Artsakh Human Rights Defender appeals to UNICEF Executive Director

ArmInfo. On November 20, on  the occasion of the International Children's Day Artsakh Human Rights  Ombudsman sent a letter to the Executive Director of UNICEF,  Henrietta H. Fore. 

As the press service of the Office of the Artsakh Rights Defender  reports, the letter reads:

"Dear Ms. Fore, November 20th is an important date for the civilized  world as it is the date when the UN General Assembly adopted the  Declaration of the Rights of the Child (1959) and the UN General  Assembly adopted the Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989).  These two documents are based on the important mission of humanity to  unconditionally protect the rights of children in any situation,  guaranteeing the necessary conditions for their development.

Unfortunately, today, when the whole world celebrates International  Children's Day, the children of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) are  deprived of their rights, including the inherent right of children to  life, right to health, their right to be with family and community,  right to the development of personality and to be nurtured and  protected, right to education and other basic rights. They are  deprived of their rights because of the aggression launched by  Azerbaijan against the Republic of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) that  lasted from September 27 to November 9.

During the aggression, Azerbaijan deliberately and indiscriminately  attacked the civilian objects, residential buildings, and  infrastructure in approximately 170 communities of Artsakh (around 70  %). At least 50 killed and 163 wounded civilians, including a child  killed and 9 children wounded were registered. The children of  Artsakh were displaced together with their families, escaping the  threat to their life and health, and sheltering in safer places in  Artsakh and the Republic of Armenia.

Schools, kindergartens, and hospitals were also deliberately and  indiscriminately targeted. According to preliminary data, 71 schools  and 14 kindergartens were damaged as a result of the Azerbaijani  aggression in Artsakh, excluding the schools and kindergartens that  are in the communities currently under Azerbaijani control. 23978  schoolchildren and 4036 pre-school children are deprived of the right  to education.

As a result of the Azerbaijani occupation of many Artsakh communities  and handover of other communities, already thousands of children have  become homeless, continuously being deprived of a number of rights  and their happy childhood. Much more children have lost their fathers  and relatives; have witnessed shellings, getting heavy traumas, and  other development-hindering effects.

As the Human Rights Ombudsman of Artsakh, I have prepared an ad hoc  report documenting and analyzing the rights of Artsakh children that  have been grossly violated by Azerbaijan.

Prioritizing the protection of children's rights in any  circumstances, and expecting Your strong commitment to being the  ombudsman for children around the world, I am sharing with You the  Report and ask You to properly register the gross violations of the  rights of Artsakh children and take practical steps to eliminate the  consequences and restore the violated rights."