Honouring of obligations and commitments by Azerbaijan
Resolution 1545 (2007)1
1. Azerbaijan joined the Council of Europe on 25 January 2001 and, since its accession, has been subject to a Parliamentary Assembly monitoring procedure, which has led to the adoption of Resolutions 1305 (2002), 1358 (2004), 1398 (2004) and 1456 (2005).
2. Furthermore, in Resolution 1505 (2006) on the implementation of Resolution 1480 (2006) on the challenge of credentials of the parliamentary delegation of Azerbaijan, adopted in June 2006, the Assembly instructed its Monitoring Committee to continue to follow closely developments in the country and report back to it, at its spring 2007 part-session, on progress in the honouring of obligations and commitments by Azerbaijan, including those related to the electoral reform.
3. The aftermath of the November 2005 elections was marked by a further weakening of the opposition both inside and outside parliament and limited interest by the public in the political life of the country. Despite Assembly calls to the contrary, a number of opposition members have refused to take their seats in parliament or boycotted the May 2006 partial re-run elections. Subsequent splits within the opposition have further weakened its position. There is an urgent need for dialogue to be established between the ruling majority and the opposition both inside and outside parliament if the political climate in the country is to be improved.
4. Situated at the crossroads between Europe and Asia and with a booming economy, Azerbaijan is becoming a major strategic actor in the region. Holding the world's record for economic growth, Azerbaijan has, however, 25% of its population still living in poverty. An ever-increasing corruption risks jeopardising its economic development.
5. In the field of European integration, an action plan was signed on 14 November 2006 with the European Union, in the framework of the European Neighbourhood Policy. The Assembly welcomes the fact that the action plan refers to the country's international commitments, including towards the Council of Europe, in the fields of democracy, the rule of law and human rights.
6. With regard to Azerbaijan's obligations and commitments in the field of democracy:
6.1. the Assembly notes that, since accession to the Council of Europe, the Parliament of Azerbaijan has reinforced its role as a forum for political debate and an instrument for pushing forward democratic reforms. However, much remains to be done to strengthen parliamentary control over the executive and improve the checks and balances in a state governed by a strong presidential system. Therefore, the Assembly invites the authorities of Azerbaijan to consider in due course the possibility of a constitutional revision to improve the balance of powers and strengthen the role of the parliament, with the assistance of the Council of Europe's Venice Commission;
6.2. the Assembly would also like to see the work of parliamentary committees being further developed. Important matters, such as those related to the honouring of commitments undertaken upon accession to the Council of Europe, should be regulated by laws elaborated and discussed within the parliament and its committees rather than by presidential decrees;
6.3. the Assembly notes that, at present, political groups must have at least 20% of the voting strength to form parliamentary factions. It therefore invites the Parliament of Azerbaijan to consider lowering significantly this percentage through a revision of its Internal Rules, if need be with Council of Europe assistance or in the framework of the Assembly's interparliamentary co-operation programme;
6.4. noting that, since the country's accession to the Council of Europe, not a single election held in Azerbaijan has been deemed fully free and fair, the Assembly attaches particular importance to the forthcoming presidential elections in 2008 and it expects the public broadcasting service to ensure equal and unbiased coverage of the campaign for all presidential candidates;
6.5. the Assembly welcomes the on-going co-operation with the Venice Commission on the revision of the Election Code. It reiterates that, for the next presidential elections to comply fully with European standards, it is essential that, beyond technical improvements, the Election Code be amended at the latest by the beginning of 2008 in order to provide for: an election administration which enjoys the confidence of the electorate and of all the stakeholders; a better procedure for the efficient handling of election-related complaints and appeals. The composition of the Central Electoral Commission should also be completed without further delay;
6.6. noting that, following the November 2005 elections, few criminal proceedings were instituted for electoral violations which resulted in the imprisonment of only one single person and the dismissal of others, the Assembly warns that more resolute action is needed to discourage future violations. It urges the Azerbaijani authorities to pass on a clear message at the highest political level that electoral fraud will not be tolerated in the next presidential elections.
