YEREVAN, APRIL 19, ARMENPRESS.  Sean Murphy, the representative of the Armenian delegation at the International Court of Justice, stated during the hearing of the "Armenia vs. Azerbaijan" case at the UN Court that if Azerbaijan posed no threat to the Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh, why had more than 100,000 people left their ancestral homes in September, 2023. 

Sean Murphy stated in his speech that after studying the evidence within the court case, the Azerbaijani representatives, surprisingly, could not see the evidence confirming the racial discrimination against Armenian civilians.

Touching upon the widespread Armenianophobia in Azerbaijan and the statements made by the country's president, Ilham Aliyev, towards the Armenian people, Murphy said: "I will not present all the statements made by President Aliyev, which have been made and which ultimately form part of our evidence. 

But, in our view, these statements demonstrate racial animosity, or at least at this stage of jurisdiction, they can be considered as such.

He added that the government of Azerbaijan generally propagates and spreads hatred against ethnic Armenians. "If Azerbaijan is not a threat, then why did more than 100,000 ethnic Armenians, including 30,000 children, flee their ancestral homeland within a few days in September 2023?" noted the representative of the Armenian delegation at the International Court of Justice.

Sean Murphy added that it is evident that the words of Azerbaijani officials were correctly understood by all ethnic Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh. They understood that these threats were directed not only against the former leaders of Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh, but primarily against themselves.

"That's why they left their homes. The reason lies in this threat and the perception it creates, which has been developed by the Azerbaijani government for decades," Murphy concluded.