What changed

B100133/2024

B100141/2024

European Parliament resolution on the situation in Azerbaijan, violation of human rights and international law and relations with Armenia

The European Parliament,

– having regard to its previous resolutions on Azerbaijan and Armenia,reports and in particular its resolution of 25 April 2024resolutions on Azerbaijan, notably the repression of civil society and the cases of Dr Gubad IbadoghluAzerbaijan and Ilhamiz Guliyev,Armenia,

– having regard to the InternationalEuropean CovenantConvention on CivilHuman andRights Politicalof Rights,1950, ratified by Azerbaijan in 2002,

– having regard to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights,

– having regard to the relevant documents and international agreements, including but not limited to the United Nations Charter, the Helsinki Final Act of 1 August 1975 and the Alma-Ata Declaration of 21 December 1991,

– having regard to the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment,

– having regard to the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement between the European Communities and their Member States, of the one part, and the Republic of Azerbaijan, of the other part, signed on 22 April 1996,

– having regard to the European Convention on Human Rights,

– having regard to the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners,

– having regard to the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement between the European Communities and their Member States, of the one part, and the Republic of Azerbaijan, of the other part,

– having regard to the statement of 29 May 2024 by the Spokesperson of the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy on the human rights situation in Azerbaijan,

– having regard to Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) resolution 2527 (2024) of 24 January 2024 entitled ‘Challenge, on substantive grounds, of the still unratified credentials of the parliamentary delegation of Azerbaijan’,

– having regard to Rule 136(2) of its Rules of Procedure,

A. whereas Azerbaijan’s track record on human rights has reached a historic low point owing to the fact that, since late 2022, the government has intensified its systematic repression of critics and dissident voices, with a new and ongoing wave of arrests of human rights defenders, political and civic activists, journalists and independent researchers on the basis of politically motivated baseless charges;

A. whereas 300 people remain in detention in Azerbaijan on politically motivated charges; whereas prominent human rights defender and climate advocate, Anar Mammadli, has been in pre-trial detention since 30 April 2024 on bogus charges of conspiracy to bring illegal foreign currency into the country and his health has deteriorated significantly while in custody; whereas economist and political activist Gubad Ibadoghlu was moved to house arrest on 22 April 2024 after 274 days in detention;

B. whereas the detained journalists and activists listed in its urgency resolution of 25 April 2024 remain in custody;

B. whereas Azerbaijan has also intensified its repression against the remaining independent media, such as Abzas Media and Toplum TV, through detentions and judicial harassment;

C. whereas these developments are taking place in the lead-up to the 29th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29) in Baku, as part of a concerted effort by the Azerbaijani authorities to effectively silence the few remaining dissenting voices and stifle Azerbaijani civil society; whereas Azerbaijan was granted the status of COP29 host city by the UN Regional Group of Eastern European States, which includes 11 EU Member States;

C. whereas the Azerbaijani laws regulating the registration, operation and funding of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) are highly restrictive and arbitrarily implemented, thus effectively criminalising unregistered NGO activity;

D. whereas people are being detained for actions such as participating in public protests, giving media interviews, criticising the government on social media, exposing police brutality and alleging government corruption, which is in violation of the Azerbaijani Government’s obligations under international human rights law; whereas in addition to politically motivated persecution, the Azerbaijani authorities also use tools of intimidation and harassment to incite fear and effectively censor independent voices;

D. whereas Freedom House’s 2024 index ranks Azerbaijan among the least free countries in the world, below Russia and Belarus;

E. whereas there are credible reports of severe acts of ill treatment and even of torture inflicted upon detained persons by police officers in Azerbaijan; whereas Azerbaijan refuses to cooperate with the Council of Europe’s European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment;

E. whereas on 19 September 2023, after a nine-month illegal blockade of the Lachin corridor and disregarding both the commitments it made in the trilateral statement of 9 November 2020 and an International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruling, Azerbaijan launched an offensive on the remaining parts of Nagorno-Karabakh not already under its control;

