What changed between the resolution motion and the resolution motion joint

Removed:B100129/2024

European Parliament resolution on the situation in Azerbaijan, violation of human rights and international law and relations with Armenia

(2024/2890(RSP))

The European Parliament,

Changed:– having regard to itits previous resolutions on Azerbaijan, Armenia and Azerbaijan,the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh,

Changed:– having regard to the Charterrelevant ofdocuments and international agreements, including but not limited to the United Nations andCharter, tothe Helsinki Final Act and the principlesAlma-Ata Declaration of international21 law,December 1991,

Removed:– having regard to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,

Added:– having regard to the European Convention on Human Rights of 1950, ratified by Azerbaijan in 2002 and to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment,

Changed:– having regard to the European1954 Hague Convention onfor Humanthe RightsProtection (ECHR),of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict,

Changed:– having regard to the TreatyPartnership onand Cooperation Agreement of 22 April 1996 between the European UnionCommunities and their Member States, of the Treatyone onpart, and the FunctioningRepublic of Azerbaijan, of the Europeanother Union,part,

Change 1

Removed:– having regard to the European Neighbourhood Policy and to the Eastern Partnership,

Added:– having regard to the statements by the European External Action Service spokesperson of 29 May 2024 on the human rights situation in Azerbaijan and of 3 September 2024 on early parliamentary elections in Azerbaijan,

Removed:– having regard to the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement between the European Communities and their Member States, of the one part, and the Republic of Armenia, of the other part,

Added:– having regard to Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe resolution 2527 (2024) of 24 January 2024 entitled ‘Challenge, on substantive grounds, of the still unratified credentials of the parliamentary delegation of Azerbaijan’,

Removed:– having regard to the Comprehensive and enhanced Partnership Agreement between the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community and their Member States, of the one part, and the Republic of Armenia, of the other part,

Added:– having regard to the Statement of Preliminary Findings and Conclusions of the Election Observation Mission to the Early Presidential Elections held on 7 February 2024 and to the Statement of Preliminary Findings and Conclusions of the International Election Observation Mission to the Early Parliamentary Elections in Azerbaijan held on 1 September 2024,

Removed:– having regard to the EU Country Roadmap for Engagement with Civil Society in Armenia for the period 2021-2027,

Added:– having regard to the report of 29 March 2023 by the Council of Europe’s European Commission against Racism and Intolerance on Azerbaijan and to the memorandum of 21 October 2021 by the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights on the humanitarian and human rights consequences following the 2020 outbreak of hostilities between Armenia and Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh,

Removed:– having regard to the Memorandum of Understanding on a Strategic Partnership in the Field of Energy signed between the EU and Azerbaijan on 18 July 2022,

Added:– having regard to the orders of the International Court of Justice of 22 February 2023, of 6 July 2023 and of 17 November 2023 on the request for the indication of provisional measures for the application of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (Armenia v Azerbaijan),

Removed:– having regard to the need for a peaceful resolution to the conflict in accordance with the principles of the Helsinki Final Act, the Charter of Paris for a New Europe, and the relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions,

Added:– having regard to Rules 136(2) and (4) of its Rules of Procedure,

Removed:– having regard to the joint statement of 7 December 2023 of the Office of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia and the Presidential Administration of the Republic of Azerbaijan,

Added:A. whereas the choice of Azerbaijan’s capital Baku as the venue for the 29th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP29), scheduled to take place from 11 to 22 November 2024, has sparked controversy, notably owing to Azerbaijan’s worsening human rights record, as well as recent and blatant violations of international law, including aggressive behaviour towards its neighbour Armenia; whereas respect for fundamental human rights and civil society participation are enshrined in the host country agreement through which the Azerbaijani Government committed to uphold these rights; whereas in the lead-up to this major international conference, the Azerbaijani authorities have intensified their repression of civil society organisations, activists, opposition politicians and the remaining independent media through detentions and judicial harassment; whereas corruption and a lack of judicial independence further undermine governance;

Removed:– having regard to the report of 10 May 2024 of the UN Committee against Torture on Azerbaijan,

