French figures call for boycott of COP29 in Baku - Le Figaro

ArmInfo. Le Figaro newspaper published a collective appeal by about three dozen French figures representing various political circles, in which they condemn  France's participation in COP29 in Baku and demand the immediate and  unconditional release of Armenian hostages.

The appeal by the French figures calls on the government to support  the boycott of COP29, which will begin on November 11 in Baku.

"The holding of this conference, called shameful by many deputies  representing various political forces in parliament, should neither  serve to protect the authoritarian, vicious and corrupt regime of  Azerbaijan, nor contribute to the implementation of its expansionist  and destabilizing intentions. As the deadline for the implementation  of this environmental initiative approaches, the authorities of this  country continue to harden their tone towards both the internal  opposition and neighboring Armenia, which is subject to increasing  threats to its integrity," the statement says.

The French officials noted that this is evidenced by the reports of  the organizations Human Rights Watch and Freedom Now, which on  October 8 condemned the efforts of the Azerbaijani authorities aimed  at "destroying civil society."

"This is also evidenced by the approach of Ilham Aliyev, who,  ridiculing one by one all the points of the ceasefire agreement of  November 9, 2020, as well as having carried out ethnic cleansing  against Nagorno- Karabakh in September 2023, continues to constantly  raise the level of his demands for the signing of a peace treaty.  Thus, instead of presenting the Azerbaijani authorities in a positive  light, COP29, on the contrary, seems to demonstrate all their  violations," the statement continues.

At the same time, the authors of the letter expressed surprise at the  decision of the French government to delegate Environment Minister  Agnes Pannier-Runache to represent the French government in Baku.

"Especially given the fact that two French citizens are still being  held unjustly in the country, and the French Foreign Ministry  published a warning on its website on September 4 this year advising  French citizens not to travel to Azerbaijan.

This decision to be represented at COP29 is all the more  controversial given the fact that on October 10, the NGO Human Rights  Watch reported that the August 2024 agreement between the Azerbaijani  government and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate  Change is "full of significant loopholes and ambiguities" aimed at  forcing participants to "respect Azerbaijan's laws" and not interfere  in the country's "internal affairs."

All this will force the participating countries to maintain a  complicit silence about the legal abuses of a state that constantly  ends up at the bottom of all rating lists of non-governmental  organizations involved in the protection of human rights. "Can we  seriously talk about environmental protection while ignoring the  calls of all political prisoners (including philanthropist Ruben  Vardanyan and 22 other Armenian hostages) who are being groundlessly  and arbitrarily detained and tortured a few hundred meters from the  conference venue?" the statement reads, adding that the signatories  do not believe it.

In conclusion, they called on the government to send a strong signal  to the Aliyev regime by boycotting COP29, to lead an international  campaign demanding the immediate and unconditional release of the  Armenian hostages, and to ensure the right to safe return of the  120,000 Armenian refugees from Nagorno- Karabakh, by implementing the  decision of the International Court of Justice and respecting the  territorial integrity of Armenia, since more than 200 km? of this  country is currently under the military occupation of Azerbaijan.