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Azerbaijan on Thursday instituted proceedings against Armenia before the International Court of Justice, the principal judicial organ of the United Nations, concerning the interpretation and application of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD), the court said in a press release.

According to the filing, “Armenia has engaged and is continuing to engage in a series of discriminatory acts against Azerbaijanis on the basis of their ‘national or ethnic’ origin within the meaning of CERD”. The Applicant claims that “through both direct and indirect means, Armenia continues its policy of ethnic cleansing”, and that it “incites hatred and ethnic violence against Azerbaijanis by engaging in hate speech and disseminating racist propaganda, including at the highest levels of its government”.

Referring to the war unleashed by Azerbaijan against the Artsakh Republic in 2020 with the involvement of Turkey and mercenaries, and the fact that Azerbaijan was the one to start the war was confirmed by President Ilham Aliyev in an August 14 interview, the applicant says that “Armenia once again targeted Azerbaijanis for brutal treatment motivated by ethnic hatred”.

Azerbaijan adds that “[t]he Parties’ attempts to negotiate a settlement of Azerbaijan’s claims over the last ten months have resulted in deadlock”. Azerbaijan therefore requests the UN court “to hold Armenia accountable for its violations” under the CERD.