The Armenian Bar Association has assembled and with the cooperation of partner associations filed five (5) separate and comprehensive reports with the U.N. Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (“Committee”) as the Committee prepares to conduct its period review of Azerbaijan’s compliance with the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (“CERD”) at its 107th session to be held in Geneva, Switzerland in August 2022. The Committee is the body of independent experts that monitors implementation of CERD by its State parties. During the periodic review, the Committee will examine various reports, including those submitted by the Armenian Bar Association, and will address its concerns and recommendations to the State party (in this case, Azerbaijan) in the form of “concluding observations.”The strength and number of the Armenian Bar’s reports reflect the caliber and dedication of the organization and of its partner associations. These reports will be crucial assets for years to come in asserting and upholding the rights and security of Armenians and Artsakhtsis under #international#law and holding #Azerbaijan accountable for violations. All of the reports will appear on the web page of the CERD session. The submissions and topic areas were as follows: Armenian Bar Association: 1. Arbitrary killings of civilians in Artsakh; 2. Hate speech toward Armenians in the diaspora; 3. Destruction of cultural heritage sites with partner Association of Armenian Lawyers (Russia); 4. Prisoners of War with partner French-Armenian Lawyers Association; and 5. Inability to return to ancestral lands with partner CNA of Argentina. The Armenian Bar and its partner associations have been invited to #Geneva by the Committee to participate in private and public sessions addressing Azerbaijan’s relevant conduct. …#CERD#UnitedNations#Artsakh
