Azerbaijan may opt out of European Court of Justice jurisdiction Does Baku need CoE?

At the first session of the Council of Europe's Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) winter session, which began on January 22, the Azerbaijani delegation's credentials were not approved.

The proposal of the German MP Frank Schwabe to refuse the admission of the Azerbaijan delegation was supported and sent to the monitoring committee for consideration, Trend reported.

The Azerbaijani delegation took part in sessions, but its right to vote was restricted. The main reason for this was that the Azerbaijani side "did not approve a visit to the Lachin corridor and the monitoring of the situation in Karabakh, as well as a meeting with Azerbaijani 'political prisoners' in 2023".

The monitoring commission has to adopt a decision within 24 hours.

Although the German MP and his colleagues who supported this initiative tried to explain this issue in terms of human rights, it is clear that this has nothing to do with human rights.

What's happening is an attempt to retaliate against Azerbaijan for having restored its sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Many countries and international organisations, including the Council of Europe and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, did not like the fact that Azerbaijan, after 30 years of discussions on various platforms, including the level of the PACE, and resolutions that remained only on the table, has independently ensured its territorial integrity and sovereignty. They believe that Baku should be punished for actions taken against their will. They forget, however, that for Azerbaijan not only the withdrawal of its vote in the PACE, but also the structure itself is no longer relevant. Azerbaijan joined the Council of Europe hoping to resolve the Karabakh issue.

However, for many years this structure did not take any measures against the fact of Armenia's aggression against Azerbaijan and its occupation of the country's territories, and was content with a few statements that had no legal weight. No steps have been taken to implement the resolutions adopted by the PACE, although it adopted several resolutions supporting the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan and calling on Armenia to leave the occupied territories.

PACE has turned a blind eye to the fact that a member state of the organisation - Armenia - has been occupying the territory of another member state - Azerbaijan - for many years and has not even thought of limiting the voting rights of the aggressor state.

The Karabakh problem is already solved. Azerbaijan does not need the Council of Europe, which currently has no authority in Europe.

Depending on the decision of the PACE, it will be necessary to take an appropriate step. In case of a decision of the PACE not to confirm the authority of the Azerbaijani delegation and to limit its voting rights, it will be advisable for the Azerbaijani delegation to cease its activity in this organisation.

Withdrawing Azerbaijan from the European Court of Human Rights may become relevant.

It should be noted that since Azerbaijan became a member of this organisation in 2001, pro-Armenian, Islamophobic forces have constantly used this organisation as a tool against Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan has gained almost nothing from its membership in this organisation. The Council of Europe and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, as well as other Christian clubs - the European Union and the European Parliament - have always shown a biased, non-objective attitude towards Azerbaijan and Turkey.

The Council of Europe has turned into a camp of Islamophobic and Turkophobic-minded representatives of various European countries who could not get into the European Parliament. It is no coincidence that the German MEP Frank Schwabe has put forward a proposal for sanctions against Azerbaijan. The recent joint actions of France and Germany against Azerbaijan in Europe should not be overlooked. It is quite obvious that France, which has already pushed its attitude towards Azerbaijan to the limit of hostility, is trying to implement its wishes in some cases through Germany to hide its main intention. Due to a series of foreign policy failures and loss of influence, France is once again hiding behind Germany. However, it is inappropriate to talk to Azerbaijan in the language of sanctions and threats, both the Franco-German tandem and other countries and international organisations should understand this. They will only harm themselves.