Calls for sanctions: PACE-Azerbaijan-USA...

On October 1, a debate was held during the session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) on the topic of "The Deterioration of the Human Rights Situation, the Rule of Law, and Democracy in Azerbaijan." Earlier this year, the mandate of the Azerbaijani delegation to the organization was not ratified. The reason cited was Baku’s refusal to undergo the monitoring procedure and to invite the organization to observe the presidential elections scheduled for February 7. During the debates held last week, some members of PACE argued that the refusal to ratify Azerbaijan’s mandate was a mistake. However, most of the speakers stated that there have been no changes in Baku’s cooperation with PACE.

On October 5, 43 deputies of the Milli Majlis (Azerbaijani Parliament) addressed a letter to Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov, urging him to review relations with the United States and terminate defense cooperation agreements.

The deputies drafted this appeal in response to a letter from a group of U.S. Congress members to Secretary of State Antony Blinken. On October 3, around 60 U.S. Congress members called on Secretary Blinken to pressure Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to protect human rights and release all political prisoners ahead of the COP29 climate conference, which will take place in Baku next month.

The situation was discussed on the program "Complex Issue" by the head of the Institute of Civil Rights, Bashir Suleymanli. He noted that this is not the first time that PACE has held discussions concerning Azerbaijan. Attempts to adopt resolutions related to human rights violations and political prisoners have been made in the past, but thanks to the efforts of Azerbaijani government lobbyists in PACE, these attempts have been unsuccessful. However, this time, the crisis is much deeper, resulting in the non-ratification of the mandate of the Azerbaijani delegation in the organization. This means that there is currently no one in PACE to represent Azerbaijan’s position. Therefore, Azerbaijan needs to restore the powers of its parliamentary delegation in PACE.

According to Suleymanli, the condition for this would be compliance with human rights obligations, the immediate and unconditional release of all unlawfully imprisoned individuals, the full restoration of their civil and political rights, the cessation of persecution against critical voices, and the resumption of full cooperation with PACE rapporteurs and the Committee Against Torture, including providing access to all detention facilities, as well as the removal of legislative restrictions on the free activities of NGOs, media, and civil society organizations.

Regarding PACE's calls for Azerbaijan to ensure the return of Armenians to Nagorno-Karabakh and to guarantee the restoration of all their rights, the human rights defender considers them unjust and unacceptable. However, against the backdrop of human rights violations, the presence of political prisoners, and the persecution of critical voices in the country, all statements made by Azerbaijani representatives are not credible.

“The Azerbaijani government should conduct a policy that leaves no room for those seeking to use the human rights issue as a tool of pressure to achieve certain goals,” he emphasized.

Touching on the appeal by a group of deputies to Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov to reconsider relations with the United States and terminate defense cooperation agreements, Suleymanli stated that due to its geographical location and energy resources, Azerbaijan can currently afford such actions. However, he noted that in the modern world, events unfold at a kaleidoscopic speed, and the situation could soon change dramatically in a way that is unfavorable for us.