A conference of the Asia-Pacific regional dialogue took place within the framework of the international initiative Open Partnership Government (OPG.) One hundred representatives from 12 countries participated in the forum. Azerbaijan, unlike Armenia and Georgia, has been presented only on the civil society level. One of the participants was the expert of the Public Association for Assistance to Economic Initiatives Samir Aliyev.
In an interview with Turan, he said that in his speech at the forum and bilateral talks the expert expressed interest in the country's civil society in the preservation of the country's OPG.
From the dialogue of May 4, 2016 it was known that the Steering Committee of Azerbaijan lowered the status of OPG from full member to the "inactive" participant structure. One of the topics of the conference was to discuss the issues of dialogue between government and civil society. CEO of the OPG Sanjay Pradhan said that this international initiative sees the dialogue with civil society, increase the capacity to strengthen enforcement of human rights.
Aliyev noted that5 this question is relevant for Azerbaijan. During the discussions it became clear that in Indonesia, Mongolia, the Philippines, Georgia and Armenia for expansion of OPG initiatives established consultative mechanisms with the participation of representatives of governmental institutions and civil society.
In this connection, is regrettable absence of such a dialogue mechanism in Azerbaijan, Aliyev said. However, in 2016 the government adopted a new national action plan in the field of open government. But over four years of participation in this international initiative there have not been a format of dialogue between the government and NGOs, while conducting consultations with the authorities of NGOs is one of the conditions for effective dissemination of the principles of open government. It is because of the lack of such a mechanism of dialogue and was downgraded to the status of Azerbaijan in the OPG.
The conference assessed the participation of Azerbaijan in the OPG since joining the structure, and exchanged views on prospects of cooperation for the next five years.
At the same time, as noted, it is less than one year to recover the full membership of Azerbaijan in the structure.
The next event will be the Partnership's Global Summit in Paris in December 2016. According to the expert Aliyev, up to this time is necessary to create a mechanism for dialogue between the Government and civil society in Azerbaijan. —06D--
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