The delegation of the Republic of Azerbaijan to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) made a statement at the meeting of the institution on January 24.
Publika.az presents the statement.
“The Republic of Azerbaijan is a proud, independent, sovereign, democratic and multicultural state. Democracy is our conscious choice, and since we regained our independence in 1991, we have made great progress in protecting human rights and ensuring the rule of law in Azerbaijan.
The main purpose of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) is to be a platform for dialogue between parliamentarians of different countries based on mutual respect and equal rights.
When Azerbaijan became a member of the Council of Europe in 2001, this organization, which aims to protect human rights and the rule of law, will help Azerbaijan in restoring the rights of hundreds of thousands of Azerbaijanis whose rights were violated as a result of the military aggression and occupation of some of the internationally recognized territories of Azerbaijan by Armenia, and thus a sustainable development in the region. there was a sincere hope and expectation that justice would take its place for the sake of achieving peace.
During the 19 years from 2001 to 2020, PACE did not condemn the occupying state – Armenia, to respond to its actions against the main values and principles of the Council of Europe. Here we are talking about clear disrespect for the human rights of Azerbaijani refugees and IDPs who have been subjected to ethnic cleansing.
After Azerbaijan’s historic victory over aggression, occupation and violent separatism, and the restoration of territorial integrity and sovereignty, we are facing a smear campaign organized to smear Azerbaijan and overshadow the country’s achievements in the direction of restoring justice that has been denied to the people of Azerbaijan for a long time. For nearly 20 years, when the Azerbaijani delegation brought up the heavy consequences of the Armenian occupation, they told us that PACE was not the right format for discussing issues related to the conflict. Now, the same PACE and those deputies say the opposite and do not miss any opportunity to attack Azerbaijan. Selective interpretation of international law, different approach to issues related to territorial integrity and sovereignty of states demonstrate the disgraceful and hypocritical nature of the authors of this shameful proposal.
Unfortunately, PACE is being used as a platform to target some member states. Certain biased groups abuse the basic principles of PACE for their narrow interests. Political corruption, discrimination, ethnic and religious hatred, double standards, arrogance, chauvinism have become the prevailing practice in PACE.
We consider the initiative to challenge the credentials of Azerbaijan’s delegation to PACE as part of this dirty campaign. We also consider this initiative as a purposeful and unacceptable attempt to interfere with the ongoing election process in Azerbaijan, as a clear example of insidious steps that undermine the functioning of democratic institutions in our country. The proposal to refuse to ratify the credentials of our delegation will be a serious blow to the credibility and impartiality of the European Council as a whole, and the responsibility for its serious and irreversible consequences will fall entirely on its initiators.
No one in the world, including those sitting in this hall, can speak to Azerbaijan in the language of threats and blackmail. Never in the history of PACE has this organization behaved in such a shameful way.
Against the background of the intolerable racism, Azerbaijanophobia and Islamophobia in PACE, the Azerbaijani delegation has decided to suspend cooperation with PACE and participation in the organization for an indefinite period.
The delegation left the venue after making the statement.
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