The Ministry of Environment of Armenia is still anticipating practical proposals and specific actions from the Secretaries General of Environmental Conventions international organizations and partners to hold Azerbaijan liable for the damage caused to the environment as a result of the use of banned weapons during the recent war in Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh). This is what the Ministry of Environment reported in response to an inquiry from Armenian News-NEWS.am.

On November 3, 2020, Minister of Environment Romanos Petrosyan addressed letters to the executive secretaries of environmental conventions, international organizations and partners in regard to white phosphorus munitions used against the environment and population of Artsakh. Armenian News-NEWS.am asked the minister what steps international environmental organizations took during and after the war to hold Azerbaijan liable for using banned weapons (including phosophorus weapons) and means in the territories of Armenia and Artsakh and whether he views the response of those organizations to the use of phosphorus munitions as adequate.

“To date, the responses contain calls for solidarity and peaceful coexistence, which is not enough for advancing the Artsakh peace process, as well as for the agreements reached within the scope of that process,” the response of the Ministry of Environment states.

Touching upon the amount of damage caused to the environment after the war and the actions being taken to restore the environmental damages, the Ministry of Environment stressed the following: “The internationally banned cluster munitions, white phosphorus munitions have caused indirect damage to the environment in Armenia and Artsakh, starting from large-scale forest fires and ending with sustainable contamination of the air, land and water.” The Ministry of Environment added that the full amount of environmental damage is subject to monitoring and evaluation.

In this situation, Armenia must implement a broader fact-finding mission and present the damages caused to the environment in Armenia and Artsakh as a result of the Azerbaijani-Turkish war and speak out about the inaction and indifference of international environmental organizations.