6.7. with regard to local self-government, the Assembly:
6.7.1. welcomes the recent establishment in Azerbaijan of three municipal associations (for cities, rural towns and settlements) and encourages them to work jointly;
6.7.2. urges the Azerbaijani authorities to implement the recommendations made by the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe in order to bring the relevant legislation and its implementation in line with the Constitution and the European Charter of Local Self-Government. In particular, the authorities should take all necessary measures to grant municipalities a substantial share of public responsibilities, ensure that sufficient means are provided for their implementation and, with respect to the city of Baku and other large cities, set up a city council directly elected by the citizens to run local public administration acting at overall city level.
7. With regard to Azerbaijan's obligations and commitments in the field of the rule of law:
7.1. the Assembly has repeatedly insisted on the need to reform and train the Azerbaijani judiciary, effectively eradicate corruption among judges and improve its present negative image. It therefore welcomes the efforts undertaken by the authorities to achieve this goal, in co-operation with the Council of Europe, and calls for the effective implementation of adopted measures;
7.2. the Assembly notes in particular that presidential decrees issued in 2006 provide for an increase of the appeal courts and of the number of judges throughout the country as well as for the establishment of a Justice Academy in charge of training professionals from the justice field. The Assembly considers that this new institution should be placed under the authority of the Judicial Legal Council in order to guarantee its independence from the executive. The Assembly also notes with satisfaction that exams to recruit new judges have been organised on the basis of a fair and transparent selection procedure elaborated in co-operation with the Council of Europe;
7.3. the Assembly is concerned by the low number of defence lawyers practising currently in the country and especially in the regions. It notes that the establishment of a strong defence bar is critical in preventing human rights abuses and protecting the rights of criminal defendants;
7.4. while welcoming the recently organised bar examinations, the Assembly urges the competent authorities to reform the system of selection of defence lawyers, ensure that their number and quality of their services is increased and take appropriate measures to encourage young lawyers to join the defence bar. The Council of Europe could offer assistance and in particular training;
7.5. the Assembly underlines that the creation of an independent and well trained judiciary and criminal defence bar will ultimately put an end to allegations that persons are convicted in proceedings which do not respect the fundamental guarantees of a fair trial and thus allegations of politically motivated prosecutions, as well as allegations regarding ill-treatment during police custody and pre-trial detention;
7.6. in its Resolution 1457 (2005) on the implementation of Resolution 1359 (2004) on political prisoners in Azerbaijan, adopted in June 2005, the Assembly:
7.6.1. concluded that "it [could] not consider the issue of political prisoners to have been finally resolved" and asked the Azerbaijani authorities to take a number of measures in order to find "a speedy and permanent solution to the issue of political prisoners and presumed political prisoners";
7.6.2. welcomed the setting up of a Task Force comprising representatives of the authorities and of human rights NGOs for the purpose of adopting a single position on the issue; the representatives of the authorities have in particular committed themselves to make use of every legal remedy (amnesty, review of cases by higher-instance courts, conditional release, release for health reasons, pardon) to settle this problem and agreed to work on the basis of two lists referred to in Resolution 1457 (2005);
7.7. the Assembly notes that the Task Force on which much hope had been placed in June 2005 has remained inactive for more than a year and met only on the occasion of rapporteurs' visits. Moreover:
7.7.1. no concrete action has been taken as to the proposal of passing an amnesty law by the parliament;
7.7.2. on eleven appeals to the Supreme Court by persons mentioned on the lists of the Task Force and sentenced prior to the ratification of the European Convention of Human Rights, eight were declared inadmissible on procedural grounds; since no review on the merits of their case took place, this prevents them from successfully lodging an application with the European Court of Human Rights;