F. whereas Anar Mammadli, who leads the Election Monitoring and Democracy Studies Center and is a founding member of the Climate Justice Initiative, which seeks to advocate for civic freedoms and environmental justice in conjunction with COP29, was arrested by Azerbaijani authorities on 29 April 2024 on bogus smuggling charges; whereas Mr Mammadli’s health has deteriorated significantly while in custody;

F. whereas more than 100 000 Armenians had to flee the territory, including 30 000 children, resulting in Nagorno-Karabakh being almost entirely emptied of its Armenian population, who had been living there for centuries; whereas this amounts to ethnic cleansing;

G. whereas researcher and activist Bahruz Samadov was arrested on 21 August 2024 and charged with ‘high treason’ for his articles criticising Azerbaijan’s Nagorno-Karabakh policy;

G. whereas the Russian peacekeeping force did not act in accordance with its mandate, as laid down in the trilateral statement of 9 November 2020, taking no action against Azerbaijan’s blockade of the Lachin corridor, the establishment of the Azerbaijani checkpoint at the entrance to the corridor or the offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh in September 2023;

H. whereas women human rights defenders continue to face threats, coercion, violations of their right to privacy and smear campaigns that are gender-specific and target them as women;

H. whereas the Azerbaijani leadership continues to make irredentist statements with reference to the sovereign territory of Armenia; whereas the Azerbaijani army continues to occupy no less than 170 km2 of the sovereign territory of Armenia;

I. whereas Azerbaijani laws regulating the registration, operation and funding of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) are highly restrictive, and Azerbaijani authorities arbitrarily implement these laws; whereas this results in the effective criminalisation of unregistered NGO activity;

1. Stresses its profound concern regarding the human rights situation in Azerbaijan;

J. whereas civil society activists have been fleeing the country in growing numbers since November 2023; whereas the ongoing crackdown on freedom of expression in Azerbaijan is also reflected in reports of transnational repression and reprisals against family members of detainees;

2. Urges the Azerbaijani authorities to immediately and unconditionally release all human rights defenders, journalists, environmental, political and other activists prosecuted under fabricated and or politically motivated charges; recalls in this context the names of Tofig Yagublu, Akif Gurbanov, Bakhtiyar Hajiyev, as well as human rights defenders and journalists including Ulvi Hasanli, Sevinj Vagifgizi, Nargiz Absalamova, Hafiz Babali and Elnara Gasimova, Aziz Orujov, Rufat Muradli, Avaz Zeynalli, Elnur Shukurov, Alasgar Mammadli and Farid Ismayilov; underlines that since April 2024, Azerbaijan has carried out further arrests of civil society activists on bogus charges, including Farid Mehralizade, Igbal Abilov, Bahruz Samadov, Emin Ibrahimov and Famil Khalilov;

K. whereas the media sector is under the official control of the authorities, and any remaining independent media outlets, primarily AbzasMedia and Toplum TV, have been targeted through judicial harassment and the detention of its journalists;

3. Recalls the need to lift the travel ban in force against Gubad Ibadoghlu and drop all charges against him, and calls on Azerbaijan urgently to ensure an independent medical examination by a doctor of his own choosing, and allow him to receive treatment abroad;

L. whereas many international and domestic human rights activists and organisations have called on the international community to recognise and respond to the urgency and gravity of the human rights situation in Azerbaijan;

4. Reminds the Azerbaijani authorities of their obligations to respect human dignity and fundamental freedoms in accordance with their international commitments and calls on them to repeal repressive legislation that drives independent NGOs and media to the margins of the law;

M. whereas PACE officially suspended the Azerbaijan delegation on 24 January 2024 owing to Azerbaijan’s failure to conduct free and fair elections and ensure the separation of powers, the weakness of its legislature vis-à-vis the executive, and the lack of independence of the judiciary and respect for human rights;

