Azerbaijan launches environmental offensive against Armenia

Goris, Armenia – Azerbaijan is opening a new front against Armenia – but it involves legal briefs and environmental damage claims, not tanks and rockets.

Azerbaijan alleges that Armenia destroyed the environment of Nagorno-Karabakh, an ethnic Armenian enclave within Azerbaijan that has been at war for 30 years; In 2020, a surprise unpleasant Large parts of the territory occupied by Azerbaijan.

This is not the first time that a country is using environmental litigation as a political opportunity to demand reparations or to assert territorial claims.

Ukrainian government recording is done The environmental impact of the invasion of Moscow, as Russian troops ravaged chemical plants, oil depots, water facilities, and even nuclear power plants, as well as farms, forests, and wildlife reserves. The effort is aimed both at ultimately securing reparations and at underscoring the illegitimacy of Russia’s presence in Ukraine.

leopards, wolves and bears

Azerbaijan’s effort is the first ever interstate arbitration under the Council of Europe berne convention On the conservation of European wildlife and natural habitats. It alleged that “Armenia committed widespread environmental destruction during its thirty-year illegal occupation of the territory of Azerbaijan.”

Both countries are signatories to the binding international treaty, along with the European Union and more than 50 other countries, but it has never before been used to mediate ecological issues between two countries.

“Over the past two years, we have unearthed shocking evidence of environmental damage in areas liberated in the 2020 war,” Elnur Mammadov, deputy foreign minister of Azerbaijan, told POLITICO. “Animal life and biodiversity have suffered. The exploitation of natural resources and the pollution caused by industry are still harming our ecosystems.

According to him, more than 500 species are now threatened in Nagorno-Karabakh, including leopards, brown bears, gray wolves and eagles. An interlocking landscape of snowy mountains, sunny open plains and lush woodland, the southern Caucasus is home to one of the richest biospheres in the world, and decades of war have undoubtedly taken a toll on the nature, due to minefields laid by both is now closed. Party.

“We have two objectives: one is to obtain legal recognition for these violations and to attract the attention of the international community. The other is to obtain reparations and compensation,” Mammadov said. Previous arbitrations have taken up to four years to conclude, he said, and Azerbaijan has now appointed its representative to the arbitration and is waiting for Armenia to do so before considering the claim.

Armenia’s representative office for international legal affairs confirmed to Politico that it had received a notice of arbitration under the Berne Convention, but argued that legal action is against the spirit of the treaty.

Officials said, “We regret that Azerbaijan has chosen to pursue an adversarial process under an international instrument that aims to ‘promote cooperation’ among states for the conservation of wild flora and fauna and their natural habitats. Is.”

“Armenia is concerned that Azerbaijan’s pursuit of a controversial path with no relation to the objectives of the Berne Convention could have detrimental effects for the region’s environment, which suffered significant damage as a result of Azerbaijan’s aggressive wars over the past two years ,” the team of lawyers insisted that Armenia would abide by its obligations under the agreement.

A spokeswoman for the Council of Europe, which acts as the depository for the agreement, told POLITICO that it “has not received any requests so far.”

He noted that the Berne Convention has a clear procedure for the arbitration of disputes, but that questions about whether a case is admissible “are not foreseen in the convention”, throwing the proceedings into uncharted waters.

According to Basic lesson According to the convention, a Standing Committee composed of all contracting parties “must use its best efforts to facilitate an amicable settlement.” If it does not, a formal arbitration process may be initiated: three arbitrators shall be appointed and an arbitration tribunal shall be established. But, since the process has never been used, it is difficult to predict how it will proceed or what types of compensation countries will be able to request.

turn green

While Azerbaijan’s gambit is unprecedented, this is not the first time ecology has come to the forefront of conflict between the two countries.

On 12 December, a group of self-described Azerbaijani environmental activists marched their way to the only road that links the part of Nagorno-Karabakh under Armenian control with Armenia proper. The road has been guarded by Russian peacekeepers since the 2020 war, but the troops did not intervene when protesters set up tents and blocked traffic. They insist they will not leave until alleged pollution from illegal gold mines operated by Karabakh Armenians is resolved and Azerbaijani authorities have the right to inspect traffic.

This has led to a blockade that has lasted more than six weeks, with only peacekeeping vehicles and humanitarian convoys operated by the Red Cross able to bring food and medicine to the 100,000 people living in the ravaged area. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan Condemned it Near-total blockade against Karabakh Armenians under the pretext of “ethnic cleansing”.

Many international observers have alleged that the protesters are being directed by the Azerbaijani government, few have any apparent record of environmental activism, and the state often cracks down on domestic political protests. Baku, however, denies that it is behind the crisis and insists that the picket line for approved humanitarian relief is being parted.

“I’ve always been interested in air pollution, water pollution and research in Karabakh,” 34-year-old activist Abbas Panahov told POLITICO. “We have to defend Azerbaijan’s character and nature against eco-murder by separatists.”

However, Karabakh Armenians insist that environmental issues are being used by Azerbaijan to pressure them and strengthen Baku’s hold on the region.

“Since May last year we have been monitoring the quality of atmospheric air and surface water and we have not registered any pollution,” said Garik Grigoryan, an expert working with the environmental protection committee of the local administration. “We are now asking international observers and ecologists to come to the area. Azerbaijan has its own environmental problems – let them worry about it.

political pollution

Azerbaijan produces a third of it Gross Domestic Product By pumping oil and gas, which has left a legacy of land and water pollution. Critics say it is being ignored while the government focuses on Karabakh.

The case brought by Azerbaijan is “a very political issue,” said Andrey Ralev, a biodiversity campaigner with the NGO CEE Bankwatch, adding that the two countries are “throwing claims at each other, which only serve political benefits.” But he added that the situation is “also complex from an environmental perspective.”

For Ralev, some of Azerbaijan’s claims of environmental destruction can be difficult to prove. “Between 2000 and 2020, the forest area in Nagorno Karabakh increased,” he said, adding, “Many villages were deserted [during the conflict] So that the pressure on the forests is reduced.

Ryleev also pointed out that neither Armenia or Azerbaijan are currently meeting all of their obligations under the Berne Convention, particularly when it comes to designating special protected areas called Emerald Sites. “From [a] From a scientific point of view, if you do not have enough emerald sites proposed in Karabakh, it is difficult to assess to what extent any significant damage has been done to its protected species and habitats.

Azerbaijani minister Mammadov insists that his country is not playing politics with its claim.

“This is a serious attempt to secure justice. We said after 2020 we want to turn the page and provide peace for the region, but we will also hold those responsible for past violations accountable,” he said. “Certainly it sets a precedent, and we are interested to see what the Tribunal does with the case.”