Azerbaijan's Exclusion from Council of Europe Starts

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- Ilgar Bey, you stated that you submitted three submissions to the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe on the start of the process of exclusion of Azerbaijan from the Council of Europe. What is the purpose?

- The goal is to protect the Convention from a reactionary, repressive regime. If there is nothing for the authorities of Azerbaijan for flagrant violation of the European Convention on Human Rights, then other states will become more active in the matter of violation of the requirements of the Convention, and the Convention will not protect anyone else in Azerbaijan or in Europe.

- This appeal is due to the fact that the decision regarding you has not been formally formalized, or are there any other reasons?

- In the history of the Council of Europe, Azerbaijan is the only country with respect to which there is a decision of the European Court regarding its failure to fulfill its membership obligations to the Council of Europe. This is not my decision; it was made on the basis of an appeal from the Committee of Ministers. That is, there may even be a political conclusion of PACE or another structure of the Council on non-fulfillment of its membership obligations by other states. But so that in court, this only exists in relation to Azerbaijan. And the reason for this court decision is related to my case. In May 2019, the court stated that, starting from the arrest, all steps taken by the Azerbaijani authorities against Ilgar Mammadov in 2013 are legally invalid. That is, the justification made in 2014 was expressed more harshly, after which it was stated that Azerbaijan does not respect its membership obligations.

- What will the exclusion of Azerbaijan from the CE bring to Azerbaijan and the Council of Europe?

- We are not talking about an exception right away. It is about the beginning of the procedure. If such a procedure is launched, a serious discussion will begin in Azerbaijani society on the issue of whether or not we need this membership. The society itself will decide. If this membership is necessary, then the people will achieve the fulfillment of membership obligations by means of pressure on the authorities. If such membership is not necessary, then Azerbaijan will be expelled from the Council of Europe, and the achievement of Europe, which is the Convention, will be protected from reactionary regimes. We cannot allow the Convention to be violated by such regimes.

- If Azerbaijan is expelled from the Council of Europe, then where will the people of Azerbaijan turn in case of violation of their human rights? This structure has a rapporteur on political prisoners and this issue is being monitored while being in the spotlight. At the same time, attention is paid to the Karabakh issue. The European Court is a hope for people whose rights are violated. But leaving the CE means that Azerbaijanis will remain aloof from all this. In most cases, this is in the hands of the authorities. Do you think about this? Do you think this is a way out?

- If harsh measures are not taken against the Azerbaijani authorities for violating the Convention in such a unique form, then after some time other regimes will begin to flagrantly violate the Convention. In this case, the Convention will no longer be able to protect someone in Azerbaijan or in any other country, it will not leave unjustified hopes, including on the issue of occupation of Karabakh. This must be understood. But I repeat again, we are not talking about a momentary exit from the CE, we are talking about the beginning of the exclusion procedure.

- Are there other options for the implementation of CE resolutions and decisions in Azerbaijan? Perhaps the problem is not only the government’s failure to comply with these decisions, but also the fact that the structure itself is “toothless”? What are you offering? What is necessary to achieve everything within the framework of the conventions and requirements of the organization, as well as the obligations undertaken by Azerbaijan?

- The mechanisms for implementing the Convention have been fully used in relation to the Azerbaijani authorities. Moreover, for the first time in history, Article 46.4 was applied, but there is no result. All that remains is to begin the process of exclusion from membership. It must be started. If the Azerbaijani authorities rest against it, then either society will force the government or the country will be deprived of membership. The people themselves must decide.