European Parliament resolution on Azerbaijan
Date: 2005-06-09
Institutions: European Parliament
Subjects: Azerbaijan, election, fundamental rights, opposition, political prisoner, political rights, political situation

25.5.2006

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 124 E/569

Thursday 9 June 2005

7.
Calls on the Council and the Commission to establish clear mechanisms for the regular monitoring of
compliance with Article 2 by all parties to the Association Agreement, and the European Parliament, the
National Popular Assembly and Algerian civil society;

8.
Calls on the United Kingdom Presidency to convene the EU-Algeria Association Council so as to rein-
itiate political dialogue with Algeria and to include on the agenda of the meeting the question of the
freedom of the press;

Calls on the Commission to continue to promote programmes, by way of the EIDHR, that seek to

9.
strengthen the independent media in Algeria and the development of pluralist information channels;

Asks that the question of freedom of the press be raised at the next meeting of the Interparliamen-

10.
tary Delegation for relations with the Maghreb countries;

11.
Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Personal Representative on
Human Rights of Mr Javier Solana, the Secretary-General/High Representative for the CFSP, the Commis-
sion and the Government and Popular National Assembly of Algeria.

P6_TA(2005)0243

Azerbaijan

The European Parliament,

European Parliament resolution on Azerbaijan

— having regard to its previous resolutions on Azerbaijan and the South Caucasus and, in particular, its
recommendation of 26 February 2004 to the Council on EU policy towards the South Caucasus (1),

— having regard to its resolution of 20 November 2003 on ‘Wider Europe — Neighbourhood: A New

Framework for Relations with our Eastern and Southern Neighbours’ (2),

— having regard to the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement with Azerbaijan, which entered into
force on 1 July 1999 and in which respect for democracy, the principles of international law and
human rights are enshrined,

— having regard to the Commission's Country Report on Azerbaijan of 2 March 2005,

— having regard to the Conclusions of the EU General Affairs and External Relations Council of 25 and

26 April 2005 and the EU Presidency Declaration of 24 May 2005 on the events in Baku,

— having regard to the joint recommendations of the Venice Commission and the OSCE/ODIHR of 1 June
2005 on the electoral law and the electoral administration in Azerbaijan and the OSCE report of 4
February 2005 on trial monitoring in Azerbaijan,

— having regard to the recommendations of the 6th meeting of the EU-Azerbaijan Parliamentary Coop-

eration Committee, which was held in Baku on 18-19 April 2005,

— having regard to Azerbaijan's inclusion in the European neighbourhood policy and the decision to

implement Action Plans for the three countries of the South Caucasus,

(1) OJ C 98 E, 23.4.2004, p. 193.
(2) OJ C 87 E, 7.4.2004, p. 506.

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Official Journal of the European Union

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Thursday 9 June 2005

— having regard to Azerbaijan's membership of the Council of Europe, to the European Convention on
Human Rights and to the many resolutions by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
on the situation in Azerbaijan,

— having regard to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and in particular Articles 19

and 21 thereof, which guarantee the right to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly,

— having regard to the EU Presidency's statement of 19 May 2005 on Azerbaijan, welcoming President

Ilham Aliyev's decree on improving the practice of elections in Azerbaijan,

— having regard to Article 115(5) of its Rules of Procedure,

A. whereas opposition parties were refused permission by the Mayor of Baku to hold a rally in Baku on
21 May 2005, contradicting the spirit of the 12 May 2005 presidential decree which ordered the local
administration to authorise political rallies and find appropriate venues for them,

B. whereas an attempt by the opposition to hold the rally on 21 May 2005 in Baku met with violence
and police brutality against journalists and individuals taking part in the rally, of whom a number were
detained for several days,

C. whereas, on 31 May 2005, the Azerbaijani authorities detained dozens of youth activists for distri-

buting leaflets,

D. whereas a new demonstration by the opposition took place without incident in Baku on 4 June 2005

after an agreement had been reached with the authorities,

E. whereas EU representatives have expressed their concern about the detention of protesters and opposi-
tion leaders while exercising their freedom of assembly, an essential freedom in any democratic society
being the freedom to express one's political opinions,

