Baku hosts conference on "Decolonisation Dialogues: Legacy, Challenges and Progress"

An international conference on "Decolonisation Dialogues: Legacy, Challenges and Progress" is being held in Baku today.

The event is organised by the Parliamentary Network of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), the Baku Initiative Group, and the NAM Youth Organization, Report informs.

The main goal of the conference is to create a platform to address this global issue.

Rustam Mahmudov, representative of the NAM Parliamentary Network, opened the event, noting that Azerbaijan has paid considerable attention to the fight against colonialism during its chairmanship of the Non-Aligned Movement.

According to him, many states of the world suffered from colonial policy and this problem persists in the 21st century.

"During the 4 years of its chairmanship Azerbaijan has paid special attention to the problem of decolonisation. Unfortunately, in the modern world, many countries still suffer from this problem, one of the states' continuing colonial policy is France," Rustam Mahmudov said.

He also recalled that within the framework of Azerbaijan's chairmanship in NAM, important initiatives were undertaken, in particular, international conferences were organised.

It is imperative today to combat persistent and re-emerging neo-colonial tendencies, Mahmudov said.

"Today, more than ever, it is crucial to recognise and combat persistent and re-emerging neo-colonial trends that perpetuate injustice within societies and countries, thereby increasing barriers to sustainable development for the most vulnerable and posing a significant threat to equitable global cooperation," he noted.

Mahmudov stressed that Azerbaijan's chairmanship of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) over the past four years has focused on mobilising support to help those affected by the colonial past, accelerate the decolonisation process and raise awareness of neo-colonialism.

"This conference will provide an excellent opportunity to discuss the colonial legacy and its diverse manifestations, as well as contemporary challenges related to decolonisation, including progress in this area and trends in neo-colonialism," he added.

Addressing the conference, MP Tural Ganjaliyev said: "Today France, which pursues a policy of neo-colonialism in African countries, is abusing Armenia."

"Despite the liberation of our lands, we see that France is trying to re-enter the region in various ways," Ganjaliyev emphasised.

He continued his speech by noting that we share a common history with the nations that were subjected to colonisation.

"Azerbaijan was also colonised in the recent past and existed as a colony of the Soviet Union for 70 years. In this sense, we share a common history with colonised nations," he said.

The deputy noted that after the First World War, the victorious countries decided that they would govern the people living under colonial policies: "But this system did not work and there were many conflicts. Although the situation changed after the Second World War, the colonising powers did not want to give up their policies. They continued to plunder the natural resources of the countries that were their colonies. Thus, the policy of neo-colonialism in the world continues to this day. France is still pursuing the policy of neo-colonialism in East Africa. This policy has not bypassed the South Caucasus region. France is trying to secure its interests in the South Caucasus through Armenia".

Ganjaliyev added that after the 44-day Patriotic War Azerbaijan secured its sovereignty, but France continues its activities against Azerbaijan even today through Armenia.

"The struggle against neo-colonialism began in Africa. In the 50s and 60s, when French policies became unbearable in Africa, the people of Africa united against neo-colonialism. Many initiative groups were formed in this regard, one of which is the Baku Initiative Group. Unfortunately, Azerbaijan has also suffered from colonialism and we believe that our country can lend its support to countries affected by neo-colonialism," he said.

In turn, Executive Director of the Baku Initiative Group (BIG) Abbas Abbasov said that the decolonisation issue requires collective efforts.

"Over the past three months, the Baku Initiative Group has held 4 international conferences on this topic. Today's conference is a new chapter in the fight against this problem," Abbas Abbasov said.

According to him, decolonisation is not a static concept, it is constantly changing, so it is necessary to constantly raise these issues in the international arena to solve them.