Kugler: Minority rights are human rights and must be protected - also for the population of Nagorno-Karabakh

2023-10-10 16:39:39

Unanimous motion in the Human Rights Committee to protect the population of Nagorno-Karabakh as well as churches and cultural assets

Vienna (OTS) – “Minority rights are human rights and must be respected and protected – this also applies to the population of Nagorno-Karabakh. I am pleased that a corresponding motion was unanimously approved in the Human Rights Committee today,” said ÖVP human rights spokeswoman Dr. Gudrun Kugler. The MP once again calls for strict compliance with international humanitarian law and the protection of the civilian population in view of the mass exodus of Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh. For Kugler, it is inconceivable that such events, which amount to ethnic cleansing, are even possible in the 21st century.

Humanitarian aid, the protection of churches and cultural assets in one of the oldest cultural regions in the world as well as the protection of the property of the displaced must now be ensured, said Kugler. “Federal Minister Alexander Schallenberg has already promised additional financial aid for Armenia through the Austrian Development Agency (ADA),” says Kugler, praising the efforts to prevent a humanitarian catastrophe. It is now important to continue peace efforts at international, EU level and within the framework of the OSCE. Kugler recalls the Armenian genocide in 1915 and 1916: “The international community looked the other way back then. We must not make this mistake again. This expulsion of more than a hundred thousand Armenians must not remain without consequences,” says Kugler in conclusion. (Ending)