West Azerbaijan Community condemns recent report of Commissioner for Human Rights of CoE

Chairman of the Board of the Community of Western Azerbaijan Aziz Alakbarli sent a letter to the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe Dunja Mijatovic protesting against several flaws in the report on the Commissioner's visit to Armenia and Azerbaijan on October 16-23, 2023, Caliber.Az reports.

"It is with a sense of deep regret and disappointment that we note that your latest report addresses the issue of only one ethnic group in a distorted manner, while our issue is deliberately left out of the document. The fact that you did not address the issue of the hundreds of thousands of Azerbaijanis expelled from Armenia, their plight and their ongoing struggle is not only disappointing, but also contrary to the principles of fairness and impartiality. This is a classic example of bias, ethnic and religious discrimination.

Your report makes only a generalized call for Armenia to respect the right to return, but does not specify who specifically is being referred to. Such vagueness detracts from the value and impact of this call. Ignoring the suffering of Azerbaijani refugees undermines what remains of the credibility of the Council of Europe and its mission," the letter says.