Ermenistan’ın 2. Karabağ Savaşı’nda Çocuk Asker Kullanımı İddialarının Hukuki Değerlendirmesi

Abstract

İkinci Karabağ Savaşı (27 Eylül – 10 Kasım 2020) sırasında, Azerbaycan makamları Ermenistan’ı çatışmalarda çocuk asker kullanmakla suçlamıştır. Ancak mevcut uluslararası raporlar bu iddiaları doğrulamamaktadır. UNICEF ve diğer BM kuruluşlarının yanı sıra(,) önde gelen insan hakları örgütleri (Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch), savaş süresince çok sayıda ciddi ihlali, özellikle sivil yerleşim yerlerinin hedef alınması, ayrım gözetmeyen gerçekleştirilen bombardımanlar ve yasaklı mühimmat/savaş malzemeleri kullanımı belgelemiş; ancak çocuk asker kullanımı konusunda herhangi bir doğrulanmış tespit sunmamıştır. Ermenistan, BM Genel Sekreterliği’ne ilettiği resmi yazılarda, Azerbaycan’ın bu yöndeki suçlamalarını “asılsız” olarak nitelendirmiş ve reddetmiştir. Hukuki açıdan, Roma Statüsü’nün 8/2(d)(vii) maddesi, 15 yaşın altındaki çocukların silahlı çatışmalara doğrudan veya dolaylı olarak dâhil edilmesini savaş suçu olarak tanımlar/tanımlamaktadır. Ermenistan Roma Statüsü’ne taraf olmadığı için/olmaması dolayısıyla, Uluslararası Ceza Mahkemesi’nin doğrudan yargı yetkisi bulunmamaktadır. Bununla birlikte, BM İnsan Hakları Konseyi veya Avrupa İnsan Hakları Mahkemesi gibi uluslararası mekanizmalar teorik olarak bu tür iddiaları inceleyebilir/incelemesi mümkündür. Mevcut durumda, bağımsız ve güvenilir kurumlarca doğrulanmış delil eksikliği, hukuki sorumluluğun tesis edilmesini engellemektedir. İddiaların somutlaştırılması için görsel-işitsel kanıtların, tanık beyanlarının ve resmi kayıtların toplanması, ardından bunların bağımsız uzmanlarca incelenmesi gereklidir. Bu süreç tamamlanmadan, iddialar yalnızca siyasi söylem düzeyinde kalmakta ve uluslararası hukuk bakımından bağlayıcı bir sonuç doğurmamaktadır.

Keywords

• Çocuk Asker
• Ermenistan
• İkinci Karabağ Savaşı
• İnsan Hakları
• Silahlı Çatışma Hukuku

Legal Assessment of Allegations of Armenia's Child Soldier Use in Second Karabakh War

Abstract

During the Second Karabakh War (September 27 - November 10, 2020), Azerbaijani authorities accused Armenia of deploying child soldiers in the conflict. However, current international reports do not substantiate these claims. UNICEF, other UN bodies, and major human rights organizations (Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch) have documented multiple serious violations during the hostilities, notably the targeting of civilian settlements, indiscriminate shelling, and use of prohibited munitions, yet none have confirmed the use of child soldiers. Armenia, in official communications to the UN Secretary-General, rejected Azerbaijan’s allegations as “groundless.” Legally, Article 8(2)(d)(vii) of the Rome Statute classifies the involvement of children under 15 in armed conflict, whether direct or indirect, as a war crime. Armenia is not a State Party to the Rome Statute, which means the International Criminal Court lacks direct jurisdiction. Nevertheless, other mechanisms such as the UN Human Rights Council or the European Court of Human Rights could, in theory, investigate such allegations. Currently, the lack of independently corroborated and institutionally credible evidence precludes the formal attribution of legal accountability under international law. For such claims to acquire juridical validity, they must be supported by systematically collected visual or audio-visual documentation, corroborated witness statements, and authenticated official records—each subjected to rigorous scrutiny by impartial and qualified experts. In the absence of this evidentiary process, the allegations remain situated within the domain of political narrative and do not give rise to enforceable legal obligations or consequences.

Keywords

• Child Soldiers
• Armenia
• Second Karabakh War
• Human Rights
• Law of Armed Conflict

