Azerbaijan

RECOMMENDATION 1263 (1995)

1.The Assembly, referring to its Resolution 1059 (1995) on the humanitarian situation of the refugees and displaced persons in Armenia and Azerbaijan, recommends that the Committee of Ministers:

i.consider as a matter of urgency the critical situation arising from the sheer inadequacy of international assistance to the victims of the cruel conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh, and in particular to those driven from their homes;

ii.following its Recommendation 1247 (1994) on enlargement of the Council of Europe, invite the Council of Europe's Social Development Fund and its member states to enable refugees and displaced persons in Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia to benefit from financing by the fund, through its emergency account, possibly in co-ordination with United Nations and other international institutions involved;

iii.invite the governments of all member states:

a.to accept that international assistance through United Nations agencies, the International Committee of the Red Cross, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and non-governmental organisations will be required in the Caucasus for many years to come, and as a result to respond generously to their future appeals;

b.to offer the required expertise and manpower for de-mining the area in and around Karabakh;

c.to consider the creation of a unified United Nations agency for the Caucasus along the lines of UNRWA in Palestine and the establishment of a regional headquarters in Tbilisi, or of a similar co-ordinating mechanism;

d.to set up political dialogue with the authorities of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia by confirming the offers of Council of Europe assistance, expertise and co-operation particularly in the areas of human rights, the introduction of parliamentary democracy, and, where appropriate, protection of minority rights and cultural identity.