Activities of Markéta GREGOROVÁ related to 2021/2231(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
EU-Azerbaijan relations (debate)
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on EU-Azerbaijan relations
Amendments (80)
Amendment 4 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 3 a (new)
Citation 3 a (new)
— having regard to its recommendations on the Eastern Partnership, in the run-up to the November 2017 Summit,
Amendment 5 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 3 b (new)
Citation 3 b (new)
— having regard to its resolution of 9 March 2022 on foreign interference in all democratic processes in the European Union, including disinformation,
Amendment 14 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 7 a (new)
Citation 7 a (new)
— having regard to the European Convention on Human Rights (‘ECHR’),
Amendment 15 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 8
Citation 8
— having regard to the reports of the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) of the Council of Europe, notably the 2016 country monitoring report on Azerbaijan,1a _________________ 1a https://rm.coe.int/fourth-report-on- azerbaijan/16808b5581
Amendment 16 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 8 a (new)
Citation 8 a (new)
— having regard to the report of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe ('PACE’) titled ‘Alleged violations of the rights of LGBTI people in the Southern Caucasus’,1a _________________ 1a https://pace.coe.int/en/files/29711/html
Amendment 18 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 8 b (new)
Citation 8 b (new)
— having regard to the report of the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe following her visit to Azerbaijan from 8 to 12 July 2019,1a _________________ 1a https://rm.coe.int/report-on-the-visit-to- azerbaijan-from-8-to-12-july-2019-by- dunja-mija/168098e108
Amendment 29 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 16 a (new)
Citation 16 a (new)
— having regard to the Eastern Partnership Index 2021,
Amendment 30 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 16 b (new)
Citation 16 b (new)
— having regard to Freedom House’s 2022 Freedom in the World report and 2022 Nations in Transit report,
Amendment 39 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas deadly military confrontations between Azerbaijan and Armenia continue to erupt periodically; whereas the 9 November 2020 ceasefire agreement, introduced after the 44-day war triggered by Azerbaijan in 2020, has been violated several times resulting in more casualties;
Amendment 42 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B a (new)
Recital B a (new)
Ba. whereas Azerbaijani forces subjected numerous Armenian prisoners of war to physical abuse and acts of humiliation; whereas there are documented cases of torture and other abuse by Azerbaijani forces against Armenian civilians, including against older people, as well as a case of extrajudicial execution in early 2021; whereas allegations of at least a dozen other extrajudicial executions of Armenian troops and civilians in 2020 and early 2021 also came to light;
Amendment 66 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F
Recital F
F. whereas Azerbaijan is a reliable and trustworthy supplier of fossil fuels to the EU and whereas it is becoming increasingly important in this rolen authoritarian regime that violates basic human rights and fundamental freedoms; whereas such a regime cannot be a reliable and trustworthy partner of the EU;
Amendment 75 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F a (new)
Recital F a (new)
Fa. whereas corruption is pervasive in Azerbaijan, and a free press and independent judiciary do not exist;
Amendment 88 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H a (new)
Recital H a (new)
Ha. whereas the EU and Azerbaijan have jointly agreed, through the 1996 Partnership and Cooperation Agreement, on the general principle of respect for democracy, principles of international law and human rights; whereas the parties foresaw to cooperate on the respect and promotion of human rights particularly to those belonging to minorities;
Amendment 90 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H a (new)
Recital H a (new)
Ha. whereas Azerbaijan’s constitution provides for the freedoms of peaceful assembly and association; whereas however, the government consistently and severely restricts the freedom of peaceful assembly, creating conditions leading to a de facto ban on assembly;
Amendment 91 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H b (new)
Recital H b (new)
Hb. whereas the Azerbaijani authorities are continuously downgrading the legal environment of the plurality of media and freedom of expression, particularly by amending the 2017 law on dissemination and Protection of Information providing a legal basis for blocking online resources, giving the Ministry of Transport, Communication and High Technologies the power to shut down internet news outlet without a court order; whereas furthermore by 2017 revision of the martial law allowing authorities to limit or suspend the operation of mass media outlets and control correspondence; whereas many broadcast licenses have been revoked;
Amendment 92 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H b (new)
Recital H b (new)
Hb. whereas the human rights of LGBTIQ people in Azerbaijan are at best discarded and at worst actively fought against by government and state institutions; whereas ILGA Europe’s Rainbow Index shows Azerbaijan as having the worst deficit in legislation and policy aiming to protect LGBTIQ people, ranking it in the worst place among all Council of Europe countries;
