On August 29, a conference on the 44th Universal Periodic Review of the UN Human Rights Council was held in Geneva. At the conference, representatives of organizations operating in the field of human rights protection from many countries of the world spoke about the recommendations put forward in their reports.
A number of Azerbaijani civil society representatives also participated in the event.
Anar Mammadli, chairperson of the Election Monitoring and Democracy Studies Center, spoke about the situation of freedom of assembly and association, as well as election rights in Azerbaijan. He emphasized the importance of ensuring the right to free assembly without discrimination and recommended its protection. In the UPR report, EMDS has touched on important points about the social process and participation in elections in Azerbaijan. According to him, the reports prepared by the civil society institutions and the recommendations put forward by them should be carefully reviewed by the diplomatic corps of the democratic countries represented in the UN, and these documents should be evaluated in parallel with the national report on Azerbaijan.
Other civil society representatives participating in the conference addressed the UN regarding freedom of expression, free assembly, right to political participation, freedom of association, gender equality, domestic violence, persecution of LGBT+ individuals, rule of law, social equality and labour rights, as well as the fight against corruption in Azerbaijan. They talked about the recommendations related to the reports they presented.
Zohrab Ismayil, the head of the Public Association for Assistance to Free Economy, emphasized that the state has not fulfilled its obligations in the fight against corruption within the framework of UPR 5 years ago. According to him, the Azerbaijani authorities should adopt the anti-corruption Action Plan and work towards the principles of transparency and openness in governance.
Natalia Krapiva, tech-legal counsel of Access Now organization, in her speech on the state of media rights in Azerbaijan, recommended an end to media control and an effective investigation of such cases.
Chairperson of Queerdian Leyla Hasanova emphasized the importance of the Azerbaijan government joining the Istanbul Convention, speaking about LGBTIQ+ individuals being victims of hate crimes and being discriminated against.
Vafa Rustam, a representative of the Ayna Initiative Group, spoke about the increase in cases of sexual violence against women in the past 5 years, and said that the efforts of the situation to implement the obligations undertaken in the fight against these cases are weak. In her opinion, it is important to increase the number of shelters and legal protection measures for the protection of victims of sexual violence.
