A wide group of European civil society organisations wrote to Alain Berset, new Secretary General of the Council of Europe, on his first day in office, calling upon him to prioritise the human rights crisis in Azerbaijan, marked by the detention of Vaclav Havel Award winner Anar Mammadli alongside over 300 other political prisoners. 

Alain Berset will take up his post as new Secretary General of the Council of Europe tomorrow, Wendesday 18 September 2024. A broad group of European civil society organiastions call upon him to prioritise the human rights situation in Azerbaijan in a joint letter initiated by the Anar Mammadli Campaign against repression in Azerbaijan.

The NGOs in their letter establish that the repression has intensified to an unprecedented level in 2024 in Azerbaijan. They underline that almost no independent civil society actor remains free in the country. Independent media outlets have seen their leadership arrested, and the authorities have increased pressure on the legal profession, as well as on academics and scholars. The letter to Alain Berset details a number of individual cases, which are emblematic of the repression.

The NGOs therefore call upon Alain Berset to make the release of such individuals his outmost priority and to engage with Azerbaijani authorities to review legislation designed to target human rights defenders and civil society and criminalise their activities.

The letter is sent against the backdrop of a total disregard of the Council of Europe by the Azerbaijani authorities:

• The Azerbaijani parliamentary delegation has been suspended in January 2024. Azerbaijan also refused Council of Europe observation of its presidential election of 7 February 2024 and its parliamentary election of 1 September 2024, in violation of the country’s obligations as Council of Europe member state;
• In an unprecedented public statement, the Council of Europe Committee on the Prevention of Torture underlined the “deplorable state of affairs” of places of detention in Azerbaijan and the total lack of cooperation by the national authorities with the Committee, in violation of the country’s obligations as Council of Europe member state;
• To date, Azerbaijan has the worst record of non-implementation of European Court of Human Rights, following Russia, and refuses to follow-up on Council of Europe injunctions to implement cases related to political prisoners (Mammadli group), in violation of the country’s obligations as Council of Europe member state.

Given the human rights crisis in Azerbaijan and the dire state of cooperation with the Council of Europe mechanisms and insittutions, the very credibility of the Council of Europe will depend on the new Secretary General’s willingness to prioritise human rights in Azerbaijan as he takes up his office.

Azerbaijan’s human rights crisis is happening as the country prepares to host the 29th Climate Conference (COP29).

The signatory organisations are:

Anar Mammadli Campaign to end repression in Azerbaijan
Centre for Civil Liberties, Ukraine
Civil Network Opora, Ukraine
European Exchange
European Human Rights Advocacy Centre
European Platform for Democratic Elections
Federazione Italiana Diritti Umani (FIDU)
Front Line Defenders
Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights, Poland
Human Rights Centre, Georgia
International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), within the framework of the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders
International Partnership for Human Rights (IPHR)
Netherlands Helsinki Committee
Norwegian Helsinki Committee
Political Accountability Foundation, Poland
Resource Center for Democracy and Human Rights, Moldova
World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), within the framework of the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders
ZMINA Human Rights Center, Ukraine