Amendment 96 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H c (new)
Recital H c (new)
Hc. whereas hate speech and hate crime against LGBTIQ persons in Azerbaijan persist, often perpetrated by religious or political actors, leading to continued violation of their human rights; whereas in February 2022, Avaz Hafizli, a journalist and LGBTIQ human rights activist, was murdered by a family member, which spurred indignation on social media vis-à-vis the government’s poor track record of fighting against hate crime;1a whereas this is only one of the many examples of hate crimes, which due to lack of trust in law enforcement and their inaction, usually go unreported and unsanctioned; _________________ 1a https://globalvoices.org/2022/02/24/azerba ijani-journalist-and-queer-activist- murdered/
Amendment 97 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H c (new)
Recital H c (new)
Hc. whereas political opponents, human rights activists and journalists become the target of hate speech and politically motivated violence, whereas these assaults are not sufficiently investigated; whereas many of these are imprisoned for their views in arbitrary cases;
Amendment 98 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H d (new)
Recital H d (new)
Hd. whereas PACE adopted in 2022 a resolution on violations of the rights of LGBTI persons in the Southern Caucasus and has made a number of requests to authorities to reform legislation in order to address such violations; whereas the PACE recommendations reflect the 2016 ECRI findings, which had noted an inexistence of data on LGBTI persons and their living conditions and that hate speech against them was widespread; whereas ECRI encouraged the government to develop an LGBTI Action Plan in order to raise awareness and promote understanding for equal treatment;
Amendment 99 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H d (new)
Recital H d (new)
Hd. whereas Azerbaijan has been failing its due diligence obligation to prevent, investigate and punish violence against women and to provide effective legal measures; whereas gender-based violence remains pervasive but underreported in Azerbaijan; whereas there is a growth in femicide rates, while many of those are premeditated by family members; whereas serious gaps continue to exist in the official response including lack of protection and recourse for survivors; whereas rape and spousal rape is not effectively investigated;
Amendment 100 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H e (new)
Recital H e (new)
He. whereas women human rights defenders are systematically targeted and face threats, coercion, police beating, violations of their right to privacy and smear campaigns that are gender-specific in order to discredit and silence; whereas the International Women's Day march activists attempting to organise a peaceful event to demand an improvement to women's rights has been facing a severe clampdown by the authorities by an arbitrary rejection of the march and police detention;
Amendment 101 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H f (new)
Recital H f (new)
Hf. whereas women journalists and other women media actors face specific gender-related dangers, including sexist, misogynist and degrading abuse, threats, intimidation, harassment and sexual aggression and violence; whereas there has been a recent rise in suicide rate in survivors of violence against women in Azerbaijan;
Amendment 102 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H g (new)
Recital H g (new)
Hg. whereas ill-treatment is rampant in police custody, allegedly to coerce confessions, while denying detainees access to family, independent lawyers, or independent medical care; whereas authorities typically dismiss complaints of torture and other ill-treatment in custody, and the practice continues with impunity;
Amendment 103 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H h (new)
Recital H h (new)
Hh. whereas the government has control over mobile operators and internet service providers; whereas in July 2021, the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) reported that Azerbaijani journalists were among those targeted with the NSO’s Pegasus spyware tool, which was likely supplied to the Azerbaijani government; whereas stolen data by police, government law enforcement or intelligence services are used as a tool of harassment;
Amendment 104 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H i (new)
Recital H i (new)
Hi. whereas the arrival of major flows of oil revenues and continuous high oil revenue dependence contributed to a consistent decline of fundamental freedoms and increasing violations of human rights and effectively consolidated Azerbaijan’s authoritarian regime;
Amendment 124 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Strongly condemns the clashes that erupted on 12 September 2022 and theirrge-scale military attack by Azerbaijan in September 2022 against multiple targets in the sovereign territory of Armenia and its consequences for the peace process; reiterates that the territorial integrity of Armenia and Azerbaijan must be respected and underlines the EU’s readiness to be more actively involved in settling the region’s protracted conflicts;
