Armenia asks UN court to throw out Azerbaijan’s claim alleging racial discrimination
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Lawyers for Armenia asked the top United Nations court on Monday to throw out a case filed by Azerbaijan over the Karabakh region that accuses Armenia of ethnic cleansing.
Azerbaijan launched proceedings at the International Court of Justice in 2021 in the case, less than a week after Armenia brought its own case against Azerbaijan stemming from a 2020 war over Karabakh that killed more than 6,600 people. Azerbaijan asked the court to throw out Armenia ’s case last week.
In the case brought by Azerbaijan, Armenia is contesting The Hague-based court’s jurisdiction. The case is based on the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, or CERD, which Azerbaijan ratified in 1996. According to Armenia, most of the complaints date from the first Karabakh war, which ended two years prior.