Civil Sector on the Rule of Law and Human Rights Crisis

Baku/14.04.21/Turan: Prior to the  9th meeting of the EU-Azerbaijan Subcommittee on Justice, Freedom and Security, Human Rights and Democracy, the EU Delegation to Azerbaijan organized virtual consultations with representatives of the country's civil society acting in the field of the rule of law and rights person.

The head of the EU mission in Baku said that virtual consultations with experts are necessary in order to clarify the views of the civil sector on the problems of EU relations with the Azerbaijani government.

In general, the speeches of the experts outlined an impartial picture of the state of affairs in various areas, including restrictions on the detail of NGOs, the absence of a real fight against corruption, gender issues, limited access to a fair court, restrictions on freedom of expression, suppression of free media, restrictions on access to information, and the  lack of protection of labor rights and stuff.

They noted the absence of interest of the authorities in dialogue with civil society, its participation in consultations on government decisions, as well as the current tacit restriction for exercising control of civil society and the media over the government's decisions and decisions being implemented.

Alimamed Nuriyev, Mirvari Gahranmanli, Zaur Akper, Vusala Huseynli, Elchin Sultanov, Ziya Guliyev, Akhmad Alili, Bakhtiyar Hajiyev, Khalid Agaliyev, Mehman Aliyev and others took part in the virtual consultations from the civil sector.

The 9th meeting of the EU-Azerbaijan Subcommittee on Justice, Freedom and Security, Human Rights and Democracy will be held in a virtual format on April 26-27, the EU Delegation to Azerbaijan reported. It will bring together experts from European institutions and representatives of the competent authorities of Azerbaijan, and will provide an opportunity to take stock of the situation in the field of the rule of law and human rights in Azerbaijan. — 0—