Լandmines displayed in photographs provided to the International Court of Justice by the Azerbaijani government were taken by Azerbaijan from the sovereign territories of Armenia during Baku’s various acts of aggression in 2021, according to Sean Murphy, a member of the legal team representing Armenia in the case concerning Application of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (Azerbaijan v. Armenia).

“It is indeed notable that the photographs Azerbaijan has presented to the Court typically show either a close-up of a landmine, or landmines laid out in neat columns and rows. There are just three photographs that purport to show the clearing of a minefield, the location of which is not specified,” Murphy said in his speech․

“Further, there is no statement from, for example, a combat engineer addressing how the landmines were removed without detonating them, or where exactly they were located when he or she removed them. There is nothing explaining how and why the landmines were transported by Azerbaijan from the alleged minefield to another location, so as to be laid out in those neat columns and rows.”

The attorney said Armenia’s basic position regarding landmines, which is that “since the end of the 44-Day War, [Armenia] has carried out minelaying exclusively within the sovereign territory of [Armenia] for self-defense purposes only”.

Murphy showed the Court a map illustrating the territories of Armenia that were occupied by Azerbaijan in 2021-2022 and that remain occupied today․

“These attacks and their condemnation by the international community are well documented. For example, the European Parliament in May 2021 adopted a resolution saying that troops from Azerbaijan had “entered the territory of Armenia, which amounts to a violation of the territorial integrity of Armenia and of international law”. French President Macron said that “Azerbaijani armed forces have crossed into Armenian territory. They must withdraw immediately.” The list goes on,” Murphy said․

“At the outset of such attacks, Armenia deemed it necessary to lay landmines within its territory for military defence purposes. Further, as you will see at paragraph 2 of tab 2 of your judges’ folder, the Armenian Minister of Defence has concluded that the “landmines displayed in the photographs provided to the [Court] by the Azerbaijani government were taken by Azerbaijan from the sovereign territories of [Armenia] in the course of the aggression in 2021-2022”․”

The latest round of fighting between the two countries began in the wee hours of September 13, 2022 when the Azerbaijani military attacked Armenian posts and shelled Armenian settlements both on the border and deep behind the frontline. More than 200 people are dead or missing as a result, the Security Council of Armenia said several days after the attack.