5. Calls for the EU to impose sanctions under its global human rights sanctions regime on Azerbaijani officials who have committed serious human rights violations; reiterates its position that the EU should be ready to impose sanctions on any individuals and entities that threaten the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of Armenia;

N. whereas a number of European Court of Human Rights decisions have found that Azerbaijan has violated human rights; whereas more than 320 court judgments against Azerbaijan have not yet been executed or have been only partially implemented, which is the highest number among all state parties to the European Convention on Human Rights;

6. Recalls that the 1996 EU-Azerbaijan Partnership and Cooperation Agreement, which is the legal basis for bilateral relations, is based on respect for democracy and the principles of international law and human rights and that these have been systematically violated in Azerbaijan;

O. whereas the EU has intensified its energy trade relations with Azerbaijan over the past two years with a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on a Strategic Partnership in the Field of Energy and more recently an MoU on wind energy cooperation; whereas Commissioner Kadri Simson earlier this year praised the dynamism of the EU’s energy cooperation with Azerbaijan;

7. Reiterates the EU’s unequivocal support for the sovereignty, territorial integrity and inviolability of the borders of Armenia; strongly supports the normalisation of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan on the basis of the principles of the mutual recognition of territorial integrity and the inviolability of borders based on the 1991 Alma-Ata Declaration;

P. whereas Article 21 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU) stipulates that the Union’s action must be guided by democracy, the rule of law, the universality and indivisibility of human rights and fundamental freedoms, respect for human dignity, the principles of equality and solidarity, and respect for the principles of the United Nations Charter and international law;

8. Recalls its previous condemnation of the pre-planned and unjustified military attack by Azerbaijan of 19-20 September 2023 against the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh, which led to the expulsion of the entirety of the ethnic Armenian community which had been living there for centuries, amounting to ethnic cleansing; recalls that this attack resulted in the complete dissolution of the structures of the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh and the establishment of full Azerbaijani control over the region; demands the release of all remaining Armenian political prisoners and prisoners of war;

Q. whereas, separately, peace talks between Azerbaijan and Armenia are ongoing, with both sides stating that negotiations are edging towards a peace agreement; whereas several significant deadlocks seemingly remain, owing to issues including Azerbaijani demands in relation to Armenia’s constitution and a corridor to connect mainland Azerbaijan with its Nakhchivan exclave via southern Armenia, disregarding Armenia’s sovereignty; whereas earlier this year a deal was signed on a joint border commission to demarcate and delimit their shared border;

9. Reiterates its demand for the withdrawal of Azerbaijan’s troops from the entirety of the sovereign territory of Armenia; rejects and expresses its grave concern regarding the irredentist and inflammatory statements made by the Azerbaijani President and other Azerbaijani officials threatening the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Armenia; warns Azerbaijan against any potential military adventurism against Armenia proper; highlights that Azerbaijan’s connectivity issues with its exclave of Nakhchivan should be resolved with full respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Armenia;

1. Reiterates its profound concern regarding the human rights situation in Azerbaijan, in particular the government’s severe restrictions on freedoms of expression, assembly and association that have worsened over the past two years;

10. Calls on Azerbaijan to genuinely engage in a comprehensive and transparent dialogue with the Karabakh Armenians to ensure respect for their rights and guarantee their security, including their right to return to and live in their homes in dignity and safety, overseen by an international presence, to access their land and property rights, to maintain their distinct identity and to fully enjoy their civic, cultural, social and religious rights;

2. Is deeply concerned about the systematic repression of freedom of expression by the Azerbaijani authorities, targeting civil society, civic and political activists, journalists and human rights defenders, including acts of harassment, intimidation, arbitrary detention and severe ill treatment and torture by police officers, and politically motivated legal persecution; expresses deep concern about the environment of fear that this has created inside the country, leaving civil society effectively silenced;

11. Calls for the establishment of an ad hoc committee within the European institutions to identify or develop international mechanisms to guarantee the collective, safe, dignified and sustainable return of the inhabitants of Nagorno-Karabakh to their ancestral land; calls for the creation of a mechanism to monitor the implementation of the reports and resolutions adopted by Parliament on Nagorno-Karabakh;