7.7.3. legislation on conditional release was not applied in all cases concerned;
7.7.4. the presidential pardon decree of October 2006 led to the release of two journalists, but covered only two persons mentioned on the lists of the Task Force;
7.8. welcoming the fact that since November 2006 the work of the Task Force has been reactivated and that four meetings have been held since then, the Assembly urges it now to produce concrete results and prove its efficiency;
7.9. the Assembly welcomes in this respect as an important step forward the presidential decree of 19 March 2007 which led to the pardoning of 14 persons appearing on the lists of NGOs members of the Task Force. As a result, eleven persons were released and one person's sentence was reduced from life to 25 years' imprisonment. Furthermore, the suspended sentence inflicted on Mr Said Nuri, one of the leaders of the Yeni Fikir Youth Movement, was cancelled. The Assembly hopes that this decree will encourage the Task Force to continue its work and produce further results. As a priority, the Task Force should now:
7.9.1. up-date the June 2005 lists indicating how many cases have since been resolved and how the remaining cases will be solved;
7.9.2. establish which cases still require consideration, including on humanitarian grounds;
7.9.3. review the cases of still imprisoned relatives, employees or acquaintances of persons who have meanwhile been pardoned or released;
7.9.4. consider the proposals to extend its mandate to cover trial monitoring and to include representatives of the judiciary among its members. The Assembly welcomes the fact that a representative of the judiciary was included among the members of the Task Force;
7.10. the Assembly draws particular attention to the cases of: Mr Natiq Efendiyev, who had been considered as a political prisoner by the independent experts of the Secretary General, released subsequently by a presidential pardon decree in March 2005 and re-arrested a few weeks prior to the parliamentary elections, on 15 October 2005; Mr Rasim Alekperov, an old man considered a national hero, who suffers from serious health problems.
7.11. with regard to the prison sentences inflicted on the other two leaders of the Yeni Fikir Youth Movement, Mr Ruslan Bashirli and Mr Ramin Tagiyev, the Assembly hopes that the Supreme Court will fully examine the reported violations of fair trial in the procedure before the lower courts as well as the allegations of ill-treatment during police custody made by Mr Bashirli;
7.12. the Assembly expects the trial of the former Minister of Economic Development, Mr Farhad Aliyev, who has been kept in pre-trial detention since October 2005, to start without further delay; it hopes that the trial court will duly examine allegations of any procedural violations which might have occurred during the pre-trial investigation; Mr Farhad Aliyev should also be allowed to receive treatment by doctors of his choice with respect to his heart problems;
7.13. the Assembly also draws attention to concerns over the fairness of the recent arrest of Mr Huseyn Abdullayev, a member of parliament, and on the trial of Mr Ali Insanov, former Minister of Health;
7.14. the Assembly reiterates that the Criminal Code of Azerbaijan should be amended in line with recommendations made by Council of Europe experts in December 2005 as regards in particular its compatibility with the European Convention of Human Rights and the case-law of the European Court of Human Rights, as well as with Council of Europe standards in the criminal field; the Assembly welcomes the fact that a meeting on the Criminal Code was held between Azerbaijani and the Council of Europe experts in Baku on 3-4 April 2007 and that draft amendments in line with the European standards were prepared as a result of their co-operation;
7.15. as regards the fight against corruption, despite commendable efforts made by the authorities and Council of Europe assistance, corruption remains a major problem in Azerbaijan affecting all levels of society and threatening the economic, social and political development of the country. The Assembly urges the Azerbaijani authorities to implement the recommendations made by the Group of States against Corruption (GRECO), improve accordingly domestic legislation and effectively implement adopted measures. The Assembly welcomes the fact that the Azerbaijani authorities are preparing the National Strategy for Increasing Transparency and Combating Corruption in co-operation with their international partners.
