“We, representatives of the civil society of Azerbaijan, are turning to the president of the International Committee of the Red Cross, Mrs. Mirjana Spoljaric Egger, and express our serious concern over the activity of the International Committee of the Red Cross in Azerbaijan.

The International Committee of the Red Cross has been operating in Azerbaijan for more than 30 years. We consider the mandate and mission of this organization to be very important. However, we have to say with regret that although nearly 4,000 Azerbaijanis went missing as a result of Armenia's aggression against Azerbaijan, the International Committee of the Red Cross has not had achieved tangible progress in determining their fate in the last 30 years. Thousands of families still have a glimmer of hope waiting for some news.

In the 1990s, the International Committee of the Red Cross tracked down 54 Azerbaijani prisoners, and as a result of the dialogue with the Armenian side, took the bodies of 17 of them and handed them over to the Azerbaijani side. However, the fate of 37 people from that list still remains unknown. Are they alive or have they been killed, and if they have been killed, why haven’t their bodies been handed over to their families? Why is the International Committee of the Red Cross not dealing with this issue closely? After all, there has been correspondence between the Azerbaijani side and the International Committee of the Red Cross confirming that those 54 people are being held in captivity.

The International Committee of the Red Cross considers itself an independent, neutral and impartial organization. However, the violation of these fundamental principles in relation to Azerbaijan is difficult to understand.

In the 2000s, the International Committee of the Red Cross established an office in Khankendi, the sovereign territory of Azerbaijan, without agreeing the step with the government of Azerbaijan, and signed an “agreement” with the so-called separatist regime. Despite the repeated official appeals of the Azerbaijani side, that “agreement” was concealed under the guise of confidentiality and was not disclosed. It later transpired that the Khankendi office of the International Committee of the Red Cross was subordinated to the organization's representative office in Yerevan, not in Baku.

We, representatives of Azerbaijan's civil society, view such conduct on the part of the International Committee of the Red Cross, which should actually always remain independent and neutral, as a biased approach.

It is also unacceptable that this situation has not changed even after the 44-day war in 2020. We consider the demand to subordinate the Khankendi office to the representative office in Baku to be completely legitimate, as President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev recently said in an interview with “Euronews” TV channel in Shusha.

We also support the views contained in the open letter of Meshali genocide victims to the international community regarding Vagif Khachaturyan, one of the war criminals responsible for the Meshali genocide of 1991, who was found in a vehicle of the International Committee of the Red Cross at the Lachin checkpoint. We fully agree with the residents of Meshali that the flag and vehicles of the International Committee of the Red Cross should not serve as a safe haven for war criminals, as this does not provide them any legal immunity. International humanitarian law is also against it.

Mrs. President!

We are appalled by the fact that the trucks and ambulances with the logo of the International Committee of the Red Cross on them were found to be smuggling in gasoline, cigarettes and mobile phone during an inspection at the Lachin border checkpoint.

We also call on the International Committee of the Red Cross not to become a tool of Armenia's manipulation or make unfair statements. Since Karabakh is the territory of Azerbaijan, your representative office in Baku can deliver humanitarian goods via the Aghdam-Khankendi road. The road from Aghdam to Khankendi is shorter than the one from Yerevan. This can also allow you to significantly reduce transportation costs.

We expect the International Committee of the Red Cross to completely subordinate the Khankendi office to the Baku representative office. The International Committee of the Red Cross should establish its activities in accordance with the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Azerbaijan state. We also expect you to strengthen the dialogue with the Armenian side on the issue of missing persons.

We believe that the International Committee of the Red Cross will take into account our public concerns as soon as possible, table the issues on the agenda at its headquarters in Geneva, make constructive decisions and necessary adjustments to its activities in relation to Azerbaijan.”

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