COMMITTEE ON ELIMINATION OF RACIAL DISCRIMINATION CONSIDERS REPORT OF AZERBAIJAN

12 August 2009

The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination has considered the combined fifth and sixth periodic report of Azerbaijan on its implementation of the provisions of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.

Presenting the report, Khalaf Khalafov, Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan, said that important constitutional reforms had been carried out in March 2009, aimed at further constitutional strengthening and increasing effectiveness of the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms. During the last years, the judicial and legal systems of the State had also been reformed and improved fundamentally. Throughout its history, Azerbaijan had been known for its high level of tolerance and respect for various ethnic groups and religions. The Constitution ensured the equality of all citizens, regardless of their ethnic, religious or racial origin, among others. The gravest problem for Azerbaijan was still the long-lasting Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict. As a result of the ethic cleansing policy conducted by Armenia, more than one million Azerbaijanis had become refugees and internally displaced persons. This had had a negative impact on the realization of their human rights and fundamental freedoms. Due to this situation, Azerbaijan was unable to fulfil its international obligations in the field of the promotion and protection of human rights in the occupied territories.

In preliminary concluding observations, Regis De Gouttes, the Committee Expert who served as Rapporteur for the report of Azerbaijan, said that the positive aspects in Azerbaijan included the fight against trafficking in persons; the new measures to improve the situation of migrants and refugees and the large number of internally displaced persons and the reform of the visa system. Also positive had been the improvements made in the education system and the very important role of the Ombudsman. The remaining problems that were identified were, among others, the ongoing conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan, and the continuing concern for the large number of internally displaced persons displaced due to the conflict and their access to employment, housing, health and school services, as well as their access to their properties. The situation was also difficult for asylum seekers, especially Chechens refugees. There was also a problem of insufficient implementation and practical application of the existing legislation against racism and discrimination.

Other Committee Experts raised questions and asked for further information on subjects pertaining to, among other things, the impact that the Azerbaijan-Armenian conflict had had on the displacement of population, the refugee flow and the possible discrimination which could result from it; the fight against trafficking in human beings; the problem of immigration and the control of migrants and illegal migration; the fight against terrorism and the measures adopted against terrorist organizations; the measures that had been taken to ensure that Russian Chechens were enjoying the same social and economic rights as other asylum seekers; whether the principle of non-refoulement of asylum seekers was consistent with the Government’s fight against illegal immigration and the fight against terrorism; the situation of Armenians living in Azerbaijan; whether the police and other law enforcement services had members among them from the various ethnic groups and the status of the autonomous region of Nakhitchevan.

The delegation of Azerbaijan also included senior members of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ministry of National Security, the Ministry of Justice, the Office of the General Prosecutor of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the Ministry for Education and the Permanent Mission of Azerbaijan to the United Nations Office at Geneva.

The Committee will present its written observations and recommendations on the combined fifth and sixth periodic reports of Azerbaijan, which were presented in one document, at the end of its session, which concludes on 28 August.

When the Committee reconvenes at 3 p.m. this afternoon, it is scheduled to take up the combined tenth to fourteenth periodic report of Colombia (CERD/C/COL/14).

Report of Azerbaijan

The combined fifth and sixth periodic report of Azerbaijan, submitted in one document (CERD/C/AZE/6) says that the multi-ethnic and multi-denominational composition of the population is an important feature of contemporary Azerbaijan. The basic provisions of Azerbaijan’s ethnic policy are contained in the Constitution, which guarantees the equality of all citizens, irrespective of ethnicity, religion or race. However, the most difficult problem for Azerbaijan continues to be the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over Nagorny Karabakh. The Nagorny Karabakh region, which accounts for some 20 per cent of Azerbaijani territory, and seven other surrounding districts have been occupied by Armenia. Despite the United Nations Security Council’s unequivocal demands, which Armenia has ignored, some 20 per cent of Azerbaijani territory remains occupied.

In Azerbaijan, 336 Islamic and 28 non-Islamic religious tendencies have been registered. Of the latter, 20 are Christian, seven are Jewish and one is Krishnaite. At present, one Roman Catholic church, three synagogues, three Russian Orthodox churches and one Armenian church function in Baku. The authorities create all conditions for worship in the 1,400 mosques, churches, synagogues and temples in operation throughout Azerbaijani territory and take all measures to ensure the safety of citizens. In recent years, there have been no murders on the grounds of ethnic, racial or religious enmity and, to date, no criminal proceedings have been instituted in connection, and no complaints or communications relating to these questions have been received. In order to prevent incidents of religious animosity among representatives of various denominations, incited by radical Islamic fundamentalists residing in Azerbaijan illegally, Azerbaijan has, pursuant to requests from cooperating countries, extradited 12 persons suspected of inciting religious animosity and committing terrorist acts. In addition, 11 terrorists were arrested in Azerbaijan and handed over to the special services of other cooperating countries; at the same time, on the basis of information from the special services of Azerbaijan, six terrorists were arrested in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Germany, the United Arab Emirates and Pakistan.

