The problem of closed Government

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- Samir bey, Open Gov Week 2021 is currently being held. What is the meaning of this week?

- Starting from May 17, the Open Gov Week is being held around the world at the initiative of the Open Government Partnership international platform. This is the third similar event. The previous events took place in 2018 and 2019, and more than 50 countries joined the events. The global pandemic in 2020 has postponed most international events, including Open Gov Week. This year, the week has been resumed and is the third event in this format. The main slogan of this event is Open Response, Open Recovery. The phrase Open Response can be translated into our language as “Açıq çağırışa cavab” or “Açıq çağırışa reaksiya”. In other words, governments and civil society representatives from 78 countries are expected to join the Open Gov Week, whose slogan is translated into our language as “Açıq Reaksiya, Açıq Bərpa”. The main purpose of the week is to discuss various ideas on openness, transparency, and accountability of governments in different countries with the participation of governments, civil society organizations, and public figures, to explore opportunities to influence the decision-making process, and to strengthen the potential for cooperation between government and civil society. All of this is aimed at supporting the renewal of government policies by developing new strategies in the post-pandemic period. In short, during this week, which covers May 17-21, these events will be held in various countries to increase citizens' confidence in governments and facilitate their access to public services. It is estimated that these measures will cover a total of about 2 billion people.

- How is this week celebrated in Azerbaijan, where the issue of reinstatement of membership in the Open Government Partnership platform has not been resolved yet?

- Unfortunately, no events are held in Azerbaijan this week. At least I have not come across any information about the government holding any event in this context. If the government is passive, not interested, at least, civil society could take the initiative. However, civil society cannot be blamed either because its current state is obvious. Civil society is incapable of fulfilling its mission. Of course, there is an objective reason for this. Restrictive changes to NGO and grant legislation have completely paralyzed civil society. In such a situation, it does not seem realistic for civil society to take any initiative. However, the National Platform of the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum for Azerbaijan plans to hold a conference on Open Government in the coming weeks. Unfortunately, it was not possible to hold the conference this week from a technical point of view but I hope that our initiative will take place next month. I would like the relevant government agencies to join the conference and make their contribution.

- By the way, at the meeting of the Steering Committee of the Open Government Partnership international platform held on December 5-6, 2018, Azerbaijan was given a second respite on the basis of the Resolution on Azerbaijan's membership. The resolution contained a number of recommendations for the restoration of membership in the organization. According to the resolution, the new National Action Plan (NAP) must be developed until August 31, 2021. After that, the implementation status of the NAP will be assessed. Only after that, considering the status of Azerbaijan, either the active status will be restored or the country as a whole will be removed from the Platform. What is the current situation in this direction? What is being done about the National Action Plan and will the action plan be completed by August 31?

- Indeed, Azerbaijan has been given two respites on this issue. Azerbaijan is perhaps the only country among the OGP member states that has been given this chance for the second time. For other countries, for example, the status of neighboring Turkey was inactive for the first time, and the next time it was excluded from the initiative. The reason was that it did not adopt the next NAP. I would like to note that civil society played a special role in giving Azerbaijan a second chance; otherwise; we would have been left out of this Platform since 2018. Civil society expressed a unified and common position, addressing the Steering Committee of the OGP, drawing their attention to the importance of Azerbaijan's membership in the first place for civil society. Therefore, Azerbaijan was given a second chance as an exception. In its Resolution regarding the Azerbaijani government, the Steering Committee noted the importance of developing a Roadmap with the participation of civil society and drawing up the NAP based on it. Indeed, in accordance with the Resolution, a Roadmap was prepared with the participation of civil society by March 1, 2019. Then the process of developing the NAP on the basis of the Roadmap was started. Despite the announcement on social media, civil society was not very active in this process. Probably, the government's lack of confidence in taking its views into account had a negative impact on civil society activity. Unfortunately, the new NAP did not take into account all the proposals envisaged in the Roadmap. Of particular interest to us were the sections on the state of civil society. Despite not all of these parts, two important elements were considered. One was the simplification of NGO legislation and the other was the simplification of grant legislation. We are fully satisfied that these two elements have been fully resolved, at least, brought to the status quo of 2013. The demand of the Steering Committee of the OGP stated that the implementation of the NAP should be completed by August 31, 2021. However, the NAP adopted by Azerbaijan covers the years 2020-2022. According to the resolution, after August 31, in accordance with the rules of the OGP, an independent assessment (Independent Reporting Mechanism) of the implementation of the NAP will be conducted. Based on this assessment, the Steering Committee will determine the level of implementation of the commitment and decide on the status of Azerbaijan.

