News - Ocampo: I offered my assistance to Karabakh leaders on how to plan Artsakh people’s return

This situation is worrying, but it cannot be said that international law is zero, worth nothing. It depends on how we use it. Luis Moreno Ocampo, the First Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, stated this at a press conference in Armenia’s capital Yerevan Friday—and addressing the question of whether the de-Armenianization of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) by Azerbaijan proves that international law has lost to the law of force. "One of the best examples is the Russian-Ukrainian war, which is not by force. Armenia had won the [Artsakh] war in the 1990s, but was unable to find the legal solutions necessary to preserve that victory. Even now, Azerbaijan is obligated to understand and respect international law. Until the verdict of the International Court of Justice, Azerbaijan participates in the hearings. We know that Nagorno-Karabakh has its rights. And today I offered my assistance to the leaders of Nagorno-Karabakh, and we shall discuss how we will plan the return of the [Armenian] people of Artsakh and how Azerbaijan will recognize the rights of the [Armenian] population of Nagorno-Karabakh. For that, a work plan developed by the people of Artsakh is needed. The right exists, and we are in relatively more favorable conditions to apply it. I always mention that one of the Nuremberg prosecutors was 103 years old, he had seen everything, and when we asked him what to do, he replied: ‘Never give up, never give up, and never give up.’ Armenians know very well what endurance, resistance is. At the moment, international law is on your side," Ocampo emphasized.