Western Azerbaijan Community accuses Council of Europe of ethnic, religious discrimination

The Western Azerbaijan Community has issued a statement condemning the biased, politicized, and overreaching fifth opinion of the Advisory Committee on the implementation of the Council of Europe’s Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities by Azerbaijan.

"The Council of Europe’s Advisory Committee, which remains silent about the ethnic cleansing, destruction of Azerbaijanis' cultural heritage in Armenia, and violations of their rights, has demonstrated in its latest opinion that it holds a defamatory position against Azerbaijan and supports Armenia's actions, which deported Azerbaijanis and became a monoethnic country,” Caliber.Az reports, quoting the community’s statement.

The community specifically pointed to the committee’s singular focus on the right of Armenians to return to Karabakh as an obvious sign of ethnic and religious discrimination.

“We remind that we have repeatedly appealed to the Council of Europe to conduct monitoring of Armenia's compliance with its human rights obligations, including those arising from the European Convention on Human Rights and the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities. Our appeals have gone unanswered,” the statement reads.

The community voiced its concern over the politicization of Council of Europe institutions, particularly the Parliamentary Assembly.

“A number of Council of Europe bodies, led by the Parliamentary Assembly, have become tools of political games against Azerbaijan in the hands of certain circles. We demand that the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe put an end to these unacceptable political games, ethnic, and religious discrimination permitted by the Advisory Committee against Azerbaijan," the statement adds.

By Khagan Isayev