Freedom House: Advocates for freedom and democracy should use COP-29  to expose ongoing abuses by  Aliyev regime and advocate for greater respect for human rights.

ArmInfo.During the UN's annual convention on climate change in Baku next month, democracy's  defenders have an opportunity to hold the Azerbaijani regime accountable for its human rights violations and to push for change. 

This is stated in an article by the human rights organization Freedom  House.  The organization recalled that in early November, the world  leaders, environmental activists, and researchers will gather in  Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, for the 29th Conference of the  Parties (COP29), the UN's annual forum on climate change.  "For the  third year in a row, the "supreme decision-making body" of the UN's  Framework Convention on Climate Change's is being presided over by an   an authoritarian petrostate - a state that, ironically for a COP  host, is heavily reliant on fossil fuels - with an abysmal human  rights record," the authors of the article note.

In this vein, it is recalled that little more than a year ago,  Azerbaijani armed forces launched a lightning military assault on the  previously self-governing territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, dissolving  the territory's political, legal, and civil institutions and  displacing virtually the entire population of ethnic Armenians.   "Since then, the regime of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has  turned up  the dial of oppression both within and outside of  Azerbaijan. While calling publicly for a "COP29 truce" to "transcend  political differences and stand together in unity," in actuality,  Azerbaijani authorities have only escalated the crackdown across the  country.

Allowing autocrats to burnish their reputations by hosting global  conferences potentially threatens to undermine efforts to address  urgent global issues and challenges and the credibility of  multilateral forums.  The international community must not miss the  opportunity to use COP29 to draw attention to Azerbaijan's human  rights record and advocate for change," Freedom House believes.  The  human rights organization noted that Azerbaijan is among the least  free countries in the world. "The country lacks free media and the   rule of law and prohibits freedom of assembly. The operation of  opposition political parties and civil society organizations is  tightly controlled by authorities. Since violently seizing the  territory of Nagorno-Karabakh last year, the Aliyev regime has  unleashed an extreme crackdown on citizens and further cemented the  president's power through unfair elections. Aliyev, who has been in  power for over two decades, has long targeted those who most vocally   disagree with his positions, including on environmental issues," the  authors of the article stated, listing a number of cases of arrest  and persecution of Azerbaijani activists. 

"But it is not only environmental or climate activists who have  experienced the hostility of the Aliyev regime. In August, Bahruz  Samadov, an Azerbaijani researcher and advocate for peace  with  Armenians, was arrested on trumped-up charges of treason while  visiting Azerbaijan on a break from university. In the days after,  two more peace activists, Samad Shikhi and Javid Agha, were detained,  with the latter allegedly apprehended to testify against Samadov.  Aliyev's repression is not contained within the borders of  Azerbaijan. The country is one of 44 that are known to use tactics of  transnational repression to target activists, journalists, and other  members of the diaspora with violence and intimidation to silence  criticism. 

In addition to going after own critics abroad, authorities in  Azerbaijan have a track record  of helping both Turkey and Russia  target their dissidents living in exile," Freedom House added, noting  that Azerbaijani activists have also been attacked in Georgia,  France, and other European countries.  The authors of the article are  confident that all that  bodes  poorly for the safety of those  soon  be heading to COP29.

Freedom House further claims that it was under pressure from Russia  that Azerbaijan was given the opportunity to host this summit. "Baku  received the honor with a lot of help from Russia; taking advantage  of the need for consensus, the Kremlin repeatedly blocked most of the  candidates from the Eastern Europe and Caucasus region - whose turn  it was to host the event according to UN rules - in retaliation for  sanctions those countries placed on Moscow following the full-scale  Russian military invasion of Ukraine.  Eventually, Armenia agreed to  lift its bloc in an effort to advance peace talks with Azerbaijan -  though a year later, the countries' bilateral treaty remains  unsigned. And when Bulgaria withdrew from consideration in late 2023,  Azerbaijan was left as the only remaining candidate," the  Organization noted.

The authors are confident that while the conference in Baku is going  ahead, it is not too late to use the event to highlight the ongoing  abuses perpetrated by the Aliyev regime and advocate for a greater  respect for human rights.  "With so much attention on the country,  this is a crucial time to advocate for the immediate and  unconditional release of the nearly 300 political prisoners held in  Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan is opening itself up to bask in the world's  attention. Advocates of freedom and democracy should seize on his  opportunity," the human rights organization concluded.