The European Parliament adopted a resolution on the
persecution of human rights defenders in Azerbaijan.
The resolution was tabled by the ECR, ALDE, S&D,
EPP, GUE/NGL and Greens/EFA groups.
It reiterated its call on the Azerbaijani government
to take concrete steps to improve the human rights situation
in the country as a matter of urgent priority, including
immediately and unconditionally releasing all political
prisoners and ceasing politically motivated arrests. In this
connection, Members called for the immediate and unconditional
release of Leyla Yunus, Arif Yunus, Rasul Jafarov, Intigam Aliyev
and Hasan Huseyni, who were some of the countrys most
prominent human rights defenders.
Parliament cited the cases of many more journalists,
human rights defenders and activists who were facing legal charges
brought against them in Azerbaijan and noted that these cases
follow in the wake of dozens of others affecting political
activists, rights defenders, journalists, bloggers and social media
activists, whom the authorities had imprisoned in the past two
years on similarly trumped-up charges, including hooliganism, drug
possession, tax evasion, and even treason.
Parliament recalled its resolution on Azerbaijan of
24 May 2012, and called on the Council to consider the possibility
of targeted sanctions against those responsible for human rights
violations, should these persist.
Noting that the country would host the European
Olympic Games to be held next year, Members called on the
Council and 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 Azerbaijan to uphold
the Olympic Charters requirement to respect press freedoms.
Furthermore, they called on 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. The EEAS was
asked to monitor closely all trials and judicial proceedings
against human rights defenders and report on the matter to
Parliament.
Members went on to note that Azerbaijan was a member
of the Council of Europe and a signatory to the European Convention
on Human Rights, but that the Azerbaijani authorities had not taken
into account the opinions of the Council of Europes European
Commission for Democracy through Law (the Venice Commission) on the
laws relating to freedom of association, political parties and
protection from defamation and had not given due consideration to
the findings of the Council of Europes Commissioner for Human
Rights in his visits to the country. They called on the Azerbaijani
authorities to undertake, without further delay, the human rights
reforms that were long overdue, including the many outstanding
accession commitments Azerbaijan undertook when joining the Council
of Europe, and to comply with the judgements against
Azerbaijan that had been handed down by the European Court of
Human Rights.
Parliament reaffirmed its position that EU support for
the ongoing negotiations for a Strategic Modernisation
Partnership, must be conditional on and include clauses
relating to the protection and promotion of human rights,
especially with regard to freedom of the media, including
guarantees of internet freedom and of uncensored access to
information and communication, freedom of expression, freedom
of association and freedom of assembly. It stressed that
Parliaments consent to the signature of a partnership
agreement with Azerbaijan would be conditional on the
satisfactory reflection of the above-mentioned requirements, the
release of human rights defenders, the withdrawal of legislation
restricting the operations of independent civil society, and the
cessation of repression and intimidation of NGOs, independent
media, opposition forces, human rights defenders, minority rights
activists and youth and social network activists.