On May 19, Minister Edward Nalbandian participated in the 125th session of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe (CoE), with participation of Secretary General of the Council of Europe Thorbjørn Jagland, PACE President Anne Brasseur, CoE Commissioner for Human Rights Nils Muižnieks, Secretary General of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe Lamberto Zannier, Foreign Ministers of CoE 36 member-states and high-ranking delegations of member-states.

In his remarks at the session, Minister Nalbandian expressed gratitude to the Secretary General of the Council of Europe for the second annual report “State of Democracy, Human Rights and the Rule of Law in Europe” and mentioned that Armenia shares the report assessment that protection of human rights, strengthening of democratic institutions and legal state may further contribute to the establishment of democratic security.

“We are confident that protection of fundamental rights should not and can not be determined by the status of territory, where people live. Speaking in the language of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, no one can become subject to discrimination based on legal, political or international status of the territory or the country of their residence. Therefore we welcome Secretary General’s efforts to continue revealing of implementation of the CoE standards throughout the territory under the jurisdiction of the Council of Europe,” mentioned Edward Nalbandian.

Touching upon parliamentary elections held in Nagorno-Karabakh and NK settlement process, Minister of Foreign Affairs mentioned,

“On May 3rd Nagorno-Karabakh held its 6th parliamentary elections, which were yet another testimony to the commitment of the people of Nagorno-Karabakh to human rights, and democratic development.

The Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group - the internationally mandated format of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict resolution - have continuously acknowledged the need for the authorities of Nagorno-Karabakh to organize democratically the public life of their population through elections. In their statement on last elections the Co-Chairs once again reaffirmed “the role of the people of Nagorno-Karabakh in deciding their future.”

Unfortunately, the situation on the ground continues to be tense. The Co-Chairs have clearly identified the side responsible for this. They expressed serious concerns to the Azerbaijani side on incursions across the line of contact and the border with Armenia. They directly urged Azerbaijan “to observe its commitments on peaceful resolution of the conflict”. The Co-Chairs expressed concern about unfounded criticism coming from Baku on the ongoing negotiation process, the role of the Minsk Group Co-Chairs and the OSCE monitors. The ongoing Azerbaijani provocations are matched with warmongering rhetoric and anti-Armenian hate speech. Moreover, those representatives of civil society, intellectuals and journalists in Azerbaijan who have been advocating for peace and reconciliation, are being permanently persecuted and end up behind bars.

Many international organizations on human rights including the Council of Europe alerted on the policy of hatred against Armenians.”

Presenting to the Foreign Ministers of CoE member-states the message of the Centennial of the Armenian Genocide, Minister Nalbandian stressed,

"The upsurge in extremist violence and terrorism that we are witnessing currently is one of the biggest threats which we face today.

Racism, xenophobia and intolerance violate human dignity, create an image of an enemy within societies, thus endangering the social harmony. From the bitter experience of our history we know that this can result in hate driven crimes, and even crimes against humanity.

As a nation, which passed through the horrors of Genocide, we feel a moral responsibility to raise awareness about this scourge and to do our utmost to contribute to the prevention of crimes against humanity. It is in this spirit that on the occasion of the Centennial of the Armenian Genocide the Armenians worldwide together with the international community pay tribute to 1.5 million innocent victims and join their voices to the pledge of "never again"."

Foreign Minister of Armenia expressed gratitude to the Secretary General and member-states of the Council of Europe for their participation in and contribution to the commemorative events on the Centennial of the Armenian Genocide and the Global Forum “Against the Crime of Genocide”, held in April, in Yerevan.