to remain silent when confronted with certain serial abuser of international human rights law and international humanitarian law, domestically and across the borders, is a source of grave concern for the integrity and objectivity of the entire human rights discourse. It has been said many times before that, when left unaddressed, violations tend to continue, cultivating a culture of impunity and recurrence. That is what is happening now in our region, where Azerbaijan continues its aggression against Armenia with documented cases of summary executions of PoWs, body 3 mutilations, gender-based violence against female military personnel, and subsequent publishing of videos of these heinous crimes. A strong unequivocal condemnation of such acts need to be followed by bringing those perpetrators to justice and sanctioning those who are complicit in inciting such crimes, including at the highest political level.

Mr. Chair,

Human rights should be at the core of activities of our Organization in all fields from peace and security, climate, development to humanitarian action. We are convinced that strong adherence to all individual and collective human rights, equality and non-discrimination should guide our multilateral efforts. Armenia looks forward to an active and constructive engagement to further build up on the collective commitments in upholding and promoting universal human rights and fundamental freedoms for all, without any exceptions.

Thank you.

MFA RA
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