IRFS: in run-up to presidency of the Council of Europe Azerbaijani authorities grossly violate human rights
On the eve of Azerbaijan's presidential election and eight months before country's chairmanship of the Council of Europe, the Institute for Reporters' Freedom and Safety (IRFS) is expressing its concerns related to the Azerbaijani government's rollback on civil and political rights which has resulted in a serious failure to comply with the commitments with the Council of Europe.
In its new report, Opinion no 222: Implementation of the Azerbaijan's commitments to the Council of Europe in the field of fundamental freedoms, organization raises alarm over the dire state of the fundamental rights to freedom of expression, association and assembly in Azerbaijan. The report has been developed with support from a Copenhagen-based NGO International Media Support (IMS).
"In eight months, Azerbaijan will run Europe's official human rights organization. The Council of Europe must care who speaks on its behalf. We are not saying that council should prevent Azerbaijan from taking the chair, but take a tougher line vis-a-vis implementation of human rights commitments. If member states are allowed to get away with blatant violations and fail to comply with the Council of Europe rules and treaties, human rights become a dead letter", says IRFS CEO and Chairman, Emin Huseynov.
Since Azerbaijan joined the Council of Europe in 2001, the space to express critical views in Azerbaijan has been gradually and progressively curtailed. Human rights defenders, representatives of independent civil society organizations, members of the political opposition, activists, and ordinary citizens have all been victims of the current regime's crackdown on fundamental rights and freedoms.
IRFS calls on the Council of Europe as such, as well as individual member states, not to turn a blind eye to the human rights crisis in Azerbaijan and denounce the serious and persistent breaches of fundamental human rights and freedoms in this country.
For more information, read IRFS report, Opinion no 222: Implementation of the Azerbaijan's commitments to the Council of Europe in the field of fundamental freedoms.
For more information about IRFS (www.irfs.org) and IMS (www.i-m-s.dk) visit their websites.
For an interview with IRFS's Emin Huseynov, contact IRFS press team at info@irfs.org --06D-
Politics
-
The agreement reached at the COP29 climate summit has been hailed by UN Secretary-General António Guterres as a critical step in global efforts to combat climate change. Speaking after the conclusion of high-stakes negotiations, Guterres emphasized that the agreement is pivotal for maintaining the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5°C, a threshold considered crucial to preventing the worst impacts of climate change.
-
On 23 November at the COP29 climate conference in Baku, eco-activists from different countries held a protest action against the failure of countries to agree on climate finance.
-
On the eve of the closing of the COP29 climate conference in Baku, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has drawn attention to the criminal cases of journalists detained in Azerbaijan.
-
Negotiations at the 29th session of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Baku have been extended until November 24, a source in the UNFCCC Secretariat told the Turan news agency. According to the source, participants aim to finalize and sign the concluding documents by that date.
Leave a review