The Ombudsman addressed an open letter of protest to Ms. Agnès Callamard, the Secretary General of the “Amnesty International,” international non-governmental organization

The Ombudsman of Azerbaijan, Ms. Sabina Aliyeva, sent an open letter of protest to Ms. Agnes Callamard, the Secretary General of the “Amnesty International”- international non-governmental organization.

The letter states that the fact that “2024 The State of the World’s Human Rights Report,” published by the organization on its official website, contains untrue, one-sided, and biased information about our country, provides further evidence that the organization is far from the principles of objectivity and justice in the field of human rights.

Furthermore, contrary to the information indicated in the report, the 29th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC (COP29), held in our country last year, was broad in terms of representation, where ensuring inclusiveness was in the spotlight, and the opportunity for the participation of civil society members was created.

It was noted that if Amnesty International had observed the principle of fairness in the preparation of its report, the necessity of the return of more than 250,000 Azerbaijanis who were forcibly expelled from Armenia in connection with the conflict since 1987 would also have been addressed in the document. The importance of the provision of guarantees by the Government of Armenia for the return of Azerbaijanis to the areas where they lived in safety and dignity in line with its commitments under international documents was emphasized. 

The issue of landmine terror pursued by Armenia in the liberated areas of Azerbaijan, which seriously endangers the human rights and freedoms, and Armenia’s failure to provide any information about the fate of approximately 4000 Azerbaijanis missing as a result of the First Karabakh War were further touched upon in the letter, pointing out that the ignorance of these facts by this international organization clearly demonstrates a serious bias and double standards in the approach to human rights issues.

In the letter, it also expressed that the report failed to refer such information about the regular visits that are carried out to places where persons cannot leave at their own free will within the framework of the Ombudsman’s NPM activity, that, the rights of detainees and their detention conditions and health status are consistently kept under close attention, and that the Ombudsman Institution remains open and ready to verify any information related to detained persons and the findings of investigations are regularly shared with the wider public.

In conclusion of the letter, the Ombudsman urged all international organizations, including international NGOs, to adhere to the universally accepted principles of international law when writing reports on human rights, to maintain the principles of fairness and impartiality, and to rely only on objective and verified facts.