- Recently, a letter was sent to the Azerbaijani government on behalf of the head of the Open Government Partnership international platform, Sanjay Pradhan. What did the letter say, and what is the status of the issues highlighted in that letter?

- Yes, on behalf of the head of the Open Government Partnership international platform, Sanjay Pradhan, a letter has been sent to the Azerbaijani government, specifically to the head of the State Migration Service, Vusal Huseynov, and Assistant to the President, Hikmat Hajiyev. Let me note that Vusal Huseynov is a responsible person representing the Azerbaijani government on the OGP platform. The letter is more of a reminder. It is reminded that according to Azerbaijan's commitment, the deadline is August 31, 2021, and the implementation of the NAP must be completed by that time. In particular, efforts should be made and strengthened to improve the situation of civil society, which has led to the downgrading of Azerbaijan's status. I hope that this letter will awaken the government a bit and increase its attention to the implementation of the NAP, especially the part related to civil society.

- Why is the government not interested in Azerbaijan's membership in this international platform?

- The behavior of the government, the steps taken in this direction give grounds to put forward your opinion. Indeed, if the government is interested, it must meet the requirements. The government must take into account that now is an emergency for us, our concession limit has been reached. In this sense, the requirements are not difficult to meet. If the government does not do it or delays it, it means that it is not interested in them. I think it would be good if the government thinks seriously about this. In the Second Karabakh War, Azerbaijan liberated its lands from occupation. In the process, Azerbaijan's reputation was damaged on the basis of biased information spread around the world. Until now, Azerbaijan's reputation has not been good. In such a situation, Azerbaijan must take a number of steps to improve and restore its image. The first of these steps is to accelerate the implementation of reforms in the country, and the second is to intensify participation in such initiatives, which are international tribunes. We have left the EITI (Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative) international coalition. We lost that tribune. The OGP is a broader coalition. While EITI encompasses the extractive industries, OGP is generally an initiative that involves government openness around the world. It now includes 78 countries. Their number is growing. It is a more reliable platform. Azerbaijan wants to develop the non-oil sector. The country that wants this should be interested in attracting foreign investors to the country, including the reconstruction of Karabakh. Participation in such platforms shows that the government in the country is transparent, open, law-abiding, etc. If Azerbaijan does not participate in such platforms, if the doors are closed to them, the process will worsen in general, it will be more difficult for foreign investors to come to Azerbaijan. I would like to note that Armenia is quite active on this platform. We need to think about it. Not only because Armenia is there but because the government is concerned about the welfare of the people, wants to provide open and transparent services, is interested in taking into account the views and suggestions of citizens, it should not back down from such platforms.

- What do you think Azerbaijan should do?

- Civil society has done its job and now it is the government's turn. Currently, the only responsible party in this case is the Azerbaijani government. The deadline for the Azerbaijani government is until August 31. Perhaps this process can be extended until the end of the year, citing a pandemic and war. But the government must, at least, show that it is truly consistent and that it is fully committed. Note that the NAP is the third action plan. It was approved by the President of the country. And if it is approved by the president, it means that he has signed at the highest level the implementation of the NAP. If this action plan is fully implemented by respecting the signature, it will raise the reputation of the Azerbaijani government. If the NAP is not implemented or will be implemented poorly, it will be an indication that the level of fulfillment of our promise in the international arena will be low. Therefore, the government should focus on the part of civil society that is mentioned in Mr. Pradhan's letter. That is, NGO and grant legislation must be urgently amended, simplified, and, at least, returned to the pre-2013 situation. Once the commitments are fulfilled, it will be possible to restore Azerbaijan's membership in this platform, and we will all benefit from this.