Presentation of Report

KHALAF KHALAFOV, Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan, said that the Working Group which had been tasked with the preparation of the report had been established by a Presidential Decree and was composed of representatives of the relevant ministries and agencies. The Ombudsman of Azerbaijan and representatives of non-governmental organizations acting in the field of human rights protection had also been involved in preparing the report. The report had been presented to the public and translated into Azerbaijani.

Mr. Khalafov said that Azerbaijan recognized the primacy of human rights and was committed to the principles of universality, interdependence, interrelatedness and indivisibility of human rights and fundamental freedoms. The legislation of the country was being constantly improved to bring it in line with international standards in the field of political, civil, economic, social and cultural rights.

Important constitutional reforms had been carried out in March 2009, aimed at further constitutional strengthening and increasing effectiveness of the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms. Mr. Khalafov said that a new form of direct democracy had also been included in the Constitution; granting the right to 40,000 electors to launch an initiative.

Further, with a view to fulfil the recommendations submitted within the Universal Periodic Review, the Government was considering the establishment of a special Working Group composed of representatives of State authorities and Azerbaijani non-governmental organizations, said Mr. Khalafov. During the last years, the judicial and legal systems of the State had also been reformed and improved fundamentally. New courts, including local courts of appeal and local economic courts, had been established.

Throughout its history, Azerbaijan had been known for its high level of tolerance and respect for various ethnic groups and religions. The Constitution ensured the equality of all citizens, regardless of their ethnic, religious or racial origin, among others. Mr. Khalafov said that the criminal code of Azerbaijan provided criminal liability for crimes such a genocide, murder with the motives of national, racial and religious hatred and hostility, instigation for committing genocide, deportation or forced migration of population, and racial discrimination.

Mr. Khalafov mentioned that crimes on the grounds of racial discrimination were very rare in Azerbaijan; only one person had been convicted for aiming at the incitement of the national, racial, social or religious hatred and hostility in 2008.

The Government had also taken relevant measures to combat human trafficking. In 2005, amendments had been made to the criminal code providing punishment for human trafficking and forced labour. Child trafficking was punished by eight to twelve years of imprisonment, said Mr. Khalafov. In 2008, 76 crimes relating to human trafficking had been revealed and criminal cases were brought against 96 persons. Since August 2006, a specialized police service on combating human trafficking had been functioning within the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

On sexual discrimination, Mr. Khalafov said that the Parliament was considering a bill on the prevention of domestic violence which would also provide for the opening of rehabilitation centers for women and child victims of violence.

With the purpose of further improvement in the area of migration, amendments and additions have been made to the legislation in this field, said Mr. Khalafov. According to these changes, a term of stay for foreign citizens and stateless persons in the territory of the country had been determined. A draft migration code was also in preparation. Since July 2009 entrance and exit visas for foreigners and stateless persons possessing the permission to temporary or permanent residence in Azerbaijan had been abolished. As of April 2009, 4,643 persons were registered as foreign workers in Azerbaijan.

In the last five years more than 760,000 new workplaces had been created in the country. The level of poverty had been reduced from 46.7 per cent in 2002 to 13.2 per cent in 2002. The unemployment rate was 6.1 per cent this January, said Mr. Khalafov. As of the beginning of 2009 social help had been provided to 163,409 families, 9 per cent of whom were refugee families. During the last five years, more than 200 medical establishments had been constructed and refurbished.

According to the national legislation of the Republic, foreigners and stateless persons permanently living in the territory of Azerbaijan had the right to be granted premises from the State, the Department of Public Funds, said Mr. Khalafov.

Fully recognizing the responsibility of protection of refugees and internally displaced persons, the Government of Azerbaijan continued to carry out a number of complex measures that were aimed at the improvement of the social and economic situation of this category of persons and their temporary integration into society, bearing in mind the realization of their right to safely return to their native lands in the future, said Mr. Khalafov.

Within the last seven years, 61 settlements for refugees and internally displaced persons had been constructed, said Mr. Khalafov and the last refugee camps had been abolished in 2007. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees highly appreciated the efforts of the Government of Azerbaijan aimed at improving the situation of refugees and internally displaced persons.

The Republic of Azerbaijan attached special importance to strengthening the tradition of religious tolerance, reinforcing mutual understanding and cooperation among religious minorities. Mr. Khalafov said that equal conditions for the activities of all religious minorities that existed in Azerbaijan had been created. At the present time Muslim, Russian Orthodox, Jewish and other religious communities acted freely and without any obstacles in Azerbaijan. The high level of tolerance had also been noted by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion and belief, Asma Jahangir, in her report on her visit to the country in 2006.

Some 346 religious communities had been registered in Azerbaijan. Twenty of them were of Christian belief, seven were Jewish and one was Krishnait. The Secretary of State of the Holy See had also highly appreciated the level of religious tolerance in Azerbaijan during his visit to the country on March 2008. Mr. Khalafov also underlined the activity of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, a non-governmental organization that had been carrying out reconstruction of the various religious and cultural monuments in the country since 2006.

The promotion of intercultural and inter-religious dialogue was one of the priorities