Artsakh’s National Assembly has appealed to UN member states to recognize the independence of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic.

The National Assembly, in a statement released today, argues the people of Nagorno Karabakh voted in favor of their independence in 1 September 2, 1991 referendum and that the NKR Supreme Council declared the country’s independence on January 6, 1992.

The parliament also references the UN Charter, the 1948 UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the 1948 UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, the 1950 European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, and other international treaties as a basis for the international recognition of the NKR’s independence.

The statement, translated from the Armenian, reads:

“It is undeniable that there are all the necessary grounds for recognition. The Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) exercised its right to self-determination without violating the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, without violating the relevant provisions of the USSR Constitution, the definition of the Law of April 3, 1990 On the Withdrawal of Union Republics from the USSR, according to which Autonomous republics and autonomous entities have the right have the right to decide independently the issue of staying in the union or in the union republic leaving its composition, as well as to regulate the issue of their own state legal status, all the norms of international law.”