Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry criticizes Council of Europe report on national minorities

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) of Azerbaijan has reacted to the Fifth Opinion of the Advisory Committee of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities regarding the country's implementation of the provisions of this document.

In the opinion published on November 18, the Advisory Committee acknowledged the efforts of the Azerbaijani government to implement the convention. However, it also noted that "unfounded judgments and inaccurate reflections of the realities in the country raise serious questions about the methodology applied by the Committee," as stated in the MFA's comment.

The MFA points to "politicized statements related to the situation following the anti-terrorist operation in Karabakh in September 2023." The authors of the report, it says, "exceed the time frame covered by the fifth monitoring cycle," which was from 2017 to 2022.

The authors fail to consider that the convention could not be fully implemented during the reporting period due to the occupation and the lack of Azerbaijan's sovereign control over the territories of the republic where people of Armenian descent lived.

The Advisory Committee "should not have rushed to conclusions" and should have been more cautious to avoid disrupting the fragile post-conflict planning process, the MFA comment notes.

"It is regrettable that the Committee chose a different path, exceeding the scope assigned to it, demonstrating a politically motivated and biased approach," the MFA states.

The MFA also criticizes the Advisory Committee's selective approach, in which the Armenian ethnic group is the primary focus, while other groups are ignored, calling it "unobjective."

Furthermore, it is emphasized that the Framework Convention not only protects the rights of national minorities but also requires respect for the rule of law, sovereignty, territorial integrity, and constitutional order of states. Despite this, the conclusion unilaterally emphasizes the need to protect the rights of the Armenian population, while ignoring the obligation of individuals belonging to this group to adhere to Azerbaijan's laws, according to the MFA.

The MFA also points out that the Committee overlooks the rights of Azerbaijanis who were forcibly displaced from their homeland in Armenia due to ethnic cleansing policies.