The international movement Transparency International published its annual Corruption Perceptions Index. Compared with last year, Azerbaijan has somewhat improved the performance, getting 29 points and sharing the 119th place with Russia, Guyana and Sierra Leone in the list of 168 countries.
Last year Azerbaijan took the 126th place among 175 countries.
The research carried out for the 21st time reflects the degree of corruption in the public sector on a scale from 0 (the highest level of perceived corruption) to 100 (lowest). So the figure of Azerbaijan is far below average.
The first three places are occupied by Denmark, Finland and Sweden. On the last places are Somalia, North Korea, and Afghanistan.
Among the countries of the former Soviet Union the best results are for Estonia - 23th place, Lithuania (32), Latvia (40), and Georgia (48), while the worst are for Turkmenistan (154), Uzbekistan (153), Tajikistan (136) and Ukraine - 130.
The Azerbaijani branch of Transparency International notes that almost all the indicators for 2014 remained the same. A positive effect was achieved due to the single window system – ASAN Service. However, the Freedom House report on the countries in the transaction period pushed Azerbaijan to the rear position. It is also affected by decline in economic performance due to falling prices of oil, incorrect devaluation of the manat, and the banking sector’s opacity, which caused damage to the welfare of the population.
According to the founder of the Economic Research Center Gubad Ibadoglu, the lack of progress in the country's position on the Corruption Perceptions Index reflects negative tendencies with a corruption component. "Ongoing surveys show that almost 85% of the local population believes that corruption is the main obstacle for development. Over 80% of the respondents of the local polls are for the ratification of Article 20 of the UN Convention on the fight against corruption, Illicit Enrichment, which provides for the introduction of criminal penalties, if an official could not explain the origin of the funds spent on the purchase of his property. -0--
Politics
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On September 18, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov met with a delegation led by U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Europe and Eurasia Joshua Huck. The meeting focused on issues of bilateral and multilateral cooperation, the regional situation in the post-conflict period, and the prospects for normalizing relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia, as reported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. "Despite efforts to create a positive dynamic in bilateral relations and cooperation prospects, biased opinions from certain U.S. officials negatively impact our bilateral relations," the statement noted.
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Dozens of international human rights organizations have sent a letter to Council of Europe Secretary General Alain Perri to urge him not to ratify the powers of the Azerbaijani delegation in PACE due to increasing repression following the presidential elections on February 7 and the parliamentary elections on September 1, 2024, which have led to unprecedented repression.
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On September 19, Sheikh-ul-Islam Allahshukur Pashazade will travel to Russia to participate in the XX International Muslim Forum. The event, themed "The Path to Peace: Dialogue as the Basis for Harmonious Coexistence," will take place in Moscow on September 21. The visit is at the invitation of the Chairman of the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of Russia, Mufti Sheikh Ravil Gaynutdin.
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Economist and PhD candidate at Istanbul University Fazil Gasimov has been on a hunger strike for 97 days at the Penitentiary Service Medical Facility. On September 17, he was visited by representatives from the Baku office of the International Committee of the Red Cross, according to his lawyer Rovshan Rahimli. The lawyer stated that the Penitentiary Service is applying pressure on Gasimov to end his hunger strike.
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