Human rights protection is impossible without deep reforms

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- It is planned to create an operational group on human rights under the Human Rights Committee of the Milli Mejlis. Do you think such a group is needed? How functional and effective can this group be?

-I think it would be more reasonable to solve problems than to create so many structures, organizations. What is the need for this group?!

There is a serious human rights problem in the country; political prisoners have not been released. The rights of citizens are regularly violated by various bodies. I do not mean only political rights.  For example, the right to education, the right to health care, the right to appeal, etc. All this is created by government agencies. However, compared with the previous periods, small changes have been made, however fundamental problems remain. Therefore, creating such groups is a waste of time.

If the office of the Ombudsman works effectively, then this group is unnecessary. In any case, the existence of any violations is registered by human rights organizations; information about these violations is published, in connection with them they turn to government bodies.

-The Human Rights Committee of the Milli Mejlis, the Scientific Research Institute for Human Rights, the Institute of the Human Rights Ombudsman and others, and now the Operational Group. Wouldn't it be wiser to improve the performance of such institutions than to create new ones? Why are all these institutions doing the same job separately?

-You are right, I have already told about it. The activity of several structures in the same direction is ineffective. In addition, the creators of these problems are also individual government agencies. That is, the government should create several duplicating structures to solve problems within itself. What should the ombudsman do?! It turns out that either these institutions are not trusted, or they simply create new structures to imitate and calm citizens. Remember that in 2014 a similar “Joint Working Group on Human Rights” was created. Even at the insistence of the Council of Europe, Khadija Ismail was included in this group. However, everyone knows from what angle the human rights situation in the country has changed since then.

Do not get me wrong, I am not making an analogy in the direction of re-aggravating a situation. I mean that the groups will not improve the situation. The main task is to improve the legislative framework and increase the responsibility of the executive authorities before the laws, as well as creation of an independent judiciary.

 -What are your expectations from the new band?

-As I said earlier, I do not exclude that some cosmetic problems can be solved, but we are concerned about the lack of a fundamental solution to the problems. For a long time in the country in connection with the judicial and legal reform, several decrees were issued, and amendments were made to the legislation. In the end, there was only a technical change. For example, operational SMS related to the court, etc. The courts still pass decision by order. Almost all cases referred to the courts in connection with the illegality of the executive authorities and violations of the rights of citizens, unconditionally end with the adoption of decisions in favor of these bodies.

There are cases of pressure on independent lawyers, who mostly provide defense in political cases. The media have repeatedly reported this. At the same time, there are problems associated with membership in the Bar Association, and there is a selective approach. The fact that the institution of representation was abolished before the number of lawyers in the country reached the level of normal provision of citizens with legal protection was a very wrong step. I appeal the government to restore the institution of representation if they want to take even one small step towards protecting human rights. Because the services of a lawyer are expensive. This makes it inaccessible to receive legal assistance from low-income groups of the population.

Earlier, NGOs also provided significant assistance to citizens in this direction, defending the rights of citizens in courts through the institutions of representations. Our organizations are also engaged in legal assistance. Every day we receive dozens of messages and calls asking for help. Most of the cases are judicial. However, citizens do not have the opportunity to pay 50 manats for the statement of claim. The amount that a lawyer demands for a warrant is also inaccessible to citizens.

The number of lawyers in the country is rather limited. Let them see how many cases are in the courts. It also limits citizens' access to effective and prompt legal assistance.

- As you said, such groups were created in the country in this direction. What was the fate of these groups? Was their activity positive?

- Yes, such a group was created, and until recently, they held meetings. But how effective was it?! As I mentioned, there were minor cosmetic changes. It had nothing to do with the activities or influences of this group. Just personnel and structural changes have taken place within the government. The old team was replaced with a new one. Most likely, the new team wants to form a new group, as the previous group represented the old team. Perhaps the new generation realizes that the previous approach was wrong and that it is necessary to correct the situation and take positive steps. For this, the government itself must take many steps. At least let them solve the problems I have listed so that we can see some progress in this direction. For a long time, there have been discussions of the problems of civil society, meetings are being held, and proposals are being collected; but we have not yet seen the real result. The problem of NGO registration and funding has not been resolved. Time is not waiting for us.

