Eurasia Diary presents article titled "Counter-Terrorism Responsibility of Russia as a Peacekeeping Force in Nagorno-Karabakh against the Crime of Peace of the Armenian Irregular Rebel Units under the Definition of Terrorism" explaining the responsibility of Russian Peacekeeping Contingent for maintainance to peace and stability in Nagorno-Karabakh. 

Article is written by Mehmet Sukru Guzel, expert on peace and conflict studies. Sukru Guzel is the founder President of Center for Peace and Reconciliation Studies. 

The UN Secretary-General António Guterres had welcomed the ceasefire agreement in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh namely the Nagorno-Karabakh Ceasefire Agreement. The Nagorno-Karabakh Ceasefire Agreement was signed on 9 November by the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, the Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan and the President of Russia Vladimir Putin. In Article 3 of the nine-point 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh Ceasefire Agreement, it was agreed Russian Federation to be deployed as a peacekeeping force  with a 1,960-strong peacekeeping contingent of the Russian Federation with small arms, 90 armoured personnel carriers, and 380 vehicles and other pieces of special equipment shall be deployed.

The Nagorno-Karabakh Ceasefire Agreement was signed out of the UN context within the UN legal system. Russia as a permanent member of the UN Security Council is responsible for maintaining peace and security all over the world. The mandate of Russia as a peacekeeping force in the Nagorno-Karabakh Ceasefire Agreement was not specified as the UN Security Council resolutions. The responsibility of Russia as a peacekeeping force in Azerbaijan territory is an important question to maintenance of peace and security. The attacks of the Armenian irregular rebelled units begun to increase to Azerbaijan soldiers recently and becomes regular violation of the Nagorno-Karabakh Ceasefire Agreement including the death of civilians.

The UN peacekeeping operations in general are not an enforcement tools. However, they may use force at the tactical level, with the authorization of the UN Security Council, if acting in self-defence and defence of the mandate. In certain volatile situations, the UN Security Council has given UN peacekeeping operations “robust” mandates authorizing them to “use all necessary means” to deter forceful attempts to disrupt the political process, protect civilians under imminent threat of physical attack, and/or assist the national authorities in maintaining law and order. When the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) was mandated by the UN Security Council with resolution 2098 (2013) approved the creation of a first-ever offensive combat force, intended to focus on targeted operations against the rebelled groups, this essentially made MONUSCO that is the UN a party to the armed conflict. As a permanent member of the UN Security Council, Russia approved and voted “YES” to the resolution 2098. Under the principle of Maxim Allegans Contraria non est Audiendus, Russia is bound to launch targeted operations against the Armenian irregular units as written in resolution 2098 of the UN Security Council. Russia now is a party to the armed conflict as the case of the UN in the Democratic Republic of Congo that is a party against the Armenian irregular rebelled units.

How can we define the Armenian irregular rebelled units? The answer of this question is the key point on the responsibility of the Russian Peacekeeping Force on its targeted military operations to the Armenian irregular rebelled units. When there exists a ceasefire agreement, and deployment of a peacekeeping force, even with an agreement signed outside the UN context, all parties to the agreement are bound by the UN standards to achieve peace. The Armenian irregular rebelled units cannot be only defined as simple as “an armed rebel group”

The definition of Non-State Armed Group is not valid for the Armenian irregular rebelled units. Even if there is no internationally agreed definition of non-state armed groups in international treaties, this term refers to a non-state party to an international or non-international armed conflict. After the ceasefire agreement, there exists no non-international armed conflict in Azerbaijan. We need to remember that Additional Protocol II to the 1949 Geneva Conventions (Additional Protocol II) gives responsibility for the rules of conduct and respect for the international humanitarian law to any in its own actions in combat.  Killing of civilians by the Armenian irregular rebelled units as a policy puts them automatically under the definition of terrorism.

As stipulated by Federal Law of the Russian Federation No. 130-FZ of July 25, 1998 “On the Fight against Terrorism”, the responsibility of Russian peacekeeping forces for combatting terrorism same as the UN Security Council with resolution 2098 that is prevention, identification, suppression and minimization of terror effects.

On the other hand, Azerbaijan as well under the obligation of protecting the lives of Azerbaijan civilians and implement the UN Global Counter Terrorism Strategy if ever the Russian Peacekeeping Force failed to do so. This cannot be defined if occurs in the future a violation of the ceasefire agreement in any territory where the Russian Peacekeeping Force is deployed and failed the suppression of the Armenian irregular rebelled units under definition of terrorism.

Most importantly, the actions of these Armenian irregular rebelled units under the definition of terrorism is against a ceasefire agreement which constitutes the Crime against Peace. Principles of International Law recognized in the Charter of the Nüremberg Tribunal and in the Judgment of the Tribunal, 1950 defined the Crime against Peace as planning, preparation, initiation or waging of a war of aggression or a war in violation of international agreement or assurances. Azerbaijan now has a right to get into action to any organization in the World that supports the Armenian irregular rebelled units under definition of terrorism for their support against the Crime of Peace