Ethnic Minorities in Azerbaijan - General Representation in Public and Political Life

General Representation in Public and Political Life

According to the Resolution on the implementation of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities issued by the Council of Europe in 2004:

“ Azerbaijan has made particularly commendable efforts in opening up the personal scope of application of the Framework Convention to a wide range of minorities. In Azerbaijan, the importance of the protection and promotion of cultures of national minorities is recognised and the long history of cultural diversity of the country is largely valued;

- The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and its consequences have considerably hampered efforts to implement the Framework Convention. Despite the general spirit of tolerance in Azerbaijan, the continued occupation of large parts of Azerbaijani territory and the displacement of a high number of people have caused tensions which have resulted in disconcerting manifestations of intolerance. It is to be hoped that a lasting and peaceful solution to the existing conflict will be found and that efforts to that effect will be accelerated. The eventual solution should protect the rights of all persons concerned, in conformity with the territorial integrity of the country and other principles of international law;
- Certain general human rights issues - including concerns as regards freedom of expression and the process of registration of non-governmental organisations - have an impact also on the protection of national minorities and need to be addressed by the authorities as a matter of priority;
- Despite certain positive legislative initiatives, there are a number of shortcomings in the legislation pertaining to the implementation of the Framework Convention. The 2002 Law on the State Language contains regrettable reductions in the legal guarantees relating to the protection of national minorities. These put at risk, for example, certain commendable practices in the field of electronic media. The process of amending the said law should be pursued further with a view to making it compatible with the Framework Convention;
- There is a need to couple the Law on the State Language with improved legal guarantees for the protection of national minorities in such fields as minority language education and use of minority languages in relations with administrative authorities, with a view to consolidating and expanding the positive practices that exist. Priority should be given to the adoption of a new law on the protection of national minorities, providing the necessary guarantees for the implementation of the relevant minority language standards;
- Azerbaijan should consider developing further the consultation structures for representatives of national minorities in order to improve their participation in decision-making.

 ”

According to the European Commission Against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI), the human right's body of the Council of Europe:

“ ECRI notes the general view that national minorities are well represented in public and political life and particularly in parliament. However, there is currently no specific public body where representatives of national minorities could express their views on the public affairs of interest to them. It has been so since the disappearance of the Council for National Minorities, which was originally set up in 1993 and which does not meet anymore. According to several sources, national minorities generally hesitate to come forward to claim their linguistic and cultural rights, particularly due to the general climate resulting from the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh. It seems that those who have tried before to publicly defend national minorities' rights have at the least experienced accusations of “working for the enemy” or of “separatism”, for instance by some media or some politicians. ”

Read more about this topic:  Ethnic Minorities In Azerbaijan

Famous quotes containing the words general, public, political and/or life:

    “... women can never do efficient and general service in hospitals until their dress is prescribed by laws inexorable as those of the Medes and Persians. Then, that dress should be entirely destitute of steel, starch, whale-bone, flounces, and ornaments of all descriptions; should rest on the shoulders, have a skirt from the waist to the ankle, and a waist which leaves room for breathing.”
    —Jane Grey Swisshelm (1815–1884)

    “Hast ever ben in Omaha
    Where rolls the dark Missouri down,
    Where four strong horses scarce can draw
    An empty wagon through the town?
    Where sand is blown from every mound
    To fill your eyes and ears and throat;
    Where all the steamboats are aground,
    And all the houses are afloat?...
    If not, take heed to what I say,
    You’ll find it just as I have found it;
    And if it lies upon your way
    For God’s sake, reader, go around it!”
    —For the State of Nebraska, U.S. public relief program (1935-1943)

    “They had their fortunes to make, everything to gain and nothing to lose. They were schooled in and anxious for debates; forcible in argument; reckless and brilliant. For them it was but a short and natural step from swaying juries in courtroom battles over the ownership of land to swaying constituents in contests for office. For the lawyer, oratory was the escalator that could lift a political candidate to higher ground.”
    —Federal Writers’ Project Of The Wor, U.S. public relief program (1935-1943)

    “A tree is beautiful, but what’s more, it has a right to life; like water, the sun and the stars, it is essential. Life on earth is inconceivable without trees. Forests create climate, climate influences peoples’ character, and so on and so forth. There can be neither civilization nor happiness if forests crash down under the axe, if the climate is harsh and severe, if people are also harsh and severe.... What a terrible future!”
    —Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (1860–1904)