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Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian made a statement at the 127th Session of the Committee of the Ministers of the Council of Europe held in Nicosia, Cyprus.

In his speech Nalbandian welcomed the adoption of the Convention on Offences relating to Cultural Property, saying that Armenian people have suffered immense losses of cultural legacy throughout its history and most recently in Azerbaijan by the hands of its government and in Syria by the terrorist groups.

“It is commendable that in his annual report on the “State of Democracy, Human Rights and the Rule of Law” the Secretary General has highlighted populism, which is particularly dangerous, when combined with state sponsored hate speech and xenophobia. Free media, education for democratic citizenship and human rights, active civil society are essential in overcoming this phenomenon. Moreover, the notion of “rule of law” represents a concept that is diametrically opposed to “the rule by force” or “use of force”. the minister said. 
The Armenian minister recalled the large-scale offensive in April 2016, when Azerbaijan committed gross violations of international humanitarian and human rights law against the people of Nagorno-Karabakh.

“Two Summits were convened after the April aggression of Azerbaijan, where agreements were reached aimed at creating conducive conditions for advancement of the peace process. Baku refuses to implement these agreements although their importance has been highlighted on numerous occasions, including during April 28 trilateral meeting of ministers of foreign affairs of Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan. Moreover, Baku continues the gross violations of the trilateral cease-fire agreements in defiance to the consistent calls of the Co-Chair countries and the international community,” said the minister. 

“We value the recent initiatives that call on the equal application of the pan-European human rights instruments to the whole continent without distinction, including in the conflict zones. It is the primary goal of Council of Europe to ensure that the common values and individual rights guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights are not dependent on the status of the territory where people live,” added Nalbandian.