Amendment 136 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Urges Armenia and Azerbaijan to fully implement the tripartite ceasefire agreement of 9 November 2020; calls on Armenia and Azerbaijan to avoid using inflammatory rhetoric and to implement measures to prepare their respective populations for peaceful coexistence in order to foster the peace process;
Amendment 148 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Recalls that the EU’s passive stance during and immediately after the 2020 war gave other regional actors, such as Russia, Iran and Turkey, the opportunity to gain influence; strongly supports, therefore, the initiative taken by the President of the European Council Charles Michel to convene and mediate bilateral meetings of the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan in Brussels and encourages the work of the EU’s special representative for the South Caucasus and the crisis in Georgia; urges the governments of both countries to fully engage in the drafting of a peace treaty and welcomes in this regard the meeting of the foreign affairs ministers of both countries on 30 September in Geneva;
Amendment 150 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Calls on the VP/HR and the EEAS to step up efforts to revitalise and effectively contribute to the peaceful resolution of this conflict, including through support for stabilisation, post- conflict rehabilitation, reconstruction, and confidence-building measures;
Amendment 158 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Takes note of the initial progress made on the process of border delimitation; welcomes the agreement to deploy a civilian EU mission to build trust and contribute to the border commissions; regrets Azerbaijan’s lack of consent in deploying the civilian mission on both sides of the border;
Amendment 168 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Welcomes the humanitarian assistance provided by the EU for the conflict-affected population in and around Nagorno-Karabakh and its assistance for humanitarian demining in the areas affected by the conflict; calls on the Commission to increase EU assistance to people in need, facilitate the implementation of more ambitious confidence-building measures and enhance people-to-people contacts between citizens; calls for finding mutual solutions for the safe return of displaced populations;
Amendment 171 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6a. Emphasises the urgent need for increased and credible confidence- building measures in order to counter the perpetuated polarisation, lack of trust, hate speech and other inflammatory rhetoric between Armenia and Azerbaijan;
Amendment 176 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Continues to be concerned about the fate of Armenian prisoners, both military and civilian, detained during and after the conflict and still held by Azerbaijan and welcomes the release of some of them; calls for the immediate and unconditional release of all the remaining detainees, including those captured during the recent military confrontations, and for them to be treated in accordance with international humanitarian law; recalls that all captured or detained persons must be treated humanely and benefit from the protections of international law; calls on all sides to clarify the fate and whereabouts of the disappeared, and to treat dead bodies with dignity;
Amendment 178 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7a. Condemns the footage that has appeared depicting the torture, mutilation and killing of an Armenian servicewoman and unarmed Armenian prisoners of war by Azerbaijani armed forces; calls for a full and impartial investigation of the videos to identify those responsible and hold them accountable for their actions; condemns all instances of torture and enforced disappearances, also when perpetrated in armed conflict, as well as ill-treatment and the desecration of bodies;
Amendment 183 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 b (new)
Paragraph 7 b (new)
7b. Deplores the opening of the so- called Trophy Park in Baku, inaugurated on 12 April 2021,as it further intensifies long-standing hostile sentiments and undermines the building of mutual trust between Armenia and Azerbaijan; acknowledges the decision to remove the dehumanising wax figures and the helmets from the so-called Trophy Park after the international outcry and the lawsuit filed by Armenia at the International Court of Justice;
Amendment 190 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Strongly insists that Azerbaijan and Armenia refrain from destroying, misappropriating or miscategorising cultural, religious or historical heritage; calls for the restoration of damaged sites in accordance with UNESCO standards and indications; calls on Armenia and Azerbaijan to quickly allow a UNESCO mission to visit both countries without preconditions;
Amendment 195 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8a. Insists that both states are under international obligations to conduct independent, prompt, public and effective investigations and prosecute all credible allegations of grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions and other violations of international law and war crimes, in order to ensure accountability of those responsible and redress for the victims;
Amendment 205 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)
Paragraph 9 a (new)
9a. Stresses the need to consult and cooperate with civil society and human rights defenders, in particular on issues of conflict resolution, peacebuilding, reconciliation and humanitarian assistance, as well as the importance of sustainable funding and the freedom of such organisations to conduct their work without restrictions;
