On March 19, Foreign Minister of Armenia Ara Aivazian held a video conversation with Michelle Bachelet, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.

During the conversation, both sides commended the close cooperation between Armenia and the UN Human Rights Office. In this regard, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights highly appreciated Armenia’s role in advancing the human rights agenda as a member of the UN Human Rights Council.

One of the main topics on the agenda was the protection of human rights in conflict situations. The Minister of Foreign Affairs comprehensively presented to the High Commissioner the humanitarian situation in Artsakh and the steps undertaken to solve the urgent issues. The interlocutors expressed concern over the politicization of the process of providing  humanitarian assistance and the creation of artificial obstacles.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia and the UN High Commissioner stressed the importance of excluding the consistent violations of international humanitarian law and human rights. In this context, Minister Aivazian condemned the deliberate violations of its humanitarian obligations and commitments by Azerbaijan, in particular, in terms of immediate repatriation of Armenian prisoners of war and captured civilians.