Tweet
RESOLUTION ON THE PERSECUTION OF DEFENDERS OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN AZERBAIJAN
COUNCIL OF EUROPE pursuant to Article 135, paragraph 5, and Article
123, paragraph 4 of Regulation
replacing the motions by the following groups:
ECR (B8-0090 / 2014)
ALDE (B8-0091 / 2014)
S & D (B8-0093 / 2014)
PPE (B8-0095 / 2014)
GUE / NGL (B8-0096 / 2014)
Greens / EFA (B8-0099 / 2014)
the persecution of defenders of human rights in Azerbaijan (2014/2832
(RSP))
Cristian Dan Preda, Elmar Brok, Davor Stier Ivo Bogdan Wenta Bruno,
Giovanni La Via, Tunne Kelam, Monica Luisa Macovei Petri Sarvamaa
Eduard Kukan, Jeroen Lenaers Csaba Sógor JarosÅ~Baw Leszek WaÅ~BÄ~Ysa,
Gräfin von Thun und Róża Hohenstein, Agnieszka KozÅ~Bowska-Rajewicz
JaromÃr Å tÄ~[tina, Dubravka Å uica Pavel Svoboda, László TÅ'kés
Andrej PlenkoviÄ~G on behalf of the EPP Group Josef Weidenholzer,
Elena Valenciano MartÃnez-Orozco, Liisa Jaakonsaari, Piri Kati,
Richard Howitt, Pier Antonio Panzeri, Ana Gomes, Lidia Joanna Geringer
de Oedenberg Goffredo Maria Bettini, Luigi Morgano on behalf of the S
& D Group Charles Tannock on behalf of the ECR Group Alexander Graf
Lambsdorff, Louis Michel, Jozo Radoš Marielle de Sarnez Schaake
MEP Pavel TeliÄ~Mka Martina Dlabajová Juan Carlos Girauta Vidal
Johannes Cornelis van Baalen, Ramon Tremosa i Balcells, Petr Jezek,
Ilhan Kyuchyuk on behalf of the ALDE Group Marie-Christine Vergiat
on behalf of the GUE / NGL Group Ulrike Lunacek, Tamás Meszerics,
Molly Scott Cato, Michele Rivasi, Barbara Lochbihler, Ernest Maragall
to name of Massimo Castaldo Greens / EFA Group Fabio Ignazio Corrao
AMENDMENTS 001-002
European Parliament resolution on the persecution of defenders of
human rights in Azerbaijan (2014/2832 (RSP))
The European Parliament,
- regard to its previous resolutions on the situation in Azerbaijan,
including that of April 18, 2012 with recommendations to the Council,
the Commission and the EEAS on the negotiations of the EU-Azerbaijan
Association Agreement (1) and that of 13 June 2013 on Ilgar Mammadov
case (2)
- seen the Joint Communication of 15 May 2012 the Commission and the
High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security
Policy to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic
and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions on "Delivering
on the new European Neighbourhood Policy" (JOIN (2012) 0014)
- seen the progress report 2013 from the Commission on Azerbaijan
in the framework of the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP), dated
March 2014 (SWD (2014) 0070)
- Having regard to the EU-Azerbaijan ENP Action Plan,
- seen the statement of 2 August 2014 spokesperson for the
Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union
(VP / HR) and Å tefan Fule, European Commissioner for Enlargement
and European Neighbourhood Policy , on the arrest of Leyla Yunus
- seen the statement of August 6, 2014 the spokesman of the VP /
HR on the arrest of Rasul Jafarov
- seen the statement of 14 August 2014 of the European Union on the
situation of human rights and civil society in Azerbaijan
- seen the statement, September 8, 2014 in Baku, Commissioner Fule
on the crucial role played by civil society in the framework of the
Eastern Partnership and its announcement of a new support program
of the European Union to the Azerbaijani civil society, amounting to
three million euros in 2014-2015,
- seen the statement of 1 August 2014 Thorbjørn Jagland, Secretary
General of the Council of Europe, about the arrest of Leyla Yunus,
director of the Institute for Peace and Democracy in Azerbaijan
- saw the Baku Declaration adopted by the Parliamentary Assembly of the
OSCE at its annual session, June 28-July 2, 2014, when the Assembly
expressed concern about the misuse of administrative procedures and
legislation to detain, imprison, intimidate or silence human rights
and criticism in many OSCE participating States
- Having regard to the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement between
the European Commission and Azerbaijan entered into force in 1999,
and the ongoing negotiations between the two parties in order to
replace it with a new agreement,
- Having regard to Article 135, paragraph 5, and Article 123, paragraph
4 of the Rules,
A. whereas in recent years, the general climate in Azerbaijan
deteriorated in terms of human rights and the last months have been
marked by a considerable intensification of repression, pressure and
intimidation exercised by the government against NGOs, civil society
activists, journalists and human rights;
B. whereas since late July, authorities are attacking some of the
leading advocates of human rights, who are imprisoned for reasons
apparently policies, including Leyla Yunus as the Director of the
