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The autumn session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) starts in Strasbourg on Monday, 27 September to run through 30 September in a hybrid format. The PACE is set to debate Paul Gavan’s report on "The humanitarian consequences of the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan" on the first day of the session.

In the draft resolution, the Parliamentary Assembly regrets the tragic humanitarian consequences of the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan. It is a conflict which has seen two major outbreaks of war, the first from the end of 1991 to 1994, and a 6-week war in 2020.

In his report, Paul Gavan has shared information he gathered during his visits to Armenia and Azerbaijan.

The draft resolution says during the recent 6-week war, over 3 900 Armenian and 2 900 Azerbaijani military were killed or went missing, and there were many civilian casualties. Over 91,000 Armenians and 84,000 Azerbaijanis were initially displaced.

The main issues covered include, the dead, missing and wounded; prisoners of war/alleged captives; allegations of crimes, war crimes and other wrongful acts; landmines and unexploded ordnance; displaced persons; border tensions; cultural heritage; hate speech.

Recommendations are directed to Armenia and Azerbaijan on steps to help solve the humanitarian consequences in the short and long term and move towards a process of peace and reconciliation. The international community, including the Council of Europe, is encouraged to help both countries.

The Assembly recalls that both Armenia and Azerbaijan committed themselves, upon their accession to the Council of Europe in January 2001, to use only peaceful means for settling the conflict. Therefore, the 6-week war in 2020 constitutes a breach of these commitments and should be duly addressed by the Council of Europe.

The PACE believes that the Council of Europe has an important role to help both Armenia and Azerbaijan tackle the humanitarian consequences of the conflict between the two countries.

The Assembly therefore invites the Committee of Ministers to take into account the humanitarian consequences of the conflict, when preparing new Action Plans for Armenia (2023-2026) and Azerbaijan (2022-2025) and show flexibility in on-going action plans and adapt them to the consequences of the conflict.

The Committee of Ministers is invited to pay particular attention to the needs and rights of displaced persons and issues surrounding their return, confidence building measures for all affected communities, and measures necessary to build tolerant societies and tackle hate speech.

Incidentally, 29 amendments to the draft resolution have been submitted, most of them by Azerbaijan, which are to be discussed and put to a vote in the PACE.