Council of Europe: Azerbaijan has not implemented priority recommendationsJune 6, 2019 - 14:00 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - The European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) on Thursday, June 6 published conclusions on the implementation of two priority recommendations made to Azerbaijan in 2016. According to the report, Azerbaijan has not implemented its priority recommendations. Firstly, ECRI recommended that the authorities create conditions under which a diverse and independent civil society can develop. While ECRI welcomes some improvements, it notes that the continuing use of restrictive regulations by the authorities fails to offer favourable conditions for the proper and independent functioning of NGOs and leads, in some cases, to these organisations being unable to resume their work. In view of these considerations, ECRI concludes that its recommendation has not been implemented. Secondly, ECRI recommended that the authorities fulfill the promise given when acceding to the Council of Europe to enact legislation on alternatives to military service as already foreseen in Article 76 of the Azerbaijani Constitution. The Committee notes that the Azerbaijani authorities have not taken any initiative to enact such legislation and concludes therefore this recommendation has not been implemented. The conclusions are based on the response from the Government and information gathered from other sources. They concern only the priority recommendations and do not aim at providing a comprehensive analysis of all developments in the fight against racism and intolerance in Azerbaijan. The European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) is a human rights monitoring body which specialises in questions relating to the fight against racism, discrimination (on grounds of “race”, ethnic/national origin, colour, citizenship, religion, language, sexual orientation and gender identity), xenophobia, antisemitism and intolerance. Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | Erdogan wants “realistic road map” for relations with Armenia Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has called for a “new realistic road map” for relations with Armenia. Armenia-Azerbaijan: Experts launch work on determining coordinates Expert groups from the countries started the process of determining the coordinates based on geodetic measurements. Yerevan says did not expect CSTO in peacekeeping role Pashinyan has declared that the CSTO would be expected to come to the Armenia-Azerbaijan border as an ally of Armenia Henrikh Mkhitaryan wins Serie A title with Inter Inter Milan midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan admits that the team have long been imagining clinching Serie A against AC Milan. |