renowned Institute for Peace and democracy, her husband, the historian
Arif Yunus, or Rasul Jafarov, president of the Club of Human Rights
of Azerbaijan;
C. whereas qu'Intigam Aliyev, President of the Society for the
Azerbaijani legal education and legal expert on human rights, who
defended the European Court of Human Rights more than 200 records
in cases of violation freedom of expression, right to a fair trial
and electoral law in Azerbaijan, was arrested August 8, 2014 and
imprisoned for three months as part of a criminal proceeding, an
event that confirms the growing inclination to silence and prosecute
prominent defenders of human rights in the country;
D. whereas Leyla Yunus has suffered violence in prison, inflicted
by fellow detainee, and no action was taken to punish it or for the
protection of Ms. Yunus; that despite the deterioration of his health
during his incarceration, Ms. Yunus did not have access to necessary
medical care;
E. whereas May 26, 2014, Anar Mammadli and Suleymanli Bashir, the
president and director of the Center for Election Monitoring and
Democracy Studies, were sentenced, the first five and a half years,
the second at 3 ½ years imprisonment under charges ranging from tax
evasion to illegal entrepreneurial activity;
F. whereas, at the same time, eight activists of NIDA, a
non-governmental youth movement, were convicted of hooliganism,
possession of drugs and explosives, as well as intent to disturb public
order; Mammadov Omar Abdul Abilov and Elsever Murselli, militants
active on social media, were sentenced to prison terms ranging from
five to five and a half years in prison for possession of drugs,
while none of them does had access to a lawyer of his choice, and
that all three complained of ill-treatment while in police custody;
G. whereas many other journalists, human rights activists and are
subject to prosecution in Azerbaijan, as Hasan Huseynli, director
of the Intelligent Citizen Enlightenment Centre Public Union,
sentenced to six years' imprisonment July 14, 2014, or Mirkadirov
Rauf, an investigative journalist in Russian-speaking newspaper of
record Zerkalo provisional detention and prosecuted for treason;that
August 8, 2014, police raided the offices of the Institute for Liberty
and security of reporters, a reference NGO in the country in terms
of media rights, led by Emin Huseynov, a defender Human rights and
deemed enjoying international recognition; that among persons recently
arrested also included Haziyev Seymour, an opposition journalist
renamed, who has been prosecuted for hooliganism and was held for
two months in detention;
H. whereas the cases are in addition to dozens of others, which include
political activists, human rights defenders, journalists, bloggers and
activists working on social media, imprisoned by the authorities in the
past two years, under the same charges fabricated, such as hooliganism,
possession of narcotics, tax evasion or treason; Whereas the recent
wave of arrests has had a significant impact, since it has caused a
number of renowned to flee the country or hide militants;
I. whereas the Azerbaijani independent newspaper Azadliq was forced
to stop its publication, because of alleged financial difficulties,
but after undergoing official pressure, which apparently related to
his articles on corruption;
J. whereas the European Court of Human Rights has made many decisions
in cases of violation of human rights in Azerbaijan, including the
latest, May 22, 2014, in Ilgar Mammadov case Chairman of the Citizen
Movement for a Republican alternative; that although the Court has
stated that he was detained for political reasons, the authorities
refused to release him;
K. whereas any manifestation of peaceful protest is, in effect,
prohibited the center of Baku since 2006 and, more recently, new fines,
heavy and longer periods of administrative detention awaiting those
who organize public gatherings without authorization or participation;
L. whereas the Azerbaijani authorities did not take into account
the views of the European Commission for Democracy through Law of
the Council of Europe (Venice Commission) on the laws relating to
freedom of association, the political parties and protection against
defamation; they are not further considered as it should be of the
findings made by the Commissioner for Human Rights, Council of Europe
during his visit to Azerbaijan;
M. whereas in February 2014, President Aliyev signed new amendments
to the law on NGOs, which give additional powers to the authorities
to temporarily suspend or permanently prohibit the activities of
national NGOs as foreign in Azerbaijan and introduce new offenses,
punishable by fines, the amount was increased and now stands between
2500 and 3000 Azerbaijani manats (between 2600 and 3100 euros) for
organizations and between 1,000 and 2,000 manats (between 1000 and