Added:B. whereas civil society organisations list over 300 political prisoners in Azerbaijan, including Gubad Ibadoghlu, Anar Mammadli, Bakhtiyar Hajiyev, Tofig Yagublu, Ilhamiz Guliyev, Aziz Orujov, Bahruz Samadov, Akif Gurbanov and many others; whereas there are credible reports of violations of prisoners’ human rights, including detention in inhumane conditions, torture and refusal of adequate medical care;

Removed:– having regard to Rule 136(2) of its Rules of Procedure,

Added:C. whereas prominent human rights defender and climate advocate, Anar Mammadli, has been in pre-trial detention since 30 April 2024 on bogus charges of conspiracy to bring illegal foreign currency into the country and his health has deteriorated significantly while in custody; whereas Gubad Ibadoghlu, a political economist, opposition figure and one of the finalists for the 2024 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, was arrested by Azerbaijani authorities in July 2023 and remained in detention until 22 April 2024, when he was transferred to house arrest; whereas his health has deteriorated significantly since his arrest, as a result of torture, inhumane detention conditions and refusal of adequate medical care, thus endangering his life; whereas the health of Gubad Ibadoghlu’s wife, Irada Bayramova, continues to deteriorate as a result of the physical violence she suffered during her detention by the Azerbaijani authorities; whereas on 4 December 2023 human rights activist Ilhamiz Guliyev was arrested on politically motivated charges a few months after he gave an anonymous interview to Abzas Media about the alleged police practice of planting drugs on political activists;

Removed:A. whereas a lasting and comprehensive peace agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan is essential for the security, stability and prosperity of the South Caucasus region;

Added:D. whereas for more than a decade and with increasing determination, Azerbaijani authorities have been reducing space for civil society, arbitrarily closing down non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and arresting or forcing into exile civil society representatives; whereas in recent years, the Azerbaijani authorities have imposed increasingly stringent restrictions on civil society organisations; whereas activists, journalists, political opponents and others have been imprisoned on fabricated and politically motivated charges;

Removed:B. whereas Azerbaijan’s aggression against Nagorno-Karabakh has resulted in significant human suffering, and Azerbaijani troops have committed ethnic cleansing and violence against the Armenian inhabitants of the region;

Added:E. whereas according to human rights defenders, crackdowns on civil society have occurred around other major international events hosted by Azerbaijan, including Eurovision 2012 and the European Games 2015;

Removed:C. whereas, in the context of building confidence between the two countries, an agreement had been reached for the Republic of Armenia to support the Republic of Azerbaijan’s bid to host the 29th Session of the Conference of the Parties (COP29) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) by withdrawing its own candidacy; whereas this agreement provided for the Republic of Azerbaijan to release 32 Armenian military servicemen and the Republic of Armenia to release 2 Azerbaijani military servicemen;

Added:F. whereas the Azerbaijani regime appears to extend its repressive actions beyond its borders; whereas the ongoing crackdown on freedom of expression in Azerbaijan is also reflected in reports of transnational repression and reprisals against family members of detainees; whereas, since 2020, Mahammad Mirzali, an Azerbaijani dissident blogger, has been the target of several assassination attempts in France; whereas, on 29 September 2024, Vidadi Isgandarli, a critic of the Azerbaijani regime living as a political refugee in France, was attacked in his home and succumbed to his injuries two days later; whereas the Azerbaijani authorities have also engaged in politically motivated prosecutions of EU citizens, as seen in the case of Théo Clerc, prompting at least one Member State to formally warn its citizens against travelling to Azerbaijan owing to the risk of arbitrary detention;

Removed:D. whereas 23 prisoners of war are still being held captive in Azerbaijan charged with spurious crimes and without adequate legal representation;

Added:G. whereas Azerbaijan has implemented a systematic policy of bribing officials and elected representatives in Europe in order to downplay Azerbaijan’s human rights record and to silence critics, as part of a widely used strategy described as ‘caviar diplomacy’; whereas some cases have been investigated and some of those involved have been prosecuted and convicted by national courts in several EU Member States;

Removed:E. whereas EU-Azerbaijan relations are based on the EU-Azerbaijan Partnership and Cooperation Agreement in force since 1999;

