“On the night of January 19-20, 1990, military units and armored vehicles of the Soviet Army, without warning, burst into Baku, Sumgayit and other cities and regions of Azerbaijan. Under the instructions of the former Soviet leaders, 147 civilians regardless of nationality, age and gender were killed, 744 were wounded, hundreds went missing and 841 people were arrested illegally. Even after declaring a state of emergency on 20 January, 21 more people were killed. Soldiers attacked even the ambulances and medical servants who came to help the wounded, they were also killed and wounded,” the statement reads.

The statement says that one main tasks lying ahead is to bring the truth about the January 20 tragedy the world community.

“Though, as a result of this crime against humanity, the provisions of the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights, International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and other international legal documents on human rights were flagrantly violated, the January 20 tragedy which is one of the most horrible crimes of XX century was not legally assessed and the perpetrators and benefactors of this crime have not been yet punished,” the statement reads.

“There are sufficient legal documents and norms to declare the events of January 20 as a crime against humanity – one of the most serious forms of international crimes in accordance with the international law. There are sufficient grounds to bring the personnel who committed these atrocities, those who gave order in this regard and leaders of former Soviet Union to justice,” said the statement.

“We hope that the world community and international organizations will support the right demands of Azerbaijan, this bloody act will soon receive its international legal assessment as a crime against humanity, the perpetrators will be punished,” the statement said.

The statement has been sent to the UN Secretary General, UN Security Council, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, European Commission, OSCE, Council of Europe, Institute of International and European Ombudsmen, Asian Ombudsman Association, International Peace Bureau, human rights commissioners of various countries, Azerbaijan’s diplomatic missions abroad, diplomatic missions of foreign countries in Azerbaijan and Azerbaijani Diaspora organizations.

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