about 2000 euros) for their managers, whether domestic or foreign;
N. whereas a decision of 8 July 2014, the District Court Nasimi in
Azerbaijan's capital, froze the bank account of the Public Union of
organization and protection of workers' rights oil based in Baku and
that of its leader, Gahramanova Mirvari Uzeyir;
O. whereas Azerbaijan is a member of the Council of Europe and a
signatory to the European Convention on Human Rights;
P. whereas 14 May 2014, Azerbaijan became Chairman of the Committee
of Ministers of the Council of Europe;
1 emphasizes that the strictest respect human rights, democratic
principles, fundamental freedoms and the rule of law is at the heart
of the CCF is that the Eastern Partnership, as well as commitments
made by Azerbaijan in the Council of Europe and the OSCE;
2 condemns in the strongest possible arrest and detention of Leyla
Yunus words, Arif Yunus, Rasul Jafarov of Intigam Aliyev and Huseyni
Hasan and calls for their immediate and unconditional release, and the
dropping of all charges against them; requires immediate and thorough
investigation into the attack suffered by Ilqar Nasibov and demand
that all those responsible are brought to justice;
3 application that the Azerbaijani authorities to guarantee the
physical and psychological integrity of Leyla Yunus, Arif Yunus and all
defenders of human rights in Azerbaijan, and they provide their urgent
medical care required in terms of medication and hospitalization;
4 request, again, the Azerbaijani government to take concrete steps
to improve in any urgent priority, the situation of human rights in
his country, including the immediate and unconditional release of
all prisoners policies and the abandonment of arrests for political
reasons;
5 calls on the Azerbaijani authorities to cease harassment and
intimidation of civil society, politicians from the opposition and
independent journalists, and to refrain from thwarting or undermine
the valuable work that they engage in the development of democracy in
Azerbaijan; also urges the authorities to ensure that all prisoners,
including journalists and political and civil society activists,
with full respect for their right to a trial in due form, that passes
including access to a lawyer their choice, contact with their families
and respect other rules of due process;
6 regrets the actions taken by the Azerbaijani government to limit
contact between activists of civil society and youth organizations, or
intellectuals, Armenia and Azerbaijan, as these contacts are essential
to reduce the feeling of hostility has long existed between the two
countries; recalls in this regard the important work done in this
field by Leyla Yunus and her husband, Arif;
7 urges the Azerbaijani government to receive the Venice Commission
and the Commissioner of the Council of Europe, to cooperate fully
with them and follow the special procedures of the United Nations with
regard to defenders of human rights, freedom of association, peaceful
assembly, expression and arbitrary detention, to amend its legislation
and adapt its practices based on the findings of the experts;
8 calls on the Azerbaijani authorities to undertake without delay the
reforms on human rights that are long overdue, filling including the
commitments by Azerbaijan to join the Council of Europe and remained
dead letter in accordance with the rulings against it by the European
Court of Human Rights;
9 calls on the Azerbaijani authorities to lift the ban on public
gatherings in central Baku and stop imposing fines or administrative
detention of peaceful protesters;
10 reiterates its position that the support of the European Union to
the Republic of Azerbaijan and its cooperation with it, including the
ongoing negotiations for the establishment of a strategic partnership
for modernization, should include clauses the protection and promotion
of human rights, particularly with regard to media freedom and
freedom of expression, association and assembly, and be dependent on
such clauses;
11 emphasizes that its approval for the signing of a partnership
agreement with Azerbaijan will be subject to satisfactorily taken into
account the above requirements, the release of defenders of human
rights, the abandonment of laws limiting the action of independent
civil society and the end of repression and intimidation against
NGOs, independent media, opposition forces, human rights activists
and youth organizations and active on social networks;
12 request to the Council, the Commission and the EEAS to strictly
apply the principle of "give more for more", with particular emphasis
on the situation of human rights (in accordance with guidelines
EU Defenders of Human Rights), arbitrary detentions for political
reasons, the independence of the judiciary, democratic reforms
