Speaker of Azerbaijan's Parliament Sahiba Gafarova addressed the Inter-Parliamentary Union's videoconference on "Protecting the Environment During Armed Conflicts", the Press and Public Relations Department of the Milli Majlis told APA.
Gafarova stressed that protecting the environment during armed conflicts is not only an environmental issue but also a humanitarian, legal, and security necessity.
In her speech, the Speaker drew participants' attention to the devastating environmental consequences of armed conflicts based on Azerbaijan's experience. She noted that during the 30-year occupation, the affected territories suffered extensive environmental damage, with forests destroyed, land degraded, water resources polluted, biodiversity devastated, and natural resources illegally exploited.
In addition, Gafarova said that more than one million landmines buried in the territories continue to pose a serious threat to both people and nature, slowing environmental restoration efforts and the safe return of internally displaced persons.
The Speaker noted that Azerbaijan is currently implementing large-scale humanitarian demining operations, ecosystem restoration, reforestation, and green energy projects in the liberated territories. She added that the Azerbaijani parliament continues to strengthen the national legal framework by adopting new legislation and amending existing laws in line with the country's obligations under relevant international conventions.
She also noted that in 2024, the Milli Majlis amended the Criminal Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan by introducing the article "Ecocide," recognizing ecocide as a crime against peace and humanity. In addition, the laws "On the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and Their Destruction" and "On Demining Activities" were adopted.
Gafarova also highlighted the Final Document adopted at the Parliamentary Meeting jointly organized by the Inter-Parliamentary Union and the Milli Majlis of Azerbaijan within the framework of COP29 in Baku in November 2024. She noted that the document calls on parliaments to prevent the environmental impacts of conflicts, raise awareness of ecological damage caused by landmines and unexploded ordnance, and strengthen legislative initiatives to combat ecocide.
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