Amendment 207 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 b (new)
Paragraph 9 b (new)
9b. Highlights the particular effect of the conflict on women and marginalised groups, including the rise in domestic violence in the aftermath of the recent war, as well as the exclusion of women from the official peace process; calls on the Azerbaijani government, as well as international mediators to remove barriers to women's participation, across all tracks, and systematically include women experts and women human rights defenders in all consultations;
Amendment 218 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Recognises the strategic role played by Azerbaijan as a provider of fossil fuelsUrges EU Members States and the Commission to stop all fossil fuel imports from Azerbaijan to the EU, and welcomes its willingness to contribute even more to the EU’s objectives in terms of security and diversifications it undermines the EU’s commitments to human rights and the green energy transition, and to instead increase cooperation on energy efficiency, the use of renergy supplywables and climate neutrality;
Amendment 223 #
Amendment 233 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Emphasises Azerbaijan’s potential as a producer of renewable energy, which is severely underused at the moment, with renewable sources representing only a negligible amount of Azerbaijan’s energy mix; calls on the Azerbaijani authorities to undertake crucial steps to accelerate the development of renewables and increase energy efficiency;
Amendment 240 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)
Paragraph 12 a (new)
12a. Calls on Azerbaijan to further enhance its engagement in the fight against climate change and the protection of the environment; encourages Azerbaijan to increase its emissions reduction targets under its NDC and to seriously commit to cutting emissions;
Amendment 241 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 b (new)
Paragraph 12 b (new)
12b. Recalls the position of the European Parliament, which recommended to the Council, the Commission and the EEAS that the deepening of relations between the EU and Azerbaijan should be conditional upon it upholding and respecting the core values and principles defended by the EU; also recalls that the European Parliament had recommended that no comprehensive agreement should be ratified with a country that does not respect the EU's fundamental values and rights;
Amendment 242 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Takes note of the progress made on the negotiation of a new bilateral cooperation agreement and calls on the negotiating parties to envisage enhanced cooperation outside the energy sector in the new agreement; insists that human rights and rule of law concerns must take priority over economic incentives when negotiation this new agreement;
Amendment 247 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Welcomes the significant trade flows between the EU and Azerbaijan and the high level of EU investment in Azerbaijan; calls on the Commission and the Member States not to invest in fossil fuel production in Azerbaijan but into the green energy transition of the country;
Amendment 258 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 a (new)
Paragraph 15 a (new)
15a. Calls on Azerbaijan’s government to make better use of programmes and projects available in the Eastern Partnership framework, particularly those promoting people-to-people contacts between the EU and Azerbaijan, such as easier travel and academic exchanges;
Amendment 262 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. CRecalls that the 1996 Partnership and Cooperation Agreement is predicated on respect for democracy, principles of international law and human rights, and that the former have not been systematically upheld in Azerbaijan; calls on EU institutions to ensure that any deepening of relations between the EU and Azerbaijan remains conditional on the country making substantial progress on respect for the core values and principles of democracy, human rights and fundamental freedoms;
Amendment 265 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Calls on EU institutions to ensure that any deepening of relations between the EU and Azerbaijan remains conditional on the country making substantial progress on respect for the core values and principles of democracy, human rights, rule of law and fundamental freedoms;
Amendment 268 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 a (new)
Paragraph 16 a (new)
16a. Calls on the Azerbaijani government and authorities to urgently uphold fundamental freedoms and human rights; expresses deep concerns that violations of fundamental human rights have in Azerbaijan a systemic and widespread pattern of violations of the rights to liberty and security and the limitation on the use of restriction on rights; moreover urges Azerbaijan to refrain from any unjustified application of criminal law to limit freedom of expression;
Amendment 270 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 b (new)
Paragraph 16 b (new)
16b. Expresses deep concerns that the protection of freedom of expression in Azerbaijan is non-existent, while journalists, bloggers, social media activists, and any dissenting and criticising voices are continuously detained or imprisoned on a variety of charges; Calls on Azerbaijani authorities to end restrictions of freedom of expression, including measures detrimental to the safety of journalists, and furthermore to drop all charges and release all those detained because of their views expressed;