8. With regard to Azerbaijan's commitments and obligations in the field of human rights:
8.1. with regard to the freedom of expression and of the media, the Assembly recalls the great concerns it expressed in its Resolution 1505 (2006), adopted in June 2006, about violent incidents directed against journalists. Regrettably, instead of improving, the general environment for the independent media in Azerbaijan has since deteriorated:
8.1.1. despite the President's political moratorium on defamation, launched in March 2005, the number of civil and criminal defamation proceedings brought against opposition journalists and newspapers by public officials has recently increased, leading to intimidation and self-censorship;
8.1.2. Mr Nijat Huseynov, correspondent for the Azadliq newspaper, was attacked on 25 December 2006 in broad daylight; Mr Einullah Fatullayev, editor-in-chief of Realni Azerbaijan, which started to come out again in December 2006 after a two-month closure, has recently received death threats;
8.1.3. the well-known poet and satirical journalist Sakit Zahidov was convicted to a three-year prison sentence in October 2006, which has been denounced as being politically motivated and based on no credible evidence by local and international human rights organisations;
8.1.4. on 24 November 2006, the Azadliq newspaper, the most vocal opposition newspaper, was evicted from the premises it occupied in the centre of Baku since 1992 free of charge following a court decision which found the agreement with the then Mayor of Baku to be illegal: special forces executed the eviction within an hour;
8.1.5. on the same day (24 November 2006) the most watched independent TV channel in Azerbaijan, ANS, was silenced following a decision taken by the National Television and Radio Council (NTRC) not to extend its licence on the basis of violations of the law on radio and television broadcasting; the channel was allowed to start re-broadcasting three weeks later pending the decision on the winner of a new tender;
8.2. while welcoming the release of two journalists in October 2006 by a presidential decree, the Assembly urges the Azerbaijani authorities to consider a legal reform aiming at the decriminalisation of defamation; relevant civil law provisions should also be revised to ensure respect of the principle of proportionality; the Assembly encourages Council of Europe assistance in this field as well as efforts undertaken by the OSCE, which have led to the elaboration of a draft law on defamation; it also encourages efforts aiming at improving the professional standards and ethics of journalists in Azerbaijan and notes that Council of Europe assistance could be sought for this purpose;
8.3. the Assembly urges the Azerbaijani authorities to properly investigate attacks and threats against journalists; the perpetrators should be found, tried and punished;
8.4. the Assembly notes that the Azadliq newspaper is now functioning in the Azerbaijan Publishing House, also situated in the centre of Baku, and hopes that the new premises allow the paper to operate normally;
8.5. seriously concerned that the issue of licence for the ANS TV and Radio has not yet been finally resolved, the Assembly urges that a definitive solution be found without further delay; it welcomes the fact that the law on radio and television broadcasting has now been sent to the Council of Europe for an expert review, so as to avoid similar situations in the future;
8.6. violations of the freedom of assembly in Azerbaijan have been repeatedly and strongly denounced by the Assembly, especially prior to or after elections, most recently after the parliamentary elections of November 2005;
8.7. the Assembly notes that two demonstrations were recently staged by the opposition and no incidents were reported; it welcomes the fact that the authorities of Azerbaijan have shown the political will to amend the 1998 Law on Freedom of Assembly and have requested the assistance of the Venice Commission; it urges them to amend now the law in line with the recommendations made by the latter and take appropriate measures to ensure that the implementation of the relevant legislation respects the guarantees of Article 11 of the European Convention of Human Rights as interpreted by the European Court of Human Rights; violations of the freedom of assembly and excessive use of force by law enforcement agents should be stopped; on-going training efforts in this respect are most welcomed;
8.8. prison conditions in Azerbaijan remain harsh despite continuing infrastructure improvements; the situation in the Gobustan prison gives rise to particular concerns in view of the number of deaths and suicides committed by inmates;
8.9. the Assembly urges the authorities to ensure a case-by-case review of life sentences which were the result of the abolition of the death penalty and allow the persons concerned to benefit from the retroactive application of the most favourable criminal law provisions adopted in 2000;
8.10. the Assembly welcomes an ambitious programme of prison reform currently on-going with Council of Europe and European Commission assistance; it also welcomes the fact that access to prisons has been granted to the Ombudsperson, local and international NGOs and human rights defenders;
8.11. however, persistent allegations of torture or ill-treatment, carried out mostly by law enforcement agents during police custody or pre-trial investigation, as well as within the army, harm the image of the country especially as long as they are not properly investigated and sanctioned; these problems have recently been highlighted in the judgment of 11 January 2007 of the European Court of Human Rights in the case of Mammadov (Jalaloglu) v. Azerbaijan;