3. Urges the Government of Azerbaijan to immediately and unconditionally release Anar Mammadli, Bahruz Samadov, Igbal Abilov, Farid Mehralizade, Emin Ibrahimov and Famil Khalilov, as well as political prisoners named in previous urgency resolutions, including Ilhamiz Guliyev, Tofig Yagublu, Akif Gurbanov and Bakhtiyar Hajiyev, and human rights defenders and journalists Ulvi Hasanli, Sevinj Vagifgizi, Nargiz Absalamova, Hafiz Babali, Elnara Gasimova, Aziz Orujov, Rufat Muradli, Avaz Zeynalli, Elnur Shukurov, Alasgar Mammadli and Farid Ismayilov; calls, further, for the vacation of any convictions against those released and the removal of restrictions on their freedom of movement;

12. Urges Azerbaijan to refrain from further destroying, neglecting or altering the origins of cultural, religious or historical heritage in the region, bearing in mind the destruction of cultural, religious and historical heritage that has occurred since the beginning of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, and calls on it to instead strive to preserve, protect and promote this rich diversity; demands the protection of the Armenian cultural, historical and religious heritage in Nagorno-Karabakh in line with UNESCO standards and Azerbaijan’s international commitments;

4. Reminds Azerbaijan that the provision of healthcare for prisoners is the responsibility of the state; calls for adequate healthcare and medical treatment to be provided to all those detained in Azerbaijan on politically motivated charges;

13. Recognises the urgent need to strengthen the cooperation between the EU and Armenia in the field of security and defence; welcomes the fact that Armenia has frozen its participation in the Collective Security Treaty Organization; notes the added value of regular EU-Armenian Political and Security Dialogues, as an umbrella platform for all security related matters; welcomes the actions undertaken by several Member States to provide defensive military support to Armenia and urges other Member States to consider similar initiatives;

5. Urges the Azerbaijani authorities to drop all charges against renowned scholar, anti-corruption activist and shortlisted finalist of the 2024 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought Dr Gubad Ibadoghlu, release him from house arrest, and allow him to travel abroad for urgent medical care without delay and attend the Sakharov Prize ceremony in Strasbourg in December;

14. Expresses its support for the decision of Armenia to discontinue the presence of Russian Federal Security Service border guards at the international airport in Yerevan, and its understanding for the suspension of relations with Belarus;

6. Is deeply concerned about Azerbaijan’s violations of the freedom of association through undue restrictions and misuse of NGO legislation, resulting in the persecution of civil society and curtailing of its work; calls on the Azerbaijani Government to repeal the restrictive NGO and media legislation and ensure that civil society can operate without undue hindrance or fear of reprisals and persecution;

15. Calls for the EU to end its dependency on gas exports from Azerbaijan; is seriously concerned about Azerbaijan’s import of Russian gas and the substantial Russian share in the production and transportation of Azerbaijani gas for the EU, which contradicts the EU’s objective of undermining Russia’s capacity to continue its war of aggression against Ukraine by cutting its revenues from oil and gas exports to the EU; urges the Commission to investigate suspicions that Azerbaijan actually exports Russian gas to the EU;

7. Encourages the Commission to review its approach to supporting human rights in Azerbaijan and recommends a reassessment of its funding mechanisms for Azerbaijani independent civil society and media, aligning them more closely with the strategies used to support these sectors in Belarus;

16. Calls for the suspension of all imports of oil and gas from Azerbaijan to the EU; recalls its demand, in the light of Azerbaijan’s 2023 invasion of Nagorno-Karabakh, for the suspension of the Memorandum of Understanding on a Strategic Partnership in the Field of Energy between the European Union and Azerbaijan;

8. Condemns the continued repression of the right to freedom of assembly, for instance in the case of anti-pollution protests in the village of Soyudlu in 2023, which were quashed by security forces using violence and arrests;

