On December 20, under the Indian Presidency, the UN Security Council an emergency meeting was convened upon Armenia's request to discuss the situation resulting from the blockade of the Lachine Corridor.

In his statement, Permanent Representative of the Republic of Armenia to the UN, Mher Margaryan, drew the attention of the Security Council Members to the humanitarian crisis faced by the people of Nagorno-Karabakh as a result of Azerbaijan's illegal blockade of the Lachin Corridor.  It was emphasized that the blockade of the corridor in 2020 is a direct breach of Azerbaijan's commitments emanating from the Trilateral Statement of November 9 and international humanitarian law and human rights.

Mher Margaryan stressed that Azerbaijan actually targeted the 120,000 people of Nagorno-Karabakh by completely isolating them during the harsh winter season. The blockade of the Lachine Corridor has obstructed the provision of healthcare and social services causing life-threatening situation.

It was noted that this and the previous actions of Azerbaijan are aimed at creating a humanitarian crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh and demonstrate the intention of the Azerbaijani authorities to subject the people of Nagorno-Karabakh to ethnic cleansing.

Ambassador Margaryan highlighted the importance of continued involvement of the international community in guaranteeing the rights and security of the people of Nagorno-Karabakh, emphasizing that the UN Security Council should to uphold its responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security, to take the appropriate measures, including strongly condemning the aggressive actions of Azerbaijan posing an existential threat to the people of Nagorno-Karabakh, to their right to live freely and in dignity. 

The Permanent Representative of Armenia to the United Nations added that the unabated provocations and aggressive actions of Azerbaijan have come to demonstrate that, in the absence of strong accountability measures, including application of sanctions, will encourage Azerbaijan  to continue testing the resilience and the determination of the international community and of the Council in maintaining international peace and security. 

Summing up the speech, Mher Margaryan urged the UN Security Council to:

• demand Azerbaijan to fully respect the provisions of the Trilateral Statement of 9 November 2020 and to immediately and unconditionally unblock the Lachin corridor by removing all obstacles for the safe, secure and unimpeded transport communication;
• deploy a fact-finding mission to Nagorno-Karabakh and Lachin corridor to assess the humanitarian situation on the ground;
• ensure unimpeded humanitarian access of the UN agencies in Nagorno- Karabakh.