What does Azerbaijan lose by being excluded from the Open Government Partnership?

Bakı/22.08.23/Turan:Azerbaijan finds itself excluded from the Open Government Partnership (OGP), a global initiative advocating for greater transparency and accountability. The country's inactive status within the organization since 2016 can be attributed to shortcomings and constraints in its civil society realm. Faced with a sluggish response and unmet conditions for a thriving civil society, OGP called upon Azerbaijan to present a plan aimed at dismantling these restrictions. Failure to make progress prompted the organization's decision, made on August 17, to expel Azerbaijan from its ranks.

The decision is accompanied by OGP's expression of profound disappointment over Azerbaijan's inability to fulfill the prerequisites for continued partnership, leading to the unfulfilled potential for civil society engagement.

Zohrab Ismail, co-founder of the Open Azerbaijan initiative, provided insights on the matter during the "Difficult Question" program. He highlighted the inception of discussions around civil society limitations in Azerbaijan since 2015, a period when the country's legislative landscape for non-governmental organizations (NGOs) began taking a more restrictive course. This evolution precipitated the issue's inclusion on OGP's agenda in 2015, owing to the vital role that civil society plays in public life, a cornerstone principle of OGP.

In 2016, Azerbaijan's OGP membership was temporarily suspended, with a similar decision reconfirmed in 2017. Optimism for change emerged in 2018 when the government included matters related to civil society in its national action plan, updated biennially. The subsequent inclusion of relevant articles in the government's 2020 action plan raised hope that Azerbaijan would facilitate an environment conducive to thriving NGOs.

However, Zohrab Ismail underscored the government's inaction over the years, despite their 2023 action plan expiration. The lack of progress on the points outlined in the plan has effectively led, in his view, to Azerbaijan's exclusion from OGP. The expert contends that the government's inertia has seemingly paved the way for this outcome, as they failed to take significant steps to implement the necessary reforms.

Azerbaijan's expulsion from OGP underscores the challenges faced by the nation in terms of nurturing a vibrant civil society. The episode showcases the broader tensions between government priorities and the demands for transparency and engagement emanating from civil society organizations.--0--