17. Supports all initiatives and activities that could lead to the establishment of peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan and the signing of a long-awaited peace agreement; believes that if a peace agreement is to be lasting, it requires genuine engagement from the parties, not the escalation of rhetoric and demands; welcomes the recent achievement in the Commission on Delimitation and Border Security of a preliminary agreement on the delimitation of several sectors of the Armenia-Azerbaijan border;

9. Calls on the Azerbaijani Government to swiftly comply with long-standing recommendations of the Council of Europe’s European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment on the subject of the widespread recourse to physical ill treatment (including, on occasion, torture) by the police in Azerbaijan;

18. Welcomes the new momentum in bilateral relations between the EU and Armenia, which is strongly supported by the authorities in Yerevan; takes good note of Armenia’s European aspirations, as expressed by the Armenian foreign minister, among others; recalls its previous position that, pursuant to Article 49 of the Treaty on European Union, any European state may apply to become a member of the European Union provided that it adheres to the Copenhagen criteria and the principles of democracy, respects fundamental freedoms and human and minority rights, and upholds the rule of law; considers that, should Armenia be interested in applying for candidate status and continuing on its current path of sustained reforms consolidating its democracy, this could set the stage for a transformative phase in EU-Armenia relations; calls on the Commission and the Council to actively support Armenia’s desire for increased cooperation with the EU, not only in the area of economic partnership but also in political dialogue, people-to-people contacts, sectoral integration and security cooperation; believes that the experience stemming from the Association Agreements / Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Areas with Ukraine, Georgia and the Republic of Moldova should serve as a good basis for closer EU-Armenia cooperation, in particular in relation to a gradual sectoral integration with the single market;

10. Calls on the Azerbaijani Government to implement all decisions by the European Court of Human Rights, reminds it of its obligations to respect human dignity and fundamental freedoms and calls on it to repeal repressive legislation on the registration and funding of NGOs, to bring it in line with Venice Commission recommendations;

19. Welcomes the decision of 22 July 2024 to launch the visa liberalisation dialogue with Armenia, which is the first step towards achieving a visa free regime for short stays in the EU; welcomes further the decision to adopt the first assistance measure under the European Peace Facility (EPF) in support of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Armenia, worth EUR 10 million; calls for the EU to cease all technical and financial assistance to Azerbaijan that might contribute to strengthening its military or security capabilities; calls on the Member States to freeze exports of all military and security equipment to Azerbaijan;

11. Deeply regrets statements by various Commission representatives, including President Ursula von der Leyen, calling Azerbaijan a ‘reliable partner’ in the field of energy; insists that, in the interest of its geopolitical security, integrity and pursuit of the Sustainable Development Goals, the EU end its reliance on fossil-fuel-rich authoritarian countries once and for all;

20. Condemns the Baku Initiative Group’s repeated attempts to denigrate and destabilise EU Member States; condemns in particular its support for irredentist groups and disinformation operations targeting France, especially in the French departments and territories of New Caledonia, Martinique and Corsica; recalls that these methods were used against Germany in 2013; denounces the smear campaigns targeting Denmark; strongly opposes the allegations made by Ilham Aliyev himself at the Baku Initiative Group meeting in Baku in November 2023;

12. Reiterates its denunciation of Azerbaijan’s systematic bribery of European politicians, including in the context of PACE;

21. Condemns the arbitrary arrests of EU citizens based on spurious accusations of espionage and their disproportionate sentencing;

13. Considers that the ongoing human rights violations in Azerbaijan are incompatible with the country’s role as COP29 host; urges the EU and the Member States to use COP29 as an occasion for the international community to remind Azerbaijan of its international obligations and to condemn and address in a meaningful way Azerbaijan’s human rights violations in interactions with the Azerbaijani authorities in Baku during COP29; calls on delegates attending COP29 on behalf of the EU and the Member States, in particular President Ursula von der Leyen, to make public and private calls for the immediate and unconditional release of arbitrarily detained journalists, activists and human rights defenders and to request meetings with political prisoners while in the country;

