Action Plan between Azerbaijan and the Council of Europe for 2014-2016

Yesterday the Ministry of Justice with the head of this department Fikret Mammadov and Council of Europe Secretary General Thorbjorn Jagland held the presentation of the Joint Action Plan between Azerbaijan and the EU in 2014-2016.

According to the official message of Justice, the plan is a joint initiative of Azerbaijan and the Council of Europe and identifies future priorities for cooperation.

Jagland noted that the action plan reflected improvements to fair justice system, which plays an important role in protecting human rights and the fight against corruption in democracies.

Expressing satisfaction at the adoption of the Plan, he expressed the hope that the planned measures will be implemented with the support of the Baku office of the Council of Europe and international organizations.

Mammadov, in turn, said that with the adoption of the Plan, the relations between Azerbaijan and the EU entered a new stage. Key priorities will serve to further development of democracy, secure human rights and the rule of law.

Azerbaijan joined the Council of Europe in 2001 and from May 14, chairs the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe.

The Action Plan was adopted by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe on 16 April and identifies the projects for the protection of human rights, freedom of expression and the media, freedom of assembly and the fight against corruption.

It provides for the implementation of recommendations made in the reports and resolutions of the PACE Committee, the documents of the Ministerial Committee for the Prevention of Torture, and the Venice Commission.

In particular, these are measures in the following areas:

 - Freedom of assembly;

- Freedom of expression and the media, freedom of association;

- Strengthening of good governance and the fight against corruption;

- Support for free and fair elections;

- Prisoners' rights and the fight against impunity and abuse;

- Improving the efficiency of the judicial system and management;

- Application of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and the case law of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR);

- Local democracy;

- Cooperation in the fight against cybercrime;

- Intercultural dialogue.

 Implementation of the plan will be assessed jointly by the Council of Europe and the Government of Azerbaijan. For this purpose a Steering Committee of representatives of the Council of Europe, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other relevant agencies will be created.

The Council of Europe will provide regular updates on the implementation of programs and projects.

One of the priorities will be to address the issue of freedom of assembly. Dialogue on freedom of assembly between the Council of Europe and Azerbaijan will consist of two stages. On the ground will be held roundtables with parliamentarians, government and the judiciary, ombudsman, municipal officials and civil society in order to improve coordination of meetings and eliminate unjustified refusals to hold demonstrations.

In the second phase there will be conducted trainings for officials of local executive authorities on the implementation of the law on freedom of assembly, in accordance with European standards and the case law of the ECHR, as well as for police and other law enforcement agencies on the implementation of its obligations during rallies and demonstrations, in accordance with European standards.

Judges and prosecutors will be taught to effectively deal with cases relating to freedom of assembly.

In the area of ​​freedom of expression and the media are invited measures to decriminalize defamation and to establish reasonable and proportionate measures of civil liability for defamation.

It is encouraged to establish mechanisms to protect the rights of journalists and establish an independent ombudsman to the press or to strengthen the capacity of the existing Office of the Ombudsman for the protection of journalists' rights.

It provides for training of judges and prosecutors to deal effectively with cases in the field of freedom of expression and assembly, as well as to prevent arbitrary application of domestic law;

It is also proposed to promote dialogue between government agencies and NGOs to improve the regulatory framework of NGOs in accordance with the European standards.

Part of the measures is associated with the judicial and legal system and concerns to enhance the independence of the Bar and the judiciary. It is proposed to increase the powers of the Judicial Council.

In the implementation of the recommendations it is proposed election of the Venice Commission, amending the electoral code, improving procedures for adjudication of election complaints, simplifying the registration of candidates for training on the preparation of the electoral committee members at the local level, as well as trials of election disputes.

In addition, it is expected to conduct training on monitoring the media coverage of election campaigns in terms of equitable access and balanced coverage. -16D06-