During the 29th session of the UN Human Rights Council, a group of 25 states supported an oral statement delivered by Ireland on the situation of human rights in Azerbaijan. The "joint statement", delivered under the Council’s agenda item 4 (dedicated to the most serious situations of human rights violations), raised concerns about the shrinking space for civil society in the country, imprisonment of independent voices, in particular human rights defenders, and called for their immediate and unconditional release, specifically mentioning Intigam Aliyev, Anar Mammadli, Rasul Jafarov, Khadija Ismayilova, Rauf Mirgadirov, and Leyla and Arif Yunus. It unambiguously denounced the Azerbaijani authorities’ "systematic silencing of critical voices".
This unprecedented spotlight on Azerbaijan in a multilateral forum is the first form of concerted, collective action on the country. It reflects the gravity of the situation and the mounting human rights crisis in the country, as it is hosting the first European Games, and sends a clear message to the government that it is under international scrutiny, and will remain so unless actual reform is carried out, with immediate steps to be taken (i.e., the release of arbitrarily detained dissenting voices). The joint statement follows intense work by NGOs, including FIDH and OMCT in the framework of the Observatory, towards putting increased pressure on the Azerbaijani authorities.
FIDH now calls on the Human Rights Council, should no steps be taken by the government of Azerbaijan, to move forward and adopt a resolution establishing a mechanism to monitor and report on the situation of human rights in Azerbaijan at its 30th session (September 2015).