8.12. the Assembly urges the Azerbaijani authorities to act energetically to prove that they do not tolerate torture or ill-treatment within public institutions and their own army and thus put an end to the high perception of impunity; on-going training for police officers and prison staff, with Council of Europe assistance, should be further encouraged;
8.13. the Assembly urges the Azerbaijani authorities to implement the recommendations made by the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment (CPT) and authorise the publication of the CPT reports on its 2004 and 2005 visits to the country;
8.14. the Assembly welcomes the fact that work on a draft law on alternative civil service to replace military service has finally started with Council of Europe expert assistance; it urges the authorities of Azerbaijan to take into account the recommendations of the experts and adopt the law without further delay in line with their accession commitment;
8.15. Azerbaijan is home to many national minorities living peacefully together for centuries. The Advisory Committee on the Framework Convention of National Minorities has commended Azerbaijan's efforts to open up the personal scope of application of the convention to a wide range of minorities, while enumerating a number of shortcomings in the relevant legislation;
8.16. the Assembly urges the authorities to implement the recommendations made by the Advisory Committee and in particular to adopt a law on national minorities in line with their accession commitment; it also urges them to ratify the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages as soon as possible, noting Azerbaijan’s commitment to do so within one year of its accession to the Council of Europe;
8.17. the Assembly urges the Azerbaijani authorities to implement:
8.17.1. Assembly Resolution 1497 (2006) on refugees and displaced persons in Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia, adopted in April 2006;
8.17.2. Resolution 1544 (2007) on the situation of women in the South Caucasus, adopted by the Standing Committee on behalf of the Assembly in March 2007, as regards in particular: the participation of women in public and political life, discrimination in employment, women's health and violence against women, in particular domestic violence, human trafficking, the situation of refugee and displaced women as well as female prisoners; the Assembly welcomes measures taken by the Azerbaijani authorities to combat human trafficking;
8.18. the Assembly welcomes the National Action Plan on the protection of human rights in the Republic of Azerbaijan, adopted on 28 December 2006 by a presidential decree; all sectors of public authorities, but also local NGOs, are expected to contribute to the implementation of the Action Plan;
9. With regard to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict:
9.1. the Assembly refers to its Resolution 1416 (2005) whereby it held that considerable parts of the territory of Azerbaijan were still occupied by Armenian forces and regrets that, despite the continuation of high level dialogue between Azerbaijan and Armenia, this conflict, which is at the origin of more than four thousand missing persons and some 760 000 displaced persons from the Azerbaijani side, remains unresolved;
9.2. the Assembly recalls the concern it expressed in its Resolution 1416 (2005) that the military action, and the widespread ethnic hostilities, which preceded it, led to large-scale ethnic expulsion and the creation of mono-ethnic areas, which resemble the terrible concept of ethnic cleansing. It therefore urges the parties to enhance their efforts to build peace and harmony between the two communities of the Nagorno-Karabakh region of the Republic of Azerbaijan;
9.3. reiterating that it is in the interest of both sides to end this conflict as soon as possible, ruling out the use of force, in line with their accession commitment, the Assembly urges them, despite domestic political agendas, to maintain the momentum developed in the negotiations at the end of last year and refrain from unjustified delays, prolongations or intentional setbacks from the achieved understandings;
9.4. the Assembly invites the Azerbaijani authorities to prepare the population to accept the measures currently being negotiated. In this context it welcomes and further encourages contacts which have recently been established between Azerbaijani and Armenian civil society groups;
9.5. the Assembly expects that the Ad Hoc Committee of the Bureau on the implementation of Resolution 1416 (2005) on the conflict over the Nagorno-Karabakh region dealt with by the OSCE Minsk Conference will soon be able to visit the two countries, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region, to help foster a positive negotiating climate, while refraining from interfering in the negotiation process.
10. The Assembly resolves to pursue its monitoring on the honouring of obligations and commitments by Azerbaijan. It attaches particular importance to the forthcoming presidential elections in 2008 which must be the first in the history of the country to comply fully with international standards for free and fair elections.
1 Assembly debate on 16 April 2007 (11th Sitting) (see Doc. 11226, report of the Committee on the Honouring of Obligations and Commitments by Member States of the Council of Europe (Monitoring Committee), co-rapporteurs : M. Herkel and Mr Lloyd). Text adopted by the Assembly on 16 April 2007 (11th Sitting).