On 24 January in Strasbourg, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe refused to ratify the credentials of the Azerbaijani delegation, thereby suspending the voting rights of its 12 national representatives.
However, Azerbaijan continues to be a “full” member of the Council of Europe, it was stated in a press release published after the vote.
Adopted by 76 votes to 10, with 4 abstentions, the resolution formalising this non-ratification is based on the fact that “more than 20 years after joining the Council of Europe, Azerbaijan has not fulfilled major commitments stemming therefrom”.
These include: continuing concerns about its ability to organise free and independent elections, the weakness of the legislature in relation to the executive, the number of rulings by the European Court of Human Rights and opinions of the Venice Commission that have not been taken into account, threats to journalists, the number of political prisoners, the refusal to cooperate with the Assembly's Monitoring Committee, etc.
The resolution also focuses on Nagorno-Karabakh and notes that Baku has refused to acknowledge the “very serious humanitarian and human rights consequences” of blocking the Latchine corridor linking this region to Armenia.
It also mentions the allegations of “ethnic cleansing” faced by Azerbaijan following its military operation in September 2023.
At a press conference after the vote, the Azerbaijani delegation protested against “the current unbearable atmosphere of racism, Azerbaijanophobia and Islamophobia” within an Assembly “used as a platform to target some Member States”.
It has decided to leave the premises “until further notice”.
Link to the resolution: https://aeur.eu/f/aks (Original version in French by Véronique Leblanc)