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Mr Donald Tusk

President of the European Council Rue de la Loi 175 1048 Brussels

Mr Jean-Claude Juncker

President of the European Commission Rue de la Loi 200 1049 Brussels

Ms Federica Mogherini

High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy / Vice-President of the European Commission Rue de la Loi 200 1049 Brussels

Mr Johannes Hahn

Commissioner for European Neighbourhood Policy & Enlargement Negotiations Rue de la Loi 200 1049 Brussels

February 1, 2017

Dear President Tusk, President Juncker, High Representative / Vice-President Mogherini,

We, the undersigned organizations, are writing in advance of Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyevs upcoming visit to Brussels and meeting with you. We urge you to use this high-level visit to insist that President Aliyev commits to concrete, lasting human rights reforms in Azerbaijan. Insisting on such reforms would help ensure that the EU guides its engagement with Azerbaijan in a manner that honors Article 21 of the Lisbon Treaty, and the EU strategic framework and action plan on democracy and human rights, by fostering democracy, the rule of law, the universality and indivisibility of human rights and fundamental freedoms.

President Aliyevs visit takes place following the EU Foreign Affairs Councils authorization of a mandate for negotiating a new partnership agreement between the EU and Azerbaijan. At the same time, the Azerbaijani government restricts the space for independent activism, critical journalism, and opposition political activity by imprisoning and harassing many activists, prominent human rights defenders, and journalists, as well as by adopting laws and regulations restricting the activities of independent groups and their ability to secure funding.

The Azerbaijani authorities are sensitive to concerns from partners such as the EU, as demonstrated by their release of 17 human rights defenders, journalists, and political activists in 2016. Despite this, the authorities continue to keep many other government critics wrongfully imprisoned, and have arrested more political activists and bloggers throughout 2016 and 2017, underscoring that partners can only expect to see meaningful results if they have principled and consistent engagement and set clear benchmarks for sustained reform.

Non-governmental organizations in Azerbaijan face serious obstacles to operating independently due to excessive legal and regulatory restrictions. Cabinet of Ministers regulations issued in January 2017, as part of the governments review of laws regulating NGOs and donors, offer limited prospect for fundamentally improving the operational environment for NGOs. Although the new regulations simplify some procedures for registration of foreign grants, they leave intact the large discretion of the authorities to arbitrarily deny their registration.

Azerbaijan violates its human rights commitments to free speech, assembly and other protections, blatantly ignores the European Court of Human Rights judgment in the Ilgar Mammadov case and blocks all funding to independent civil society organizations by any EU institution. Deepening engagement with a government without securing concrete and sustainable human rights improvements sends a message that these issues are not of concern to the EU and could lead to further deterioration in human rights protection.

In 2015 the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) downgraded Azerbaijans status from member to candidate, due to the inability of civil society to adequately participate in EITI decision-making processes because of the countrys severe restrictions on free speech and free association. In October 2016, after re-assessment, EITI chose not to reinstate Azerbaijans status due to a lack of improvements. The Open Government Partnership voted in May 2016 to downgrade Azerbaijans membership to inactive status, citing the authorities arrests of activists, freezing of NGO bank accounts and restrictions on foreign funding, and other concerns.

We urge the EU and its member states to secure tangible human rights improvements and changes from the government of Azerbaijan at the very outset of negotiations of the new partnership agreement. Any new partnership agreement signed with Azerbaijan should similarly include strong provisions committing the government to upholding universal human rights standards and securing lasting, meaningful human rights reforms.

Doing otherwise would also seriously question the principles set out in the EUs founding principles and in the EUs Strategic Framework on Human Rights and Democracy, as well as the commitments enshrined in the EU Guidelines on Human Rights Defenders and the EU Human Rights Guidelines on Freedom of Expression Online and Offline.

In light of this, in your upcoming meetings with President Aliyev, we urge you to insist on:

We also call upon relevant European Union institutions to abide by their commitments to transparency, including ahead of and during the process of negotiating the new partnership agreement between the European Union and Azerbaijan. Transparency and public scrutiny are fundamental elements of good governance.

We thank you for your attention and remain at your disposal for any further questions.

Sincerely,

Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum

Front Line Defenders

Human Rights House Foundation (HRHF)

Human Rights Watch

International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH).

International Partnership for Human Rights (IPHR)

Center for Civil Liberties, Ukraine

Democracy and Human Rights Resource Center, Azerbaijan

Election Monitoring and Democracy Studies Center (EMDS), Azerbaijan

Human Rights Club, Azerbaijan

Human Rights Information Center, Ukraine

Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group, Ukraine

Legal Education Society, Azerbaijan

Public Association for Assistance to Free Economy, Azerbaijan

NGOs members of the Civic Solidarity Platform:

ARTICLE 19, UK

Crude Accountability, United States

HRM Bir Duino, Kyrgyzstan

Human Rights Monitoring Institute, Lithuania

Centre for the Development of Democracy and Human Rights, Russia

Human Rights Center of Azerbaijan

Index on Censorship, United Kingdom

Institute for Reporters Freedom and Safety (IRFS)

Kazakhstan International Bureau for Human Rights and Rule of Law

Macedonian Helsinki Committee

Moscow Helsinki Group

Norwegian Helsinki Committee

Office of civil freedoms, Tajikistan

Promo LEX, Moldova

Public Association Dignity, Kazakhstan

Public Verdict, Russia

The Kosova Rehabilitation Centre for Torture Victims

The Netherlands Helsinki Committee

The World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), Switzerland

Ukraine Helsinki Human Rights Union and Analytical Center for Interethnic Cooperation and Consultations

NGOs members of the Human Rights House Network:

Barys Zvozskau Belarusian Human Rights House in exile, Vilnius (on behalf of the following NGOs):

Belarus Watch (ByWatch)

Belarusian Association of Journalists

Belarusian Helsinki Committee

City Public Association Centar Supolnasc

Human Rights Centre Viasna

Human Rights House Belgrade (on behalf of the following NGOs):

Belgrade Centre for Human Rights

Lawyers Committee for Human Rights YUCOM

Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia

Educational Human Rights House Chernihiv (on behalf of the following NGOs):

Ahalar

Civic Education Center Almenda

Chernihiv Public Committee of Human Rights Protection

Local Non-governmental Youth organizations R

Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union

Human Rights House Oslo (on behalf of the following NGOs):

Health and Human Rights Info

Human Rights House Foundation

Human Rights House Tbilisi (on behalf of the following NGOs):

Article 42 of the Constitution

Caucasian Centre for Human Rights and Conflict Studies (CAUCASIA)

Georgian Centre for Psychosocial and Medical Rehabilitation of Torture Victims (GRCT)

Human Rights Centre (HRIDC)

Media Institute

Union Sapari

Human Rights House Voronezh (on behalf of the following NGOs):

Charitable Foundation

Civic Initiatives Development Centre

Confederation of Free Labor

For Ecological and Social Justice

Free University

Golos

Interregional Trade Union of Literary Men

Lawyers for labor rights

Memorial

Ms. Olga Gnezdilova

More:
Joint NGO Letter to the European Union Officials - Human Rights Watch (press release)