PACE President: Elections in Azerbaijan Must Fully Comply with European Standards

PACE President Jean-Claude Mignon made a statement on the results of his visit to Azerbaijan on May 25-28. He called on the authorities to fully respect fully the obligations to the Council of Europe, including full maintenance of democratic freedoms - of expression, assembly and associations.

He called for the strengthening of cooperation between Azerbaijan and the Council of Europe in view of the forthcoming chair of the Committee of Ministers of Azerbaijan, which will begin in May 2014.

"Since independence and accession to the Council of Europe, Azerbaijan has undergone a major transformation in the way of building a prosperous society based on European values and based on the transatlantic partnership," said the President.

He also welcomed progress made by the country in the implementation of commitments made when joining the Council of Europe, including the ratification of European conventions, except for one of them. Mignon, posted on the official website of the Council of Europe says, "In addition, I would like to note the progress in judicial reform and the fight against corruption," in the statement.

"However, these important reforms are not completed yet, and I call on the authorities to fully implement the recommendations of the PACE Resolution 1917 (adopted at the January session, 2013) on the monitoring of the country's obligations. Especially important is the full respect of freedom of expression, freedom of assembly and association, and legislation, as well as their application in practice, in full compliance with the standards of the Council of Europe," further notes Mignon.

In this context, the President of PACE called on the authorities to effective co-operate with the Venice Commission and use its recommendations at the beginning of the legislative process. Mignon encouraged to full consideration of the recommendations of the Venice Commission.

Referring to the upcoming presidential elections in October, Mignon said that they would be the opportunity to demonstrate the country's commitment to democracy.

He called for elections in full compliance with European standards in the field of elections - an atmosphere of pluralism, free and open political debate.

On the issue of alleged political prisoners, the President reiterated the principled position of the Assembly, which condemned the selectivity of justice and criminal prosecution for political reasons based on the criteria defined for all countries. In this context, Mignon urged authorities to implement the PACE resolution on the subject, including resolution 1917 (2013) to monitor the implementation of commitments by Azerbaijan.

"The charge against Ilgar Mamedov (leader of the REAL, the head of the Baku School of Political Studies CE, arrested in connection with the events of January 23-24 Ismayilly) caused grave concern to all European and international structures. I hope that his case will be fair, independent and impartial treated with full respect for the norms of the European Convention on Human Rights," said the president of PACE.

Mignon confirmed PACE support the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan and called for finding a solution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict within the OSCE Minsk Group. "Armenia and Azerbaijan declared their readiness to seek a peaceful solution to this conflict when joining the Council of Europe. Our parliamentary diplomacy is ready to do everything in its power to promote dialogue and build trust between the delegations of the two countries," he said in conclusion. -0 -