{"id":8414,"date":"2020-11-05T20:20:38","date_gmt":"2020-11-05T16:20:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/armecofront.net\/?p=8414"},"modified":"2020-11-05T20:20:38","modified_gmt":"2020-11-05T16:20:38","slug":"ecocide-alert-in-nagorno-kharabakh-region-amidst-war-between-armenia-azerbaijan-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dev.armecofront.net\/en\/ecocide-alert-in-nagorno-kharabakh-region-amidst-war-between-armenia-azerbaijan-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Ecocide Alert in Nagorno\u2013Kharabakh region amidst war between Armenia & Azerbaijan"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Dear Partner,<\/div>\n
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As you may be aware, on September 27th, 2020, full\u2013blown war exploded between Armenia & Azerbaijan over Naghorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) with four ceasefire regimes negotiated under the umbrella of Minsk OSCE Group, violated during October, 2020.<\/div>\n
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During this large-scale war, the most intensive since the 1994 ceasefire agreement in the Southern Caucasus region, a number of war crimes were mounted & documented, among them beheadings of Armenian soldiers, killing of civilians in a city square wrapped in Armenian flags, deliberate attacks on civilian infrastructures – residential buildings, churches, food markets, schools and maternity hospitals.<\/div>\n
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On October 30, 2020, the environmental community of Armenia, including local, regional & international environmental organizations, conservation pioneers, scientists and non-governmental organizations, was shocked to witness another disastrous war crime against natural ecosystems & crucial livelihoods of Artsakh.<\/div>\n
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As per credible reports & collected data, comprised by Human\u2019s Right Defender of Armenia, Azerbaijani military forces have used white phosphorus munitions containing elements of chemical weapons in the primary forests of Artsakh, which is a gross violation of International Humanitarian Law, principles of Customary Law, Geneva Convention, Chemical Weapons Convention, Convention on the Prohibition of Military or Any Other Hostile Use of Environmental Modification Technique, as well as the provisions of the relevant UN conventions and documents. As video evidence shows, these weapons are being used in an attempt to burn down forests where-civilians are taking shelter from Azerbaijan\u2019s attacks.<\/div>\n
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The ongoing large-scale war seriously threatens the biodiversity of the region, which has been recognized as one of the world’s biodiversity hotspots. This region is well-known for its high rate of endemism and for being home to more than 6000 plant species, 153 species of mammals, 400 species of birds and other living organisms. Hundreds of plant and animal species found in Artsakh are listed both in the local Red Book and the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species having a protection status at a global level.<\/div>\n
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Among them are the critically endangered Persian (Caucasian) Leopard, known to migrate through Mrav ridge of Armenia & Artsakh towards the Iranian border, as well as to Azerbaijan and vice versa, which is a rare species with declining numbers protected at a regional & global level.<\/div>\n
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Furthermore, Armenia & Artsakh are known for their primary forests, which are amongst the most biodiverse forests in the region. Not only do these forests play a major role in preserving favorable environmental conditions for sustainable development, but local people are heavily dependent on these forests for their livelihoods. Traditional forest-related knowledge accumulated over thousands of years is deeply linked with the cultures of indigenous people living in Artsakh.<\/div>\n
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The usage of white phosphorus munitions by Azerbaijani forces in those forests will not only destroy valuable ecosystems & habitats and put threatened species at the risk of extinction, but will contaminate rivers & underground waters for years, thus turning into a major threat of regional scale for all the people and wildlife living in the region.<\/div>\n
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We are therefore calling out to the global conservation community for support to help stop the usage of white phosphorus munitions before they cause an environmental disaster and regional ecocide.<\/div>\n
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The usage of white phosphorus munitions contradicts to all the provisions of all environmental conventions including the Bern Convention, Nagoya protocol to Helsinki & Rotterdam conventions, verified by the Governments of both Armenia & Azerbaijan.<\/div>\n
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Although 98% of the global population live under the protection of the Chemical Weapons Convention, this is, as we understand, unfortunately not applicable towards Armenia & ethnic Armenians living in Artsakh.<\/div>\n
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Ongoing developments continue to threaten any form of life in the region and thus we\u2019re addressing you, as a leading environmental organization in the field, to:<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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