Press Review 08/24/2016

The human rights situation, the probability of manat fall, labor security, and the inactivity of the Cabinet are the leading topics of today's press.

The official Azerbaijan newspaper has published an article alleging that the country is at the forefront to ensure human rights and freedoms, since this question, as well as the rule of law, deepening of political and legal reforms and the democratic process, is a priority for the state.

Over the past 13 years, President Ilham Aliyev has carried out reforms based on ensuring human rights and freedoms. In this connection, the National Action Plan was adopted and June 18 was declared a day of human rights in Azerbaijan.

Azadlig has published an interview with the economist Nemat Aliyev on the future of the manat. According to the expert, oil revenues have fallen sharply, the state budget has reduced twofold, public investment projects have been cut, and social and infrastructure problems have increased. Over the last three months income in the state budget was executed with a 45% deficit and budget expenditures for the first 7 months of this year made a 24% deficit. In recent days the manat has been devalued another 13%. The government is very interested in the devaluation to save the AZN supply, and this process could continue until the end of the year.

Echo has published an article entitled Life and Work. It is said that in the first six months of this year, 57 people were killed and 106 were injured at work in Azerbaijan. In the same period last year as a result of industrial accidents 46 people were injured and 20 people were killed.

The International Labor Organization has repeatedly tried to find out how many people in Azerbaijan suffer from occupational diseases, but all the attempts were unsuccessful, as the Ministry of Health hides these indexes. As for compensation for injuries received in the production, the scheme is as follows: if a person has lost 50 % of his (her) workability and his (her) salary was equal to 1,000 manats, then the employer is obliged to pay him (her) 500 AZN as compensation until the retirement. It should be noted that the ILO estimates that about 2.3 million men and women die every year as a result of accidents at their workplace or from diseases related to their work - an average of 6,000 people a day.

Novoye Vremya: The Chairman of the Committee on Legal Policy and State Building of the Milli Majlis Ali Huseynli criticized the inertia of the Cabinet, which makes it necessary to conduct constitutional reforms. ‘The government does not keep pace with the President, or show rapid response or develop the appropriate mechanisms. The Cabinet is not in the forefront of the President’s reforms,’ the MP said.