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e-3424 (Foreign affairs)

E-petition
Initiated by Bella Gharibyan from Montreal, Quebec

Original language of petition: English

Petition to the Government of Canada

Whereas:
  • On September 27, 2020, at the height of global pandemic, Azerbaijan backed by Turkey launched an unprovoked military attack against the Artsakh population;
  • The ceasefire statement brokered by the Russian Federation was signed on November 9, 2020, by Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia to end the second Artsakh war;
  • To this day Azerbaijan holds captive more than 200 Armenian prisoners of war (POWs) in violation of the Geneva Conventions and the aforementioned ceasefire statement section 8 “the Parties shall exchange prisoners of war, hostages and other detained persons, and dead bodies;”
  • According to an HRW report, Azerbaijani forces degrade and torture Armenian POWs; and
  • Azerbaijan is bound by the prohibition of torture and inhumane treatment in international law as articulated in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the European Convention of Human Rights.
We, the undersigned, Canadians and human rights advocates, call upon the Government of Canada to
1. Urge Azerbaijan to fully and expeditiously complete the exchange process of all Armenian POWs, detainees, and remains;
2. Assume the role that is historically acclaimed by Canada in peacebuilding and demand Azerbaijan to implement the ceasefire statement as a precondition for negotiating a lasting peace in the Southern Caucasus;
3. Condemn Azerbaijan for violating the international humanitarian laws and the third Geneva convention, which Azerbaijan, Canada, and Armenia had signed; and
4. Assume the leadership role in defending the victims of human rights violations and implement sanctions towards Azerbaijan as a countermeasure tool for violating the Geneva Conventions and refusing to immediately return all Armenian POWs.
Open for signature
May 18, 2021, at 11:01 a.m. (EDT)
Closed for signature
June 17, 2021, at 11:01 a.m. (EDT)
Presented to the House of Commons
Bryan May (Cambridge)
June 22, 2021 (Petition No. 432-01208)
Photo - Bryan May
Cambridge
Liberal Caucus
Ontario