European Parliament urges sanctions over Azeri violations of human rights

PanARMENIAN.Net - European Parliament adopted a resolution Thursday, Sept 18, slamming persecution of human rights defenders in Azerbaijan.

The resolution condemned deteriorating human rights climate in Azerbaijan, escalation of government repression, pressure and intimidation directed at NGOs, civil society activists, journalists and human rights defenders.

EP denounced the actions taken by the Azerbaijani Government to curb contacts between civil society and youth activists and intellectuals from Armenia and Azerbaijan, since these contacts are of major importance for bridging the long-standing hostility between the two countries; in this regard, recalling the important work done in this area by Leyla Yunus, the well-known director of the Institute for Peace and Democracy, and her husband, the historian Arif Yunus, and Rasul Jafarov, chair of Azerbaijan’s Human Rights Club detained and mistreated in prison.

EP further stressed that full respect for human rights, democratic principles, fundamental freedoms and the rule of law lies at the heart of the framework for cooperation within the EaP, and of the commitments made by Azerbaijan within the Council of Europe and the OSCE.

The resolution called on the Council and the Member States to urge the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to call on the Azerbaijani authorities to stop the crackdown, and make it clear that it expects them, as hosts of the European Olympic Games to be held next year, to uphold the Olympic Charter’s requirement to respect press freedoms.

EP urged the EEAS to fully apply the EU guidelines on Human Rights Defenders and to organise regular meetings at the EU Delegation in Baku with independent human rights organisations, including by coordinating those meetings with EU Member State representations, and to use those meetings to express public support for the work of human rights defenders; urges the EEAS to monitor closely all trials and judicial proceedings against human rights defenders and to report on the matter to Parliament.

EP called on the Council to consider the possibility of targeted sanctions against those responsible for human rights violations, should these persist and instructed its President to forward this resolution to the President, Government and Parliament of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the EEAS, the Council, the Commission and the Council of Europe.