Chairmanship turns the spotlight on Azerbaijan’s human rights

Azerbaijan will take on the chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe in less than two months. The discrepancy between the country’s poor human rights record and the responsibilities of the chairmanship is striking

Azerbaijan is cracking down on dozens of political activists, imprisoned critical journalists, broke up peaceful public demonstrations, and adopted legislation that restricted fundamental freedoms.

At the same time, the country is heading the international organisation, which houses the international European Court of Human Rights, the principal European human rights body.

IMS’ Azerbaijani partner, the Baku-based Institute for Reporters’ Freedom and Safety (IRFS) alongside the rights group Media Rights Institute (MRI), will be busy in the coming weeks and months to push the government to genuinely fulfill it’s human rights obligations.

Through research and direct meetings with delegates from the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (CoE), IRFS and MRI will provide the officials with first-hand facts about the country’s human rights situation in order to push Azerbaijan to begin closing the gap between the values and principles its chairmanship represents and the reality on the ground for Azerbaijani citizens.

A first step in the right direction has already been taken. The Azerbaijani government in its recent communication with the Committee of Ministers presented a set of draft amendments to the country’s Penal Code, which could bring its libel law closer to the standards of the European Court of Human Rights.

IRFS and MRI, in cooperation with IMS and other international partners, provide educational resources and tools to help aspiring human rights defenders, lawyers and civil society representatives learn about and apply international human rights standards in their work.

In the run-up to and throughout Azerbaijan’s CoE Chairmanship the group is organising a series of roundtable events to raise awareness on Azerbaijan’s commitments to the CoE.

IMS works in Azerbaijan with local civil society organisations to advocate for freedom of expression and other fundamental freedoms, and affect legislation to address human rights issues.