and human rights and fundamental freedoms; application including a
review of the programming for the European Neighbourhood Instrument,
with the removal of any assistance that is not exclusively oriented
towards human rights and civil society;
13 regrets that the dialogue on human rights between the EU and
Azerbaijan has allowed no significant improvement of the situation of
human rights in that country; Calls on the EEAS to intensify this
dialogue, to make it effective and turned to producing results,
and report regularly to the European Parliament;
14 asks the Azerbaijani government to simplify the procedure for
registering NGOs, this overly complicated and time update, modify
substantially its legislation, reversing the recent measures that
restrict the freedom of NGOs to accept donations without registration
official, and to comply with the Recommendation CM / Rec (2007) 14 of
the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe to member states
on the legal status of NGOs in Europe;
15 Calls on the Council and Member States to urge the International
Olympic Committee to ask the Azerbaijani authorities to end the
crackdown Committee and their mean he clearly expects them that their
country, which will host the year next European Games respects the
freedom of the press, as required by the Olympic Charter;
16 asks the EEAS to implement fully the guidelines of the European
Union on the defenders of human rights, to organize regular at the
headquarters of the EU delegation in Baku meetings with independent
organizations defending human rights, including in cooperation with
the representatives of the Member States, and to use these meetings
to publicly support the work of defenders of human rights; urges the
EEAS to carefully follow all the trials and judicial proceedings to
defenders of human rights and to report to the European Parliament;
17 recalls its position of 24 May 2012 and asked the Council to
consider the possibility of taking targeted sanctions against those
responsible for violations of human rights, if they are allowed
to continue;
18 Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the President,
Government and Parliament of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the EEAS,
the Council, the Commission and the Council of Europe.
Friday, September 19, 2014, Stéphane © armenews.com
http://www.armenews.com/article.php3?id_article=103425
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
COUNCIL OF EUROPE pursuant to Article 135, paragraph 5, and Article
123, paragraph 4 of Regulation
replacing the motions by the following groups:
ECR (B8-0090 / 2014)
ALDE (B8-0091 / 2014)
S & D (B8-0093 / 2014)
PPE (B8-0095 / 2014)
GUE / NGL (B8-0096 / 2014)
Greens / EFA (B8-0099 / 2014)
the persecution of defenders of human rights in Azerbaijan (2014/2832
(RSP))
Cristian Dan Preda, Elmar Brok, Davor Stier Ivo Bogdan Wenta Bruno,
Giovanni La Via, Tunne Kelam, Monica Luisa Macovei Petri Sarvamaa
Eduard Kukan, Jeroen Lenaers Csaba Sógor JarosÅ~Baw Leszek WaÅ~BÄ~Ysa,
Gräfin von Thun und Róża Hohenstein, Agnieszka KozÅ~Bowska-Rajewicz
JaromÃr Å tÄ~[tina, Dubravka Å uica Pavel Svoboda, László TÅ'kés
Andrej PlenkoviÄ~G on behalf of the EPP Group Josef Weidenholzer,
Elena Valenciano MartÃnez-Orozco, Liisa Jaakonsaari, Piri Kati,
Richard Howitt, Pier Antonio Panzeri, Ana Gomes, Lidia Joanna Geringer
de Oedenberg Goffredo Maria Bettini, Luigi Morgano on behalf of the S
& D Group Charles Tannock on behalf of the ECR Group Alexander Graf
Lambsdorff, Louis Michel, Jozo Radoš Marielle de Sarnez Schaake
MEP Pavel TeliÄ~Mka Martina Dlabajová Juan Carlos Girauta Vidal
Johannes Cornelis van Baalen, Ramon Tremosa i Balcells, Petr Jezek,
Ilhan Kyuchyuk on behalf of the ALDE Group Marie-Christine Vergiat
on behalf of the GUE / NGL Group Ulrike Lunacek, Tamás Meszerics,
Molly Scott Cato, Michele Rivasi, Barbara Lochbihler, Ernest Maragall
to name of Massimo Castaldo Greens / EFA Group Fabio Ignazio Corrao
AMENDMENTS 001-002
European Parliament resolution on the persecution of defenders of
human rights in Azerbaijan (2014/2832 (RSP))
The European Parliament,
- regard to its previous resolutions on the situation in Azerbaijan,
including that of April 18, 2012 with recommendations to the Council,
the Commission and the EEAS on the negotiations of the EU-Azerbaijan
Association Agreement (1) and that of 13 June 2013 on Ilgar Mammadov
case (2)
- seen the Joint Communication of 15 May 2012 the Commission and the
High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security
Policy to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic
and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions on "Delivering
on the new European Neighbourhood Policy" (JOIN (2012) 0014)
- seen the progress report 2013 from the Commission on Azerbaijan