References

1. Aslan, M. (2021). Azerbaijan's Military Operations in the Second Karabakh War; Technical Analysis of Victory. In F. Pirinççi, M. Ataman, & M. A. Memmi (Eds.), The Karabakh Problem: From Deadlock to Solution (pp. 245-269). Istanbul: SETA.
2. Akman, A. (2005). Azerbaijan: The Young Country of Ancient Geography (Vol. 1, 1st ed.). Istanbul: İlke Yayıncılık. Altınsoy, Z.D, (2022), Assessment of the Crime of Human Trafficking in International Law in Terms of Children in Armed Conflicts, Yetkin Yayınları, Ankara.
3. Azerbaijan Army Newspaper. (2020, 07 15). Harbi matbuat-ANA SƏHİFƏ"AZƏRBAYCAN ORDUSU" QƏZETİ2020, No: 41 (2459), 04 12, 2022, retrieved from the Azerbaijan Ministry of Defense: https://mod.gov.az/az/azerbaycan-ordusu-qezeti-044/?month=2020
4. Brett, R. and Specht, I. (2004). Young Soldiers: Why They Choose to Fight, Lynne Rienner Publishers, Geneva: International Labour Office.
5. Children and armed conflict Report of the Secretary-General, May 6, 2021, A/75/873– S/2021/437, para. 4. http://www.parliament.am Access Date: 01-22-2025.
6. Çora, A. N. (2018). The Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. Kaldor, M. (2012). New and Old Wars: Organized violence in a Global Era, London: Polity Press.
7. Derin, E., (2023), "The 2020 Tovuz Conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia and the 2nd Nagorno-Karabakh War on Turkey's Regional Policy," Nevşehir: Cappadocia University Graduate School of Education, Teaching and Research Institute, Department of Political Science and Public Administration, Unpublished Master's Thesis.
8. Graça, Machel, Impact of Armed Conflict on Children, Report of the expert of the Secretary-General submitted pursuant to General Assembly Resolution 48/157. UN Document A/51/306 and Add.1. 1996, New York, United Nations; The Impact of War on Children, London, 2001, Hurst & Company; The Impact of War on Children: A Review of Progress Since the 1996 United Nations.

9. Garibov, M. (2017). The Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict in the 20th Century (Volume 1, 1st Edition). Ankara: Atatürk Research Center Publications.
10. Henckarerts, J.M. Beck, L.D. (2009). Customary International Humanitarian Law. Cambridge University Press. I(17). and APII etc. Human Rights Watch. (2008). 'Coercion and Intimidation of Child Soldiers to Participate in Violence' https://www.hrw.org/en/news/(2008)./04/16/coercionand-intimidation-child-soldiersparticipate-violence.
11. İbrahimov, M., (2020), ANALYSIS Child Soldiers Used By Armenia In Nagorno-Karabakh War 27.09.2020- 29.10.2020
12. İsmayılov, A. (2010). Sumgayıt – The Beginning of the Collapse of the USSR. (P. B. Ömer Bayram, Ed., & E. Memmedova, Trans.) Baku: ÇAŞIOĞLU.
13. İşyar, Ö. G. (2004). Soviet-Russian Foreign Policies and the Karabakh Problem in the Context of Regional and Global Security Interests (Vol. 1, 1st ed.). Istanbul: Alfa Yayıncılık.
14. İşyar, Ö. G. (2020). The Dynamics of the First and Second Wars in the Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict (Vol. 1, 1st ed.). Bursa: Dora Publishing.
15. Pirinççi, F., & Güler, M. Ç. (2021). "The End of Azerbaijan's Strategic Patience and the New Equation in Karabakh." In M. Ataman, & F. Pirinççi, "The Karabakh Problem: From Deadlock to Solution" (Vol. 1, pp. 205-228). Istanbul: SETA.
16. Rachel Brett, Irma Specht , Young Soldiers: Why They Choose to Fight, Lynne Reinner Publishers, International Labour Office, Geneva, 2004, p. 122
17. Salamov, N. (2021). The Second Karabakh War on Turkish Television Talk Shows (Vol. 1, 1st ed.). Istanbul: Mihenk.
18. Second periodic report of Armenia to UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, UN Doc. CRC/C/93.Add 6, 17 July 2003 , http://www.ohchr.org.
19. Yıldırım, İ. (2018). Azerbaijan-Armenia Relations and the Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict (Vol. 1, 1st Edition, October). (H. Kutlu, Ed.) Istanbul: Babıali Kültür Yayıncılığı.
20. https://www.icc-cpi.int/sites/default/files/CaseInformationSheets/LubangaEng.pdf
21. https://www.refworld.org/reference/annualreport/cscoal/2004/en/65612
22. https://aircenter.az/uploads/files/Child%20Soldiers.pdf
23. https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2009/10/committee-rights-child-reviews-second-periodic-report-armenia
24. https://www.refworld.org/reference/annualreport/cscoal/2008/en/59222
25. https://www.azerbaycan24.com/en/armenian-armed-forces-use-children-to-replenish-their-ranks-video/ The Prosecutor v Thomas Lubanga Dyilo ICC-01/04-01/06
26. https://www.icccpi.int/CaseInformationSheets/LubangaEng.pdf, Access Date: 02. 03.2025., See also: Trial International, Thomas Lubanga Dyilo, https://trialInternational.org/latestpost/thomas-lubanga-dyilo/ Access Date: 02.03.2025.
27. Principles and Guidelines on Children Associated With Armed Forces or Armed Groups, https://www.unicef.org/emerg/files/ParisPrinciples310107, Accessed: 04.12.2024.
28. English; Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Convention on the Rights of the Child, Artc: 1, 20.11.1989, https://www.ohchr.org/en/professionalinterest/pages/crc.aspx; Access Date: 12/24/2024.
29. The African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, Artc: 2, https://www.unicef.org/esaro/African_Charter_articles_in_full.pdf Access Date: 24. 12.2024.
30. https://www.ilo.org/dyn/normlex/en/f?p= NORMLEXPUB:12100:0::NO::P12100_ILO_CODE:C182 Access Date: 11/21/2024.