Western Azerbaijan Community

"Volker Türk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, in his comment relating to Armenia and Azerbaijan on September 26, 2023, allowed prejudice and discrimination against Azerbaijan and Azerbaijanis" 

"The High Commissioner knows very well that Armenia grossly violated the rights and freedoms of one million Azerbaijanis by forcibly expelling them from Armenia and the occupied territories of Azerbaijan. The government of Armenia does not allow the realization of the right of Azerbaijanis expelled from Armenia to return safely and with dignity to their homeland. For some reason, the High Commissioner has never addressed this issue, nor has he responded to the appeals from the Western Azerbaijan Community on this matter."

"It should be recalled that the Western Azerbaijan Community respects the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Armenia and has embarked on an agenda based on peace, coexistence, reconciliation and re-integration.

In this context, the High Commissioner's support for the groups that disrespect international law, reject reintegration, and pursue separatist agendas, as well as his disregard for the right to return of Azerbaijanis expelled from Armenia constitutes discrimination against Azerbaijanis based on ethnic and religious grounds. This discrimination by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights is not only wrong from a political point of view but also fundamentally undermines the international system in the field of human rights as a whole.

We urge High Commissioner Türk to act in accordance with the noble mandate of his office, not to allow the institution he leads to become a cheap political tool in the hands of some circles, to put an end to his prejudice and discrimination against Azerbaijanis on religious and ethnic grounds, to support the right of Azerbaijanis expelled from Armenia to return safely and with dignity. Furthermore, we urge the High Commissioner to respond to the appeal we sent to him on August 10, 2023, asking for his support for our right to return," the Community's statement reads.