When Azerbaijan became a member of the Council of Europe, it hoped that this organization would help Azerbaijan restore the rights of hundreds of thousands of Azerbaijanis whose rights were violated as a result of Armenian military aggression and occupation of Azerbaijani territories.
For 19 years from 2001 to 2020, PACE did not condemn the occupying state – Armenia. This is a clear disrespect for the rights of Azerbaijani refugees and internally displaced persons who have been subjected to ethnic cleansing. This is stated in the statement of the Azerbaijani delegation to PACE, which was distributed today in Strasbourg.
“Following Azerbaijan’s historic victory and restoration of territorial integrity, we are faced with a smear campaign organized to denigrate Azerbaijan and overshadow the country’s achievements towards restoring justice that was denied to the people of Azerbaijan.”
“Unfortunately, PACE is used as a platform for attacks on some member states. Certain biased groups abuse the basic principles of PACE for their own narrow interests. Political corruption, discrimination, ethnic and religious hatred, double standards, arrogance, chauvinism have become the prevailing practices in PACE,” the statement said.
We consider the initiative to challenge the powers of the Azerbaijani delegation to PACE as an attempt to interfere in the current electoral process in Azerbaijan, as an example of “insidious steps” to undermine democratic institutions in the country.
“The proposal to refuse to ratify the powers of our delegation will be a serious blow to the authority and impartiality of the European Council as a whole, and responsibility for its serious and irreversible consequences will fall entirely on its initiators.
No one in the world, including those sitting in this room, can speak to Azerbaijan in the language of threats and blackmail. Never in the history of PACE has this organization behaved so shamefully.
“Against the background of intolerant racism, Azerbaijanophobia and Islamophobia in PACE, the Azerbaijani delegation decided to suspend cooperation with PACE and participation in the organization for an indefinite period,” the statement reads.
