Territorial Integrity Ensured. But What About Human Rights?

September 27 is commemorated as Remembrance Day in Azerbaijan. On that day, the 44-day Second Karabakh War began. The Azerbaijani Government stated that as a result of this war and the one-day military operation that followed, the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the country were ensured.

When criticisms about democracy arise from time to time in Azerbaijan, some officials have downplayed the issue of human rights by stating that the country's territorial integrity has not been ensured and that the Karabakh conflict still exists. Currently, the country's territorial integrity has been restored. But will human rights issues become relevant from now on?

Member of the National Assembly Aqil Abbas told Turan that there is currently no problem in the field of human rights in the country: “I do not see a serious problem with human rights in Azerbaijan. Human rights are being ensured.”

According to him, there is also no problem in terms of media freedom: “In the newspaper ‘Ədalət’ which I lead, we can write whatever we want; it is an independent newspaper. No one imposes any restrictions on us. I cannot speak for others.”

Rufat Safarov, co-founder of the human rights organization “Defense Line,” however, disagrees with the deputy. He told AzadlıqRadio that for many years, those who defended the Azerbaijani government's legal policy have highlighted this factor: “They said that ‘our country has a big problem awaiting resolution in Karabakh; after the conflict reaches a fair resolution, political and legal reforms will also be accelerated.’” Of course, this is an approach that cannot withstand criticism. Which scholar contributing to conflictology has justified that establishing the independence of courts, free media, political pluralism, economic liberalization, and creating a competitive environment in all areas of life could hinder the resolution of the Karabakh problem?

In his view, the current political power has not been interested in laying the foundation for state-building based on the implementation of basic human rights and freedoms: “Because representatives of the ruling New Azerbaijan Party government clearly understand that if today democratic institutions are guaranteed within the framework of the Constitution, if a civil society is established, and if work is carried out towards building a rule of law that ensures the supremacy of laws, the serious or particularly serious crimes committed over many years will require an adequate legal evaluation by independent courts.”

According to the human rights defender's emphasis, life and experience have shown that the situation of basic human rights and freedoms in Azerbaijan was considerably normal compared to the present during periods of escalation in Karabakh.

Rufat Safarov believes that the political will of the political authority is necessary for the rights and freedoms enshrined in the Constitution to have real significance: “In Azerbaijan, political, legal, and economic reforms depend precisely on that will. I do not expect such a will to be expressed. Looking at the dynamics, we see that the situation is becoming more complicated, and repression is reaching its peak. In this sense, the situation is not at all hopeful.”