Non-governmental organizations operating in Azerbaijan have appealed to the UNICEF Executive Director, the Chairman of the Board of the International Organization for Saving Children, the President of the International Bureau for Children's Rights, the President of the SOS International Children's Villages, and the Executive Director of the Child Protection Fund regarding Armenia's use of minors in military operations. , Addressed an appeal to the President of the Global Fund for Children.
The appeal says:
"We, as NGOs defending children's rights in Azerbaijan, appeal to you with great concern.
As a result of the military aggression launched by Armenia against Azerbaijan on September 27, the situation in the region has reached a critical level and military operations have been resumed.
As a result of a series of rocket attacks by the Armenian armed forces on cities and regions of Azerbaijan, 65 civilians, including 10 children, were killed and more than 300 were injured. Unfortunately, Armenia still commits war crimes.
The military and political leadership of Armenia, which grossly violates the norms and principles of international law, is now committing another crime and involving children under the age of 15 in its military operations against Azerbaijan. You can watch a video of a child involved in military operations through this link (https://youtu.be/e12mWOJPySM).
We would like to note that by involving children under the age of 15 in military operations, the Armenian side violated not only the relevant provisions of the Geneva Convention, but also Article 38 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, adopted by the 44th session of the UN General Assembly on November 20, 1989. also roughly breaks.
The Convention calls on States Parties to adhere strictly to international humanitarian law relating to children in armed conflicts, in particular to prohibit the direct participation of persons under the age of 15 in hostilities and to take all appropriate measures.
However, Armenia's open involvement of children in military operations shows once again that the occupying power does not respect the principles of any international law and ignores its international obligations.
Therefore, we, the NGOs working for the protection of children's rights, appeal to you to give due assessment to Armenia's actions contrary to international law and to refrain from involving children in military operations.
The appeal was signed by 44 NGOs.