22. Regrets the smear campaign aimed at damaging France’s reputation by calling into question its capacity to host the 2024 Olympic Games, launched by actors suspected of being close to the Azerbaijani regime;

14. Stresses the fact that Azerbaijan will host COP29 on behalf of the UN Regional Group of Eastern European States, which includes EU Member States, and that they cannot allow the Azerbaijani Government to use the occasion to whitewash its image and human rights track record; demands that the organisers and the Member States make clear to the Azerbaijani authorities how important a thriving and independent civil society is to the conference’s success, and ensure that human rights, fundamental freedoms and the effective participation of civil society are guaranteed during the event;

23. Strongly condemns the intimidation, death threats and assassination attempts against opponents of the Azerbaijani Government, including in EU countries, and against Azerbaijani citizens who have been granted political asylum by Member States, such as Mahammad Mirzali in France; calls on the Member States to cooperate, if necessary, in the investigation into the murder, in September 2024, of Vidadi Isgandarli, an Azerbaijani political opponent residing in France; stresses that for the Member States, preventing any act of retaliation on their territory is a matter of democracy, human rights, security and sovereignty; insists that Europol should closely monitor this matter;

15. Calls for the EU and the Member States to prioritise, in line with Article 21 TEU, addressing Azerbaijan’s appalling human rights situation in their relations with the country and introducing stronger human rights conditions in the EU’s relations with Azerbaijan; calls for the EU’s economic and political ties with and support for Azerbaijan, including any cooperation on energy, to be made conditional on the release of all political prisoners, reform of laws and regulations governing NGOs and their funding, and the improvement of the overall human rights situation in the country; insists, in this regard, that the EU and the Member States suspend all energy trade relations with Azerbaijan, including the MoU on a Strategic Partnership in the Field of Energy, and make any reinstatement conditional on meeting the above requirements;

24. Strongly condemns the public insults and direct threats made by Azerbaijani diplomatic or government representatives, or members of the Azerbaijani Parliament, targeting elected officials of EU Member States; demands, in this regard, that access for all Azerbaijani officials to EU institutional buildings be denied until further notice;

16. Calls on the Commission to investigate options for imposing targeted sanctions under the EU Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime on those individuals responsible for the grave and consistent human rights violations in Azerbaijan;

25. Welcomes the fact that the Republic of Armenia formally deposited the instrument of ratification of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court in 2023 and that the statute entered into force for Armenia on 1 February 2024;

17. Welcomes, separately, the ongoing negotiations between Armenia and Azerbaijan on all pending issues with the aim of concluding a peace treaty, and calls on both parties to remain fully committed to a lasting and peaceful settlement of the long-standing dispute, through dialogue and negotiations; believes that an agreement between these two countries needs to be negotiated in good faith and be based on the recognition of sovereignty, territorial integrity and non-use of force; recalls that, meanwhile, all rights of the Armenian minority in Azerbaijan must be safeguarded and calls for all prisoners of war to be released in line with the 1949 Third Geneva Convention;

26. Deplores steps taken by Azerbaijan towards the secessionist entity in occupied Cyprus, which are against international law and the provisions of UN Security Council Resolutions 541 (1983) and 550 (1984); calls on Azerbaijan to respect the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity of states and to not invite the secessionist entity in occupied Cyprus to any meetings of the Organization of Turkic States;

18. Urges the Commission and the Council to ensure the EU’s ability to credibly and effectively continue supporting the negotiations directed at a lasting peace for the benefit of all people in the region;

27. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the Member States and the President, Government and Parliament of Azerbaijan.

19. Calls on Türkiye to take more diplomatic responsibility in the region by actively contributing to the promotion of peace negotiations between Armenia and Azerbaijan, and by playing a constructive role in facilitating a lasting and peaceful resolution of the conflict;

20. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the European External Action Service, the governments and parliaments of the Member States, the President and Parliament of Azerbaijan and the President, Prime Minister and Parliament of Armenia.