The International Court of Justice (ICJ) also told Azerbaijan to protect Armenian prisoners from the conflict and to stop the desecration of Armenian cultural heritage.
The Hague-based court’s orders are pending a full case review of the dispute, which could take years to resolve. However, the judges have no real means of enforcing their orders.
Yerevan and Baku have both requested that the ICJ take emergency measures against alleged breaches of a UN treaty banning racial discrimination.
The two former Soviet republics "shall refrain from any action which might aggravate or extend the dispute before the court or make it more difficult to resolve," ICJ chief Judge Joan Donoghue said.
The ICJ ordered Azerbaijan to "protect from violence and bodily harm" all Armenian prisoners from the conflict and ensure they are treated lawfully, and to “prevent and punish acts of vandalism and desecration affecting Armenian cultural heritage.”
Both Azerbaijan and Armenia must "take all necessary measures to prevent the incitement and promotion of racial hatred and discrimination" against the other, it ruled. The order involved "officials and institutions" in Azerbaijan and "organizations and private persons" in Armenia.
The ICJ threw out Azerbaijan’s request to make Armenia stop laying land mines and to hand over maps of mines, saying that it is not covered by the International Convention On All Forms Of Racial Discrimination (CERD).
During hearings in October, Armenia accused Azerbaijan of fueling a "cycle of hate," while Baku accused Yerevan of "ethnic cleansing."