Amendment 275 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Deeply regrets the current state of pressmedia freedom in Azerbaijan; expresses its concern at the new law on media adopted in December 2021, which effectively bans all forms of independent journalism and work of Azerbaijani journalists in exile; calls for a swift review of that law in accordance with the recommendations included in the opinion of the Venice Commission of 17-18 June 2022; urges Azerbaijan to stop persecuting bloggers, editors and journalists;
Amendment 278 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Deeply regrets the current state of press freedom in Azerbaijan; expresses its concern at the new law on media adopted in December 2021; calls for a swift review of that law in accordance with the recommendations included in the opinion of the Venice Commission of 17-18 June 2022; urges Azerbaijan to stop persecuting bloggers and, journalists and rights defenders;
Amendment 281 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 a (new)
Paragraph 17 a (new)
17a. Calls on the Azerbaijani government to implement the recommendation of the committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe on the protection of journalism and the safety of journalists and other media actors, and also to decriminalise defamation;
Amendment 282 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 b (new)
Paragraph 17 b (new)
17b. Deeply regrets that Azerbaijan imposes serious restrictions on internet freedom, including blocking of websites and hampering the right to access information; calls on Azerbaijani authorities to bring legislation and practice affecting internet freedom in line with European standards;
Amendment 283 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 c (new)
Paragraph 17 c (new)
17 c. Strongly insists that Azerbaijan must ensure the right to peaceful assembly and calls on Azerbaijan to stop preventing the International Women’s Day march;
Amendment 284 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Strongly insists that Azerbaijan cease all repression of political opposition activists, including abduction, torture, disinformation and discreditation campaigns, and calls for the release of all political prisoners; deplores the systematic persecution of opposition activists, civil society members and independent journalists, and urges the Azerbaijani government to immediately stop these activities;
Amendment 293 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 a (new)
Paragraph 18 a (new)
18a. Calls on the Azerbaijani authorities to stop systemic harassment of women human rights defenders, women journalists and other women media actors, and to stop gender specific smear campaigns, detention, arbitrary and unlawful interferences of privacy, correspondences and other private communications;
Amendment 296 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 b (new)
Paragraph 18 b (new)
Amendment 300 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Underlines the importance of gender equality and the representation of women at all levels of government, as well as the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) Agenda; calls on the government of Azerbaijan to adopt the National Action Plan on UNSCR 1325 on WPS;
Amendment 303 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 a (new)
Paragraph 19 a (new)
19a. Calls on the Azerbaijani government to ratify the Istanbul Convention and to adopt and implement policies to combat domestic and gender- based violence;
Amendment 304 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Calls on Azerbaijan to eliminate existing restrictions and, alleviate the administrative burden on NGOs and change restrictive legislation, stipulating registration, operation and funding of NGOs; calls on Azerbaijan to also eliminate restrictions on religious communities, particularly as far as their registration and financing are concerned;
Amendment 309 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 a (new)
Paragraph 20 a (new)
20a. Recalls that the European Parliament’s position has been clear on non-discrimination with regard to LGBTIQ people, their protection against discrimination in law and practice, and the prosecution of all acts of abuse, hate speech and physical violence perpetrated against them;1a _________________ 1a Texts adopted: P9_TA(2020)0167
Amendment 310 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 a (new)
Paragraph 20 a (new)
20a. Calls on Azerbaijan to eliminate existing legislative restrictions for donor institutions and international organisations supporting the work of civil society;
Amendment 312 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 b (new)
Paragraph 20 b (new)
20b. Urges Azerbaijani authorities to adopt anti-discrimination legislation adding sexual orientation, gender identity and expression and sex characteristics as prohibited grounds, alongside the adoption of civil, administrative and/or criminal proceedings to protect people from hate speech and hate crimes; calls on authorities to reform criminal legislation by adding the previous grounds as aggravating circumstances and to combat LGBTIQ-phobic violence;
Amendment 313 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 b (new)
Paragraph 20 b (new)
