Title: Our governmental structure and our NGO are the only ones in the world today to defend the rights of the indigenous Armenian population of Artsakh at the forefront of the international stage.

“Good afternoon, today we are at the Palais des Nations in Geneva, in this room of the Human Rights Council, where the Assembly of Armenians of Western Armenia and the National Council of Western Armenia will be making statements at the 16th session of the Expert Mechanism on Indigenous Peoples. In view of the Expert Mechanism’s agenda on various issues, the aim is to ensure that the rights of the Armenians of Western Armenia are heard before the international community. Today, in particular, it’s about the impact of militarization on the rights of indigenous peoples. The Assembly of Armenians of Western Armenia and the Council via its President Mr. Arménag Aprahamian held an intervention in which it was specified that this impact of militarization was an imminent danger in particular for the population of Artsakh. We would like to remind you that the population of Artsakh is indigenous, with rights recognized by the UN. In this respect, it is important to remember that the territory of Artsakh is an integral part of the Armenia of 1920, of which Western Armenia is the successor state. In this respect, the people of Artsakh have every right to assert their rights, and we are here to do so, bringing their name before international bodies. In all modesty, our governmental structure and our NGO are the only ones in the world today to defend the rights of the indigenous Armenian population of Artsakh on the international stage. This is an imminent issue, as we know that the population of Artsakh has been under blockade for over 7 months now, an untenable situation not only for the people themselves, but also for the entire Armenian nation now affected. The international community has heard this, and we are working diplomatically to resolve these issues as quickly as possible. We will not give up. It is inconceivable that states can develop their military apparatus in this way, and that the growing militarization of both Azerbaijan and Turkey will have an impact not only on the territory of Western Armenia, but also on the Near and Middle East. We are therefore drawing attention to this issue, because a conflagration is imminent and must be contained as quickly as possible.