Added:H. whereas a number of European Court of Human Rights decisions have found that Azerbaijan has violated human rights; whereas according to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, more than 320 court judgments against Azerbaijan have not yet been executed or have been only partially implemented, which is the highest number among all state parties to the European Convention on Human Rights;

Removed:F. whereas it has become clear that the gas deal signed between the Commission and Azerbaijan has given the Azerbaijani Government carte blanche to do as it pleases, knowing that the EU’s energy security is dependent on its will;

Added:I. whereas on 3 July 2024, the Council of Europe’s European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) publicly denounced Azerbaijan’s ‘refusal to improve the situation in the light of the Committee’s recommendations’ and the ‘persistent lack of cooperation of the Azerbaijani authorities with the CPT’;

Removed:G. whereas the 2024 United Nations Climate Change Conference or Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC, COP29, will be held in Baku, Azerbaijan, from 11 to 22 November 2024;

Added:J. whereas the PACE decided in January 2024 not to ratify the credentials of the Azerbaijani delegation, noting its ‘very serious concerns as to …[Azerbaijan’s] respect for human rights’; whereas the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe noted that its Monitoring Committee’s rapporteurs were not allowed to meet with people who had been detained on allegedly politically motivated charges, and that the Azerbaijani delegation refused to allow the rapporteur for the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights to visit the country;

Removed:H. whereas progress has been made in recent years towards closer cooperation between the EU and Armenia, including in areas such as trade, development and political dialogue; whereas the European Union is Armenia’s second largest trading partner and its largest development cooperation donor;

Added:K. whereas according to the Election Observation Mission led by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (OSCE/ODIHR), the early presidential election held on 7 February 2024 took place in a restrictive environment and was marked by the stifling of critical voices and the absence of political alternatives; whereas Azerbaijan held early parliamentary elections on 1 September 2024 in what the OSCE/ODIHR-led International Election Observation Mission described as a restrictive political and legal environment that did not enable genuine pluralism and resulted in a contest devoid of competition; whereas in the period leading up to the parliamentary elections, several government critics were detained;

Removed:I. whereas Azerbaijan’s record in terms of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms is still very negative and needs to be improved before the EU further deepens its political and energy partnership with the country;

Added:L. whereas media legislation in Azerbaijan has become increasingly repressive, with the February 2022 media law effectively legalising censorship; whereas several other laws affecting the media also violate the country’s international obligations with regard to freedom of expression and press freedom; whereas public criticism of the authorities is subject to severe penalties;

Removed:J. whereas the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, Mary Lawlor, stated on 15 August 2024 that in recent months she had witnessed an alarming wave of arrests and criminal cases against human rights defenders and journalists in Azerbaijan; whereas this statement concerns, among others, Anar Mammadli, Chair of the Election Monitoring and Democracy Studies Center, and Ulvi Hasanli, Sevinj Abbasova, Nargiz Absalamova and Elnara Gasimova, Director, Editor-in-chief and journalists respectively of Abzas Media, an outlet dedicated to human rights issues and corruption investigations;

Added:M. whereas according to Reporters Without Borders, virtually the entire media sector in Azerbaijan is under official control, with no independent television or radio broadcasts from within the country, and all critical print newspapers shut down; whereas the authorities continue to suppress the last remaining independent media and repress journalists who reject self-censorship; whereas Azerbaijan has intensified its repression against the remaining independent media, such as Abzas Media, Kanal 13 and Toplum TV, through detentions and judicial harassment;

Removed:K. whereas Gubad Ibadoghlu, a political economist and opposition figure, was arrested by the Azerbaijani authorities in July 2023 and remained in detention until 22 April 2024, when he was transferred to house arrest; whereas his health has deteriorated significantly since his arrest, as a result of torture, inhumane detention conditions and refusal of adequate medical care, thus endangering his life;

Added:N. whereas the Azerbaijani laws regulating the registration, operation and funding of NGOs are highly restrictive and arbitrarily implemented, thus effectively criminalising unregistered NGO activity; whereas Freedom House’s 2024 index ranks Azerbaijan among the least free countries in the world, below Russia and Belarus;

