Commentary on the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) decision on interim measures

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has decided to indicate an interim measure in the case Armenia v. Azerbaijan (no. 4) in relation to the Lachin road on 21 December 2022.

The ECHR’s decision reaffirms the guarantees already being protected by Azerbaijan under the Trilateral Statement, particularly in relation to “the security of persons, vehicles and cargo moving along the Lachin Corridor in both directions.”

The ECHR’s decision also notes that ‘the extent to which the Government of Azerbaijan is in control of the situation in the Lachin Corridor is disputed and unclear,’ as the Russian peacekeeping contingent are continuing to perform their duties to regulate movement along the road, allowing humanitarian and medical support to pass through.

On multiple occasions, video evidences published in different media outlets showed International Committee of the Red Cross and Armenian ambulances passing freely and safely through the Lachin road. Thus, the safe passage of seriously ill persons in need of medical treatment in Armenia, which has been indicated in the interim measure, has been ensured. 

Along with guaranteeing freedom of movement for all those in the territories of Azerbaijan, the Government also guarantees the rights of peaceful activists that have gathered in the Lachin road to protest Armenia’s illegal exploitation of Azerbaijan’s natural resources, which it has used the Lachin road to export to Armenia.

Azerbaijan has also expressed grave concerns with Armenia’s use of the road in Lachin to transport landmines manufactured in Armenia in 2021 to Azerbaijan, some of which have deliberately targeted civilian homes in Lachin to prevent internally displaced families and communities from returning to their houses. Indiscriminate and deliberate planting of landmines by Armenians also leads to an increase in a number of landmine victims in Azerbaijan. As a result, since the end of the Patriotic War of 2020, 276 Azerbaijanis have become landmine victims, with 46 killed including 3 journalists. Out of the 46 killed, 35 persons are civilians.

Evidence of these gross human rights and international law violations has been shared with various international institutions, including the International Court of Justice, Council of Europe, and the UN Secretary-General.  

Azerbaijan will continue to comply with its international legal obligations, and urges Armenia to cease its indiscriminate actions and provocations against Azerbaijan and its population.