Azerbaijan has put forward a special resolution at the UN on protecting the rights of mine victims

On April 1, 2025, in Geneva, at the initiative and co-authorship of Azerbaijan, a draft special resolution was put forward within the UN Human Rights Council demanding protection of the rights of mine victims.

This was reported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan.

According to the information, the draft resolution was presented at a high-level event within the framework of the 58th session of the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) on the topic "Mines, Human Rights and Environmental Degradation: Effective Assistance to Mine Victims".

The event, jointly organized by the Permanent Mission of Azerbaijan to the UN Office in Geneva and the international organization Universal Rights Group (URG), was attended by permanent missions to the UN, authoritative structures and experts in the field of human rights, as well as representatives of international media.

Ambassador-at-Large of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan Elshad Iskenderov, who delivered the keynote address at the event, noted that the draft resolution "Impact of Anti-Personnel Mines on the Full Observance of All Human Rights," put forward by Azerbaijan as the main co-author, was included in the agenda of the UN Human Rights Council.

It was brought to attention that a special report on this topic was previously presented for the first time to the UN Security Council, a number of parallel events and consultations were organized at the UN, and a joint statement distributed last year at the initiative of Azerbaijan at the 57th session of the UN Security Council was supported by 65 countries.

Emphasizing that as a result of the Armenian occupation, Azerbaijan's territory is the second largest mine-contaminated area in Europe, E. Iskenderov noted that in the post-conflict period, 383 citizens lost their lives and health in mine explosions, and in total, there are about 4,000 mine victims in Azerbaijan.

The co-authors of the resolution—the permanent representatives of Algeria and Gambia to the UN Office in Geneva, UN rapporteur on human rights violations Ambassador Yvette Stevens, and other speakers who spoke at the event—exchanged views on the possibilities of international cooperation in the field of mine action, mutual exchange of experience, and international mechanisms for assisting mine victims.

As part of the event, Ben Keith, a lawyer and founder of the International Human Rights Advisors (IHRA), conducted an official presentation of the "Campaign for Landmine Justice." The main goal of the campaign is to achieve the creation of a mechanism of international solidarity to ensure the rights of mine victims.

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