20b. Calls on the EU Delegation and Member States’ representations in Azerbaijan to increase their support for human rights defenders’ work, and, where appropriate, to facilitate the issuance of emergency visas and provide temporary shelter in the EU Member States;
Amendment 317 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 c (new)
Paragraph 20 c (new)
20c. Calls on the Council to explore targeted individual sanctions under the EU’s Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime against Azerbaijani officials who have committed grave human rights violations, such as law-enforcement officers, especially taking into account the widespread police violence against political activists, human rights defenders and journalists;
Amendment 318 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 c (new)
Paragraph 20 c (new)
20c. Reiterates the call by PACE on the authorities of Azerbaijan to investigate cases of wrongful arrest of LGBTIQ people and prevent and combat police violence against these people;
Amendment 320 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 d (new)
Paragraph 20 d (new)
20d. Urges Azerbaijan to ratify the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance of the United Nations;
Amendment 322 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 e (new)
Paragraph 20 e (new)
20e. Regrets that Azerbaijan has made minimum advancement in efforts to eliminate the worst forms of child labour, of sexual exploitation and forced begging;
Amendment 323 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 f (new)
Paragraph 20 f (new)
20f. Deeply regrets the non- implementation of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) judgements, calls to take into consideration recommendations of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe to improve implementation of ECtHR judgements;
Amendment 324 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 g (new)
Paragraph 20 g (new)
20g. Calls on Azerbaijan to improve the elections process based on recommendations of the OSCE/ODIHR;
Amendment 325 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 h (new)
Paragraph 20 h (new)
20h. Calls on the European Commission to accelerate its efforts in Azerbaijan to lift the restrictions on activities of civil society and adoption of new law; and also to provide more extensive involvement of independent NGOs in the monitoring of the implementation of the PCA and participation in the EU and EU funded projects;
Amendment 327 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21
Paragraph 21
21. Expresses its concern at the persistent lack of independence, impartiality and effectiveness of the judiciary; moreover urges Azerbaijan to reform the judiciary and the prosecution services system to ensure the complete independence of the judiciary and to increase people’s trust in the justice system;
Amendment 335 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22 a (new)
Paragraph 22 a (new)
22a. Calls on Azerbaijan to take all necessary measures to ensure that all persons have adequate access to legal services provided by independent lawyers, and also to immediately take measures to ensure the right of access to a lawyer is effectively guaranteed to all persons from the beginning of deprivation of liberty;
Amendment 339 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22 b (new)
Paragraph 22 b (new)
22b. Expresses concern about the use of disciplinary measures on improper grounds, such as expressing critical views in Azerbaijan and underlines that lawyers should comply with ethical standards and be able to engage in professional activities without fear of retaliation; urges authorities to bring the Code of Conduct inline with international standards on freedom of expression, as lawyers should speak out on behalf of their clients and on potential shortcomings in the justice system;
Amendment 341 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22 c (new)
Paragraph 22 c (new)
Amendment 343 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22 d (new)
Paragraph 22 d (new)
22d. Regrets that Azerbaijan is lacking a transparent public finance system, including regarding public procurement and tenders;
Amendment 344 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22 e (new)
Paragraph 22 e (new)
22e. Calls on Azerbaijan to make necessary amendments to the law in order to ensure the full independence of the Judicial-Legal Council and reinforce its immunity from the interventions by law- enforcement agencies;
Amendment 349 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23 a (new)
Paragraph 23 a (new)
23a. Condemns the massive scale and illicit use of the NSO Group´s Pegasus surveillance software and repressive cybersecurity by Azerbaijan against journalists, bloggers, human rights defenders, lawyers and politicians and calls on Azerbaijani authorities to refrain from using it; furthermore urges the Commission again to draw up a list of illicit surveillance software and to update this list continuously; calls for the EU and the Member States to use this list in order to ensure full human rights due diligence and proper vetting of exports of European surveillance technology and technical assistance and imports to Member States which pose a clear risk to the rule of law; reiterates its calls for the establishment of an EU Citizens’ Lab, comprising journalists, human rights experts and reverse malware engineering experts, which would work to discover and expose the unlawful use of software for illicit surveillance purposes;