The UN and democratic countries may collectively go against their conscience if Azerbaijan continues to be a host country for COP29. This was stated by the former Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of France, Bernard Kouchner, presenting his view on COP29 in Le Monde, which is translated below. "Although France is immersed in political uncertainty, it should not lose sight of such major international events, because that environmental protection is the priority of our leaders. The selection of Azerbaijan as the host country for COP29 should remind us of this, while also highlighting that the international community thus seems to be facing its own contradictions. How can the international community justify hosting such an important event in a country that deviates from international law, is massively dependent on hydrocarbons and in a country that violates human rights and continues to detain twenty-three Armenians without any valid reason. Less than a year has passed since the ethnic cleansing of 120,000 Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh, and Azerbaijan has already received the honor of hosting such a prestigious event as COP29. This choice raises questions of both humanitarian and environmental nature. The United Nations Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) acts as if the events of recent months did not actually happen and thus gives Azerbaijan free reign to continue violating international law. After imposing a blockade on the entire Nagorno-Karabakh Republic for more than nine months, depriving 120 thousand Armenians of food, medicine and fuel, Azerbaijan launched a military offensive on September 19, 2023, aiming to take complete control of the territory and carry out real ethnic cleansing.
For the first time in more than two millennia, no Armenians currently live in this region of the world. Ruben Vardanyan, a philanthropist who was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in the field of Nagorno-Karabakh, as well as seven other Armenian political leaders were taken hostage by the Azerbaijani authorities while leaving the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic. and to provide information about their health condition. For almost nine months, calls for the release of these hostages have gone unheeded. However, it is necessary to reiterate that the fight against climate change cannot be separated from respect for human rights."
