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PACE co-rapporteursâ€™ report on Azerbaijan made public

21 December 2012 13:13 (UTC +04:00)

Baku. Victoria Dementeva – APA. “The Monitoring Committee recognises the progress made by Azerbaijan with regard to the establishment of the legislative framework in some areas crucial for the functioning of democratic institutions since its accession to the Council of Europe,” noted in report “The honouring of obligations and commitments by Azerbaijan” made by Joseph Debono Grekh and Pedro Agramunt, APA reports.

The co-rapporteurs noted that since its accession, Azerbaijan has made substantial progress with regard to the signature and ratification of Council of Europe legal instruments. Azerbaijan has signed and ratified all but one of the legal instruments included in its list of commitments.

Assembly calls on Azerbaijan to ratify the remaining convention, the European Charter for Regional and Minority Languages (ETS No. 148), which it signed in 2001.

In particular, the establishment in 2005 of the Judicial Legal Council constituted an important step in the country’s judicial reform. Recently adopted legal acts providing for a revised recruitment procedure for judges, amendments to the Law on Combating Corruption and to the Criminal Code with regard to the criminalization of corruption mark further progress in this respect.

The Assembly commends the Azerbaijani authorities for their fruitful co-operation with the European Commission for Democracy through Law (Venice Commission). The recent request by the authorities for assistance in drafting a new law on defamation is a good example of such co-operation.

The Assembly is concerned by the restrictive climate for the activities of the extra-parliamentary opposition, which complains about limitations imposed on freedom of expression and freedom of assembly and lack of access to the public media.

The Assembly is alarmed by reports by human rights defenders and domestic and international non-governmental organisations (NGOs) about the alleged use of so-called fabricated charges against activists and journalists. Despite the progress achieved in the introduction of a legislative framework aimed at fighting corruption and organised crime, the main challenge lies in the effective application of that legislation.

The authors also call to establish a fixed retirement age valid for all judges step up efforts, implement effectively existing anti-corruption legislation and review the cases of human rights defenders, activists and journalists detained on criminal charges following trials whose conformity with human rights standards has been called into question by civil society and the international community.

The reports also noted find a compromise solution to allow protest actions in some areas of Baku city centre, complying with security requirements and acceptable for both the organizers and the authorities.

The report also covers Nagorno Karabakh conflict.

“Since the cease-fire agreement in 1994, the negotiations on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict have been conducted within the Minsk Group, co-chaired by France, the Russian Federation and the United States, but unfortunately, so far, they have led to no tangible results. The lack of real progress in the resolution of the conflict gives rise to strongly felt frustration within the government and public opinion. Eighteen years after the cease-fire agreement, no peaceful solution has been found: about 20% of the Azerbaijani territory, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts, remains occupied. Some 900 000 people, that is 10% of the country’s population, remain displaced, putting a heavy burden on Azerbaijan’s economic and social situation. The failure to resolve this conflict, which affects the country’s territorial integrity, has certainly impacted on the country’s progress in all spheres. The continuing occupation of these territories and the presence of refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) remains an important challenge. Much of Azerbaijan’s future democratic progress will depend on the success of a peaceful settlement of this conflict, which has so far held back Azerbaijan’s internal development in the political, economic, institutional and social sectors.”

The authors called to step up efforts to reach agreement in the framework of the Minsk Group, said the credibility of this format is more and more contested.

The report will be discussed at meeting during PACE winter session on January 23.