Michael O'Flaherty: Commissioner of Armenian interests Double standards under the banner of “humanism”

Michael O'Flaherty, the Council of Europe's Commissioner for Human Rights, who is notoriously known in the South Caucasus for his provocative statements, has made another remark directed at Azerbaijan.

Brief background: Michael O'Flaherty has held the position of Commissioner for Human Rights at the Council of Europe since April 1, 2024, and will remain in office for six years. His appointment was approved at the plenary session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) in Strasbourg. Previously, O'Flaherty led the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights, was the Chief Commissioner of the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission, and a member of the United Nations Human Rights Committee.

In March of this year, O'Flaherty once again made headlines with his provocative activity in the region by presenting a report on the human rights situation in Georgia. He expressed concern over the state of freedom of assembly, freedom of expression, the protection of civil society, and the rights of LGBT representatives.

O'Flaherty called on the Georgian government to repeal the "Family Values and Protection of Minors" law, stating that this document creates a legal basis for discrimination against LGBT individuals. Furthermore, he opposed the "Foreign Influence Transparency" law adopted in Georgia.

During his speech at the plenary session of PACE, Michael O'Flaherty, under the guise of "human rights protection," also commented on the Armenian-Azerbaijani settlement, and unsurprisingly, from a pro-Armenian perspective.

"Those who wish to return to [Nagorno-Karabakh] are free to do so. I also encourage Armenia to continue its warm attitude towards the people it has accepted from Nagorno-Karabakh," the commissioner proclaimed, aiming to draw international attention to the distorted Yerevan narrative about the so-called "Armenian prisoners" in Baku.

It is important to note that this refers to former leaders of the Karabakh junta who are under arrest and charged with serious war crimes.

"The situation of the Armenian prisoners, the Armenians held in detention, has to be a matter of very high priority for me, and so I am watching from a distance with much attention the experience that these prisoners held in Baku are having . I am in discussion with the government of that country to visit, seeking a time that would work for them and for me. I have approached them twice," the European diplomat stated, "threatening" that he is closely monitoring their conditions of detention and the "experience" they are undergoing.

Michael O'Flaherty's one-sided statements in support of the Armenian side clearly demonstrate his complete lack of impartiality, which is essential for someone holding the responsible position of Commissioner for Human Rights at the Council of Europe.

It is evident that O'Flaherty grossly violates the norms of humanitarian and international law, thoroughly discrediting his diplomatic work. He has no understanding of the processes occurring in the region or the essence of the Karabakh conflict. His openly pro-Armenian stance is the result of efforts by the Armenian lobby. A striking confirmation of this is his mention of the non-existent toponym "Nagorno-Karabakh," as well as his shocking disregard for the rights of hundreds of thousands of former internally displaced persons who cannot return to their homes in the Karabakh region due to the mine terror orchestrated by Armenia.

After Armenia's crushing defeat in the Second Karabakh War in 2020, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, in his address to the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly in September 2021, directly stated:

"The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict was left in the past. There is no administrative territorial unit called Nagorno-Karabakh in Azerbaijan. We have created Karabakh and Eastern Zangazur economic zones by the Presidential decree signed on 7 July this year. Using this occasion, I would like to call on all the UN Member States and the UN Secretariat to avoid using legally non-existing, politically biased and manipulative names while referring to our territories."

Thus, Michael O'Flaherty's latest absurd attack on Azerbaijan only confirmed the presence of double standards in the approaches of Western institutions.

In response to this, the Western Azerbaijan Community issued a statement addressed to the European commissioner: "Michael O'Flaherty speaks of the return of Armenians to Azerbaijan but disregards the issue of the return of Western Azerbaijanis to their ancestral lands in Armenia. In this regard, we urge the High Commissioner not to become a hostage to the policy of double standards, which is deeply rooted in a number of Western institutions," the community stated.

The Community condemned O'Flaherty's statements, viewing them as an encouragement of impunity regarding the ongoing judicial process in Baku. In its address, it also emphasized: "The High Commissioner should also demand an explanation from Armenia's first president, Levon Ter-Petrosyan, for his statement regarding the expulsion of Azerbaijanis, visit Armenia to investigate the state of the religious and cultural heritage of the Azerbaijani people, and examine the facts of ethnic hatred toward Azerbaijanis in Armenian society."

Azerbaijan firmly stands by the position that external interference in its internal affairs is unacceptable. Baku is fully capable of addressing all issues related to the Armenian-Azerbaijani agenda on its own. And no matter how hard provocateurs on European platforms try to cater to the global Armenian community, Azerbaijan will always be guided solely by its national interests. This simple truth should be clearly understood by everyone.