F. whereas this is not the first time the authorities have used excessive force to suppress the opposition;
in October 2003, following disturbances surrounding the widely criticised presidential elections, seven
members of the opposition were arrested and given five-year prison sentences, but were later pardoned,

G. whereas the conclusions of the OSCE on the municipal elections of December 2004 stated that they
‘fell short of a number of international standards for democratic elections’, although the election day
was generally assessed as acceptable and some technical improvements were reported, compared with
the previous presidential elections of 2003,

H. whereas, with a view to the parliamentary elections in November 2005, President Ilham Aliyev issued
an Executive Order on 12 May 2005 on ‘Improvement of Election Practices in the Republic of Azer-
baijan’,

I. whereas the conclusions of the OSCE report on trial monitoring in Azerbaijan show that in some
important respects trials fell well short of Azerbaijan's existing legal requirements and its international
commitments on human rights and the rule of law,

J. whereas journalists have experienced a persistent and disturbing decline in the extent of press freedom

in the country,

K. having regard to the generally difficult social and political situation linked to the unresolved

Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, which has resulted in a huge refugee and IDP burden on the country,

25.5.2006

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Official Journal of the European Union

C 124 E/571

Thursday 9 June 2005

1.
Regrets the decision taken by the Mayor of Baku to deny permission for the opposition's rally called
for 21 May 2005 to take place, and strongly condemns the disproportionate use of force by the police
against members of the opposition and youth movement activists exercising their rights to freedom of
expression and peaceful assembly;

2. Notes that the arrest and detention of opposition activists was politically motivated, welcomes the
release of all those arrested and calls for a full investigation into the events, including into the responsibility
of the police;

3.
Strongly condemns the assassination of the journalist Elmar Huseynov in March of this year, and
reiterates its support for pluralism, democracy and the rule of law; calls on the authorities to do everything
possible to bring the perpetrators to justice; urges the government to lift the restrictions imposed on the
media, to stop the harassment, intimidation and detention of journalists who dare to criticise the govern-
ment and to protect the personal safety and professional integrity of journalists performing their duties;

4.
Urges Azerbaijan to secure the independence of the judiciary and to guarantee the inherent and
inalienable fundamental rights of persons under detention; calls on the authorities to take steps to remedy
the deficiencies observed in trials and urges the government, in this regard, to implement the Council of
Europe recommendations on the treatment of political prisoners following extensive and credible allega-
tions of torture and ill-treatment;

5. Welcomes the decision of the Azerbaijani authorities to pardon the 114 people imprisoned in
connection with public disturbances in the direct aftermath of the 2003 presidential elections, including
those designated by the Council of Europe as political prisoners, as well as the seven opposition leaders
who had been convicted of taking part in the mass protest; takes the view that this might represent a posi-
tive step towards the establishment of political pluralism in Azerbaijan and calls for the release of all the
remaining political prisoners;

6. Welcomes the presidential decree instructing the executive authorities to ensure the freedom of
assembly, the compilation of accurate electoral rolls, that each candidate has equal access to the media, and
that citizens are not persecuted for their political beliefs; calls on the authorities to ensure that this decree
and further reforms are fully implemented in line with international standards at all levels;

7.
Calls on the government to ensure that the forthcoming parliamentary elections in November 2005
will be free and fair and that opposition activists and candidates do not suffer repression in any shape or
form;

8.
Calls for renewed efforts from all sides in the round-table discussions between the ruling party and
the opposition parties, which are aimed at strengthening confidence in the electoral process and mini-
mising the risk of fraud;

Calls for a sufficient number of international observers to be deployed in the country for the elections,

9.
including a delegation from the European Parliament;

10.
Takes the view that the Action Plan for Azerbaijan should be focused on the development of
genuine democracy and respect for human rights and the rule of law; urges the Commission, in this
regard, to coordinate its action with the Council of Europe and to make every effort to support and
develop the fragile Azerbaijani civil society;

11.
Supports the continuing dialogue between the Azerbaijani Government and the OSCE/ODIHR and
the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe, and welcomes the report of the ODIHR Needs Assess-
ment Mission in June;

12.
Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the parliaments
and governments of the Member States, the President, Government and Parliament of the Republic of Azer-
baijan, and the Parliamentary Assemblies of the OSCE and the Council of Europe.