Removed:L. whereas Ilhamiz Guliyev, a human rights defender, was arbitrarily arrested on 4 December 2023 on dubious accusations of drug trafficking after his whistleblowing testimony about police tampering with evidence against government critics; whereas he is facing up to 12 years in prison;

Added:O. whereas gas contracts between Gazprom and SOCAR for the delivery of one billion cubic metres of gas from Russia to Azerbaijan between November 2022 and March 2023 have raised significant concerns about the re-export of Russian gas to the European market, particularly in the context of the signed memorandum of understanding on the strategic partnership in the field of energy; whereas the EU aims to reduce European dependence on Russian gas, but this agreement could be seen as undermining that goal, as Russian gas would still be flowing into Azerbaijan, thus potentially freeing up Azerbaijani gas for increased re-export to the EU; whereas there are also worrying reports of Russian gas being rebranded as Azerbaijani for sale in the EU;

Removed:M. whereas the human rights of LGBTIQ people in Armenia and Azerbaijan are at best disregarded and at worst actively fought against by the government and state institutions; whereas, according to the 2024 Rainbow Map and Index of the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association Europe, Azerbaijan scored 2 % in terms of its legal and policy practices; whereas this makes Azerbaijan the lowest-ranked of all the countries assessed;

Added:P. whereas Azerbaijani leaders have engaged in anti-EU and anti-Western rhetoric; whereas Azerbaijan has intensified its disinformation campaigns targeting the EU and its Member States, with a specific focus on France; whereas Azerbaijan has actively interfered in European politics under the guise of ‘anti-colonialism’, notably in overseas countries and territories such as New Caledonia;

Removed:N. whereas, in the International Court of Justice order of 7 December 2021, which ordered Azerbaijan to prevent and punish acts of vandalism and desecration against Armenian cultural heritage, serious allegations were made regarding the involvement of the Azerbaijani authorities in the destruction of cemeteries, churches and historical monuments in Nagorno-Karabakh; whereas the building of the National Assembly of Nagorno-Karabakh was demolished by Azerbaijan on 3 March 2024;

Added:Q. whereas in addition, in September 2023, after months of the illegal blockade of Nagorno-Karabakh, Azerbaijan launched a pre-planned, unjustified military attack on the territory, forcing over 100 000 ethnic Armenians to flee to Armenia, which amounts to ethnic cleansing; whereas as a result, Nagorno-Karabakh has been almost entirely emptied of its Armenian population, who had been living there for centuries; whereas this attack represents a gross violation of human rights and international law, a clear breach of the trilateral ceasefire statement of 9 November 2020 and a failure to uphold commitments made during EU-mediated negotiations;

Removed:O. whereas the EU’s position, as expressed in relevant resolutions, is clear in rejecting ‘any attempt to facilitate or assist in any way the international recognition of the secessionist entity in occupied Cyprus, including in relation to its alleged acceptance as an observer in the Organization of Turkic States (OTS)’; whereas Azerbaijan hosted the Informal Summit of the Heads of State of the OTS on 5-6 July 2024;

Added:R. whereas the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh lost their property and belongings while fleeing the Azerbaijani military push in 2023 and have been unable to recover them since; whereas actions amounting to ethnic cleansing have continued since then; whereas the EU has provided humanitarian aid to people displaced from Nagorno-Karabakh; whereas credible reports confirm the organised destruction of Armenian cultural and religious heritage in Nagorno-Karabakh; whereas Azerbaijani leaders and officials repeatedly use hate speech against Armenians;

Removed:1. Underlines the importance of peace, stability and security in the South Caucasus for the region, for the EU and for the world; highlights that a lasting and comprehensive peace agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan is essential for the security, stability and prosperity of the South Caucasus region;

Added:S. whereas both Azerbaijan and Armenia are bound by international humanitarian law and the Third Geneva Convention protects prisoners of war from all forms of torture and cruel treatment; whereas reports indicate that 23 Armenian prisoners are currently being held in Azerbaijani prisons without adequate legal representation, including eight former leaders of Nagorno-Karabakh, some of whom have received long prison sentences;