Baku Initiative Group: Azerbaijan at forefront of global decolonisation push

Azerbaijan’s leadership in global decolonisation efforts has laid the foundation for a new phase of international advocacy, according to Abbas Abbasov, Executive Director of the Baku Initiative Group (BIG).

Speaking on the sidelines of the fourth session of the UN Permanent Forum on People of African Descent, Abbasov highlighted Azerbaijan’s continued support for national resistance and independence movements, particularly those opposing French and Dutch colonial legacies, Caliber.Az reports per local media.

“We have hosted over 20 international conferences, published 12 reports and three books over the past two years,” Abbasov noted, underscoring BIG’s role in what he described as the beginning of a “second wave” of decolonisation, following the first in the 1960s.

Abbasov acknowledged that BIG has faced cyberattacks and political pressure but said these efforts have not derailed their mission. “We remain steadfast in supporting movements fighting against colonialism, particularly in territories still impacted by France and the Netherlands,” he stated.

BIG has brought international attention to these issues, holding events at the UN headquarters in New York and submitting reports to the UN Human Rights Council. Abbasov added that several UN institutions have begun requesting accountability from France over developments in New Caledonia and French Polynesia.

At a conference titled "Decolonisation: Silent Revolution", held at the UN, BIG launched a petition calling for official recognition of historical colonial oppression and the provision of reparations. The petition urges the international community to acknowledge the physical and moral damage inflicted on colonised peoples and calls for debt relief, financial and cultural support, and restitution for environmental harm.

The document cites multiple legal precedents, including UN General Assembly Resolution 1514, the 2001 Durban Declaration, and speeches by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, calling for an end to neocolonial injustice and the establishment of equitable global systems.

By Aghakazim Guliyev