On March 14 the OSCE Permanent Representative to Vienna, Harry Robins, made a statement at a meeting of the OSCE Permanent Council in Vienna, and announced plans to restrict the OSCE mission in Baku, according to source in the OSCE.
“We note the request by the Government of Azerbaijan to change the mandate of the OSCE Office in Baku.
The current mandate of the Office in Baku, which was renewed at the beginning of 2013, charges it to “promote the implementation of OSCE principles and commitments… in all OSCE dimensions, including the human, political, economic and environmental aspects of security and stability.”
The OSCE Office in Baku performs critical capacity-building and assistance tasks in Azerbaijan. We agree that important progress has been made, but also believe that this mission and mandate continue to play an important role in helping Azerbaijan to develop its democratic institutions.
The Robins noted the importance of the mission in Baku in case of support of democratic institutions in Azerbaijan.
Moreover, reporting on political events and human rights conditions serves as a crucial early warning mechanism, and contributes to the OSCE’s role of conflict prevention and resolution. Timely reporting provides prompt insight on possible escalation of tensions in already tense regions. The United States believes that such timely reporting is vital in promoting security and stability, and in shaping OSCE assistance to Azerbaijan in the implementation of its commitments.
We believe it is in the best interest of the Government of Azerbaijan to continue in good faith and respect the terms of the agreed mandate.
The United States values its close cooperation with the Government of Azerbaijan in helping to build a strong democracy supported by a vibrant civil society.
The official Baku has not yet commented on this statement and the authorities did not report about such treatment in the OSCE. However, according to diplomatic sources, the talk is about the lowering of the status of the OSCE mission to the level of Coordinator of projects. The most important change is that the Coordinator of projects should agree all projects with the Azerbaijani authorities, and should realize them only with the consent of official Baku.
According to unofficial information, the government wants to reduce the staff of the mission and to restrict its powers. Above all, these restrictions are on the OSCE mission to carry out actions to respond to the events and processes related to elections, violations of human rights and democracy.
In an election year it could mean no-entry of ODIHR observers to the country. -06D-
Elmar Mamedyarov's letter to OSCE
Politics
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Voting in the early elections to the Milli Majlis of Azerbaijan began at 8:00. Voting is taking place at 6,478 polling stations throughout Azerbaijan, including the lands liberated from occupation. 990 candidates are competing for 125 seats in the unicameral parliament.
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Armenia is not against the dissolution of the OSCE Minsk Group, but does not consider it appropriate to discuss this issue now. "In the context of peace, we consider it possible to make a decision on the dissolution of the OSCE Minsk Group. When peace is an established fact, the existence of such a format may raise questions," Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said at a press conference today. "The whole question is about the timing, we need to understand how effectively and correctly to turn such topics into a subject of discussion right now," the Armenian Prime Minister added.
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He expressed his willingness to meet with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev at the border between the two countries. "A meeting with Ilham Aliyev could take place at the Armenian-Azerbaijani border. I am open to such a format," Pashinyan said at a press conference today. According to Pashinyan, Armenia recently presented another proposal for a peace treaty to Azerbaijan.
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On August 31, Azerbaijan observes a "day of silence" before the Sunday’s early parliamentary elections for the unicameral Milli Majlis. All electoral campaigning is prohibited 24 hours before the voting. The early elections were initiated by the ruling Yeni Azerbaijan Party. This decision was motivated by the overlap of the scheduled elections in November with the global UN forum - the COP20 climate conference taking place in Baku.
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