A top U.S. Senator says Azerbaijan should fulfill its commitments to provide fundamental freedoms and more open society where political opposition and journalists can act freely.
“They have to have more confidence in their people by giving them opportunities in the country,understand that an open society allows for the scent in free manner; particularly that opposition has opportunities to participate in free and fair elections…” U.S. Senator Ben Cardin told TURAN’s Washington DC correspondent.
Cardin, a Maryland Democrat, traveled to Baku early this summer to participate in the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, where he met with top government officials as part of the U.S. delegation. He also issued several public statements and sent letters to president IlhamAliyev highlighting the cases of the imprisoned top human rights defender LeylaYunus and others.
Azerbaijan, he said, “is the country that is in transition and needs to work on all the fundamentals as it is committed to fight all forms of corruption and create a more open society.”
Given "strategic partnership”that Azerbaijan has with the U.S. in dealing with international security issues, he said, Washington would continue to work with Baku on addressing its obligations on human rights and greater democracy.
On Wednesday, the US Congressional Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe -- known as the Helsinki Commission -- under Senator Carding chairmanship discussed combating corruption in the OSCE Region, highlighting the situation in countries like Ukraine, Azerbaijan and several others.
Although the OSCE has created new tools to address corruption, tackling the problem requires “more than raising awareness and sharing best practices,”the commission announced. “In many states, systemic issues, including lack of media freedom, lack of political will, and lack of an independent judiciary contribute substantially to persistent high-level and low-level corruption.”
In his testimony OSCE Coordinator for Economic and Environmental Affairs HalilYurdakulYigitgudenmade it clear that in many countries like Azerbaijan, bribery, as a basic form of corporate corruption, has detrimental effects on political, economic, social and environmental areas.
To address bribery more effectively, legislation should include provisions of criminal liability for bribing public officials, corporate liability for failure to prevent bribery, differentiation between notions of offering, promising, giving, requesting, agreeing to receive and accepting a bribe, as well as envisaging a requirement for corporate entities concerning implementation of “adequate procedures” in order to prevent bribery.
According to the OECD Istanbul Anti-Corruption Action Plan that includes Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan, “legal gaps remain in many countries with regard to bribery and trading in influence.”
In addition, “business integrity” is a relatively new issue in the region. The governments are yet to implement systematic measures to promote business integrity while the private sector has a potential to become a strong participant in the fight against corruption, Yigitgudensaid.
Speaking to TURAN after the event, the Senator Cardin said in some OSCE countries, it’s the old Soviet system that has to be modernized to be democratic standards: “It starts with good governance that is having people in office that are there for public reasons not for bribes,” he said.
As US has been “too generous” with its substantial grounds of funds to other countries to improve their transportation, health, education and other systems, Cardin made it clear that Washington will “not be too patient” to see progress in the countries that it hopes to see.
“We won’t give a grant to a country unless we are sure that money will end up helping the people. We’re not going to be that generous in our international development assistance, because part of our goals of humanitarian help is part of our responsibilities for good neighbors but it’s also part of having more secure neighbors… Unless those funds are used to develop the strength of the country and not used for corruption, it’s not going to accomplish its purposed,” he said.
AlakbarRaufoglu,
Washington, DC
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