Recently, Hikmet Hajiyev, the Assistant to the President,   met with the executive authorities and discussed issues related to Public Councils. It is good that at least they accept and discuss the problem. If for more than 5 years, the activity of NGOs in the country was limited, and before that, the activity was even more limited, how should this NGO be created, how should it function in order to also ensure public control over the executive authorities?! Therefore, solving problems should not start from the middle, but from the very bottom.

-Do you think such groups can interfere with the work of the authorities? That is, can a group created from representatives of the authorities in the issue of political prisoners declare a violation of the rights of these persons? Is it real in such a country like Azerbaijan?

- I think that the main thing in this matter is political will and intention. If there is really a desire to solve the problems, then serious reforms must be carried out. I listed earlier what needs to be done in this direction. On the other hand, I do not want to focus only on the problem of political prisoners. Of course, the problem of political prisoners must be solved finally, and people should not be persecuted for their political views and freedom of expression. However, the right of citizens to education, medical care, social, property, fair trial and so on is violated on a more massive scale. Therefore, I am in favor of carrying out, first, judicial and legal reform. It would be possible to restore, at least, justice when officials break the law.

I do not exclude that this group will solve certain problems. For example, the release of several political prisoners or the solution of some minor problems. It is not about voicing the problem, but about a prompt and responsible approach to its solution. We also voiced problems at the meetings. At a meeting with the presidential aide, 5-6 NGO representatives noted the importance of Tofig Yagublu's release. It so happened that Tofig Yagublu was then released. However, we should not be interested in solving problems for individuals or after they arise. The question should be, why should people be arrested?! Why should someone be taken to the police and forced to delete the status they posted on the social network?! Why take someone to the police and force them to delete their status on the social network ?!

-Recently, the problem of political prisoners has faded into the background. It is true that sometimes messages of goodwill appear to solve this problem. However, there is no result yet. What is the situation with the problem of political prisoners?

- Both human rights organizations and political parties have concluded that, finally, the government will solve this problem. Because many so-called "Karabakh prisoners" were released. It was believed that this mitigation could carry only one message. The acquittal of Ilgar Mammadov and Rasul Jafarov before this and then meetings with political parties and civil society created the impression of a certain movement towards positive.

I believe that pandemic, rising social problems and war are the reasons for the receding into the background. Our lands have been liberated from occupation. We no longer have the Karabakh problem. Now we must be more attentive and sensitive to human rights and freedoms. In your previous question, I said that I do not want to dwell only on the problem of political prisoners. Because when other problems arise, this one goes to the background. Therefore, we must be interested in a fundamental solution to the problem.

- What are your suggestions? What steps should the authorities take to improve the human rights situation in the country and an unequivocal solution to the problem of political prisoners? Can any progress be made by creating such structures or are there better options for resolving the issue?

- Of course, there are always options, and a way out even from the worst situations. First, problems related to civil society must be resolved, different views should be taken into account, and discussion should be held. Registration of NGOs should be simplified. In particular, criminal cases initiated against NGOs should be terminated on exculpatory grounds. How is it possible to bring together people who have previously been convicted of serious crimes to discuss human rights? This is where the paradox begins.

We voiced our proposals on this matter at a meeting with Mr. Hikmet Hajiyev and sent them to the appropriate structures in writing. I believe that the problems should be solved finally. Otherwise, we achieve the near result, solving the problem of one or two NGOs and individuals. If the goal is the development of the country, the protection of human rights, then we must be interested in carrying out deeper changes aimed at the future. I have listed them above; it is necessary to carry out judicial reform, improve legislation, and induce the executive branch to base its activities on laws, including ensuring prompt consideration of complaints and appeals as intended.