Asbarez: Groups Urge Yerevan to Engage Switzerland as ‘Protecting Power” for A

Former Artsakh leaders were paraded in a Baku military court on Jan. 21

Relatives and representatives of Armenian detainees unlawfully being held in Azerbaijan sent a letter to Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan and other international leaders to engage Switzerland to act as what is known as “protecting power” over the detained Artsakh Armenians.

The request was also sent to Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis and President of International Committee of the Red Cross Mirjana Spoljaric Egger.

This development was reported by attorney Siranush Sahakyan, who is the representative of Armenian captives at the European Court of Human Rights and leads the Center for International and Comparative Law.

The letter warned that “time is of the essence,” and expressed “deep concern following the complete closure of the International Committee of the Red Cross office in the Republic of Azerbaijan. This development has gravely exacerbated the already dire situation of our relatives, leaving us in a state of profound uncertainty regarding their fate and wellbeing.”

“Considering these circumstances and recalling the obligations set forth under international humanitarian law, we respectfully but firmly urge the Government of Armenia to extend a formal invitation to the Government of the Swiss Confederation to assume the role of Protecting Power. Such an intervention is both necessary and urgent to ensure that the rights, safety, and dignity of our relatives are safeguarded through internationally recognized mechanisms of protection,” the groups said in the letter.

“Azerbaijan’s continued incommunicado detention of Armenian captives, without access by their families, independent lawyers, or impartial humanitarian actors, constitutes a flagrant breach of its obligations under international humanitarian law, including the Geneva Conventions,” the letter states in part,” charged the signatories.

Noting that at least 19 individuals are currently being held in Baku, their relatives emphasized that this situation has created a “serious vacuum in the protection of rights, resulting in a high risk of violence, ill-treatment, and even enforced disappearance.”

A protecting power is a country that represents another sovereign state—the protected power—in a third country where the protected power lacks its own formal diplomatic representation (e.g., lacks an embassy or consulate). The protecting power also inquires into the welfare of prisoners of war and looks after the interests of civilians in enemy-occupied territory.

The institution of protecting power dates back to the Franco-Prussian War of 1870 and was formalized in the Geneva Convention of 1929. Protecting powers are authorized in all four of the Geneva Conventions of 1949. In addition to sovereign states being appointed as protecting powers, the International Committee of the Red Cross may be appointed a protecting power.

Thus, the signatories are urging the Armenian government to extend an invitation to Switzerland to assume the role of the “Protecting Power” with respect to all Armenian captives currently being held in Azerbaijan.

They are also calling of the Swiss government to accept the invitation, “thereby ensuring the captives’ rights, dignity, and protection to the fullest extent possible, and providing the guarantees that Azerbaijan has unlawfully denied,” the letter said.

The signatories also are calling the ICRC to support the Swiss appointment and assist its government in fulfilling the Protecting Power function.

“Time is of the essence. Continued inaction risks further aggravating the suffering of those unlawfully detained and increasing the threats to their lives and physical integrity. We therefore respectfully call upon the Government of the Republic of Armenia and the Government of the Swiss Confederation to take timely and appropriate measures within their respective mandates, and invite the International Committee of the Red Cross to extend its support, with a view to ensuring that international law is effectively upheld and that the rights of ethnic Armenians are duly protected in the face of ongoing violations,” the letter concluded.

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