in the framework of the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP), dated
March 2014 (SWD (2014) 0070)
- Having regard to the EU-Azerbaijan ENP Action Plan,
- seen the statement of 2 August 2014 spokesperson for the
Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union
(VP / HR) and Å tefan Fule, European Commissioner for Enlargement
and European Neighbourhood Policy , on the arrest of Leyla Yunus
- seen the statement of August 6, 2014 the spokesman of the VP /
HR on the arrest of Rasul Jafarov
- seen the statement of 14 August 2014 of the European Union on the
situation of human rights and civil society in Azerbaijan
- seen the statement, September 8, 2014 in Baku, Commissioner Fule
on the crucial role played by civil society in the framework of the
Eastern Partnership and its announcement of a new support program
of the European Union to the Azerbaijani civil society, amounting to
three million euros in 2014-2015,
- seen the statement of 1 August 2014 Thorbjørn Jagland, Secretary
General of the Council of Europe, about the arrest of Leyla Yunus,
director of the Institute for Peace and Democracy in Azerbaijan
- saw the Baku Declaration adopted by the Parliamentary Assembly of the
OSCE at its annual session, June 28-July 2, 2014, when the Assembly
expressed concern about the misuse of administrative procedures and
legislation to detain, imprison, intimidate or silence human rights
and criticism in many OSCE participating States
- Having regard to the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement between
the European Commission and Azerbaijan entered into force in 1999,
and the ongoing negotiations between the two parties in order to
replace it with a new agreement,
- Having regard to Article 135, paragraph 5, and Article 123, paragraph
4 of the Rules,
A. whereas in recent years, the general climate in Azerbaijan
deteriorated in terms of human rights and the last months have been
marked by a considerable intensification of repression, pressure and
intimidation exercised by the government against NGOs, civil society
activists, journalists and human rights;
B. whereas since late July, authorities are attacking some of the
leading advocates of human rights, who are imprisoned for reasons
apparently policies, including Leyla Yunus as the Director of the
renowned Institute for Peace and democracy, her husband, the historian
Arif Yunus, or Rasul Jafarov, president of the Club of Human Rights
of Azerbaijan;
C. whereas qu'Intigam Aliyev, President of the Society for the
Azerbaijani legal education and legal expert on human rights, who
defended the European Court of Human Rights more than 200 records
in cases of violation freedom of expression, right to a fair trial
and electoral law in Azerbaijan, was arrested August 8, 2014 and
imprisoned for three months as part of a criminal proceeding, an
event that confirms the growing inclination to silence and prosecute
prominent defenders of human rights in the country;
D. whereas Leyla Yunus has suffered violence in prison, inflicted
by fellow detainee, and no action was taken to punish it or for the
protection of Ms. Yunus; that despite the deterioration of his health
during his incarceration, Ms. Yunus did not have access to necessary
medical care;
E. whereas May 26, 2014, Anar Mammadli and Suleymanli Bashir, the
president and director of the Center for Election Monitoring and
Democracy Studies, were sentenced, the first five and a half years,
the second at 3 ½ years imprisonment under charges ranging from tax
evasion to illegal entrepreneurial activity;
F. whereas, at the same time, eight activists of NIDA, a
non-governmental youth movement, were convicted of hooliganism,
possession of drugs and explosives, as well as intent to disturb public
order; Mammadov Omar Abdul Abilov and Elsever Murselli, militants
active on social media, were sentenced to prison terms ranging from
five to five and a half years in prison for possession of drugs,
while none of them does had access to a lawyer of his choice, and
that all three complained of ill-treatment while in police custody;
G. whereas many other journalists, human rights activists and are
subject to prosecution in Azerbaijan, as Hasan Huseynli, director
of the Intelligent Citizen Enlightenment Centre Public Union,
sentenced to six years' imprisonment July 14, 2014, or Mirkadirov
Rauf, an investigative journalist in Russian-speaking newspaper of
record Zerkalo provisional detention and prosecuted for treason;that
August 8, 2014, police raided the offices of the Institute for Liberty
and security of reporters, a reference NGO in the country in terms
of media rights, led by Emin Huseynov, a defender Human rights and
deemed enjoying international recognition; that among persons recently
arrested also included Haziyev Seymour, an opposition journalist
renamed, who has been prosecuted for hooliganism and was held for
two months in detention;
H. whereas the cases are in addition to dozens of others, which include
political activists, human rights defenders, journalists, bloggers and
activists working on social media, imprisoned by the authorities in the
past two years, under the same charges fabricated, such as hooliganism,
possession of narcotics, tax evasion or treason; Whereas the recent
wave of arrests has had a significant impact, since it has caused a
number of renowned to flee the country or hide militants;
I. whereas the Azerbaijani independent newspaper Azadliq was forced
to stop its publication, because of alleged financial difficulties,
but after undergoing official pressure, which apparently related to
his articles on corruption;
J. whereas the European Court of Human Rights has made many decisions
in cases of violation of human rights in Azerbaijan, including the
latest, May 22, 2014, in Ilgar Mammadov case Chairman of the Citizen
Movement for a Republican alternative; that although the Court has
stated that he was detained for political reasons, the authorities
refused to release him;
K. whereas any manifestation of peaceful protest is, in effect,
prohibited the center of Baku since 2006 and, more recently, new fines,
heavy and longer periods of administrative detention awaiting those
who organize public gatherings without authorization or participation;
L. whereas the Azerbaijani authorities did not take into account
the views of the European Commission for Democracy through Law of
the Council of Europe (Venice Commission) on the laws relating to
freedom of association, the political parties and protection against
defamation; they are not further considered as it should be of the
findings made by the Commissioner for Human Rights, Council of Europe
during his visit to Azerbaijan;
M. whereas in February 2014, President Aliyev signed new amendments
to the law on NGOs, which give additional powers to the authorities
to temporarily suspend or permanently prohibit the activities of
national NGOs as foreign in Azerbaijan and introduce new offenses,
punishable by fines, the amount was increased and now stands between
2500 and 3000 Azerbaijani manats (between 2600 and 3100 euros) for
organizations and between 1,000 and 2,000 manats (between 1000 and
about 2000 euros) for their managers, whether domestic or foreign;
N. whereas a decision of 8 July 2014, the District Court Nasimi in
Azerbaijan's capital, froze the bank account of the Public Union of
organization and protection of workers' rights oil based in Baku and
that of its leader, Gahramanova Mirvari Uzeyir;
O. whereas Azerbaijan is a member of the Council of Europe and a
signatory to the European Convention on Human Rights;
P. whereas 14 May 2014, Azerbaijan became Chairman of the Committee
of Ministers of the Council of Europe;
1 emphasizes that the strictest respect human rights, democratic
principles, fundamental freedoms and the rule of law is at the heart
of the CCF is that the Eastern Partnership, as well as commitments
made by Azerbaijan in the Council of Europe and the OSCE;
2 condemns in the strongest possible arrest and detention of Leyla
Yunus words, Arif Yunus, Rasul Jafarov of Intigam Aliyev and Huseyni
Hasan and calls for their immediate and unconditional release, and the
dropping of all charges against them; requires immediate and thorough
investigation into the attack suffered by Ilqar Nasibov and demand
that all those responsible are brought to justice;
3 application that the Azerbaijani authorities to guarantee the
physical and psychological integrity of Leyla Yunus, Arif Yunus and all
defenders of human rights in Azerbaijan, and they provide their urgent
medical care required in terms of medication and hospitalization;
4 request, again, the Azerbaijani government to take concrete steps
to improve in any urgent priority, the situation of human rights in
his country, including the immediate and unconditional release of
all prisoners policies and the abandonment of arrests for political
reasons;
5 calls on the Azerbaijani authorities to cease harassment and
intimidation of civil society, politicians from the opposition and
independent journalists, and to refrain from thwarting or undermine
the valuable work that they engage in the development of democracy in
Azerbaijan; also urges the authorities to ensure that all prisoners,
including journalists and political and civil society activists,
with full respect for their right to a trial in due form, that passes
including access to a lawyer their choice, contact with their families
and respect other rules of due process;
6 regrets the actions taken by the Azerbaijani government to limit
contact between activists of civil society and youth organizations, or
intellectuals, Armenia and Azerbaijan, as these contacts are essential
to reduce the feeling of hostility has long existed between the two
countries; recalls in this regard the important work done in this
field by Leyla Yunus and her husband, Arif;
7 urges the Azerbaijani government to receive the Venice Commission
and the Commissioner of the Council of Europe, to cooperate fully
with them and follow the special procedures of the United Nations with
regard to defenders of human rights, freedom of association, peaceful
assembly, expression and arbitrary detention, to amend its legislation
and adapt its practices based on the findings of the experts;
8 calls on the Azerbaijani authorities to undertake without delay the
reforms on human rights that are long overdue, filling including the
commitments by Azerbaijan to join the Council of Europe and remained
dead letter in accordance with the rulings against it by the European
Court of Human Rights;
9 calls on the Azerbaijani authorities to lift the ban on public
gatherings in central Baku and stop imposing fines or administrative
detention of peaceful protesters;
10 reiterates its position that the support of the European Union to
the Republic of Azerbaijan and its cooperation with it, including the
ongoing negotiations for the establishment of a strategic partnership
for modernization, should include clauses the protection and promotion
of human rights, particularly with regard to media freedom and
freedom of expression, association and assembly, and be dependent on
such clauses;
11 emphasizes that its approval for the signing of a partnership
agreement with Azerbaijan will be subject to satisfactorily taken into
account the above requirements, the release of defenders of human
rights, the abandonment of laws limiting the action of independent
civil society and the end of repression and intimidation against
NGOs, independent media, opposition forces, human rights activists
and youth organizations and active on social networks;
12 request to the Council, the Commission and the EEAS to strictly
apply the principle of "give more for more", with particular emphasis
on the situation of human rights (in accordance with guidelines
EU Defenders of Human Rights), arbitrary detentions for political
reasons, the independence of the judiciary, democratic reforms
and human rights and fundamental freedoms; application including a
review of the programming for the European Neighbourhood Instrument,
with the removal of any assistance that is not exclusively oriented
towards human rights and civil society;
13 regrets that the dialogue on human rights between the EU and
Azerbaijan has allowed no significant improvement of the situation of
human rights in that country; Calls on the EEAS to intensify this
dialogue, to make it effective and turned to producing results,
and report regularly to the European Parliament;
14 asks the Azerbaijani government to simplify the procedure for
registering NGOs, this overly complicated and time update, modify
substantially its legislation, reversing the recent measures that
restrict the freedom of NGOs to accept donations without registration
official, and to comply with the Recommendation CM / Rec (2007) 14 of
the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe to member states
on the legal status of NGOs in Europe;
15 Calls on the Council and Member States to urge the International
Olympic Committee to ask the Azerbaijani authorities to end the
crackdown Committee and their mean he clearly expects them that their
country, which will host the year next European Games respects the
freedom of the press, as required by the Olympic Charter;
16 asks the EEAS to implement fully the guidelines of the European
Union on the defenders of human rights, to organize regular at the
headquarters of the EU delegation in Baku meetings with independent
organizations defending human rights, including in cooperation with
the representatives of the Member States, and to use these meetings
to publicly support the work of defenders of human rights; urges the
EEAS to carefully follow all the trials and judicial proceedings to
defenders of human rights and to report to the European Parliament;
17 recalls its position of 24 May 2012 and asked the Council to
consider the possibility of taking targeted sanctions against those
responsible for violations of human rights, if they are allowed
to continue;
18 Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the President,
Government and Parliament of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the EEAS,
the Council, the Commission and the Council of Europe.
Friday, September 19, 2014, Stéphane © armenews.com
http://www.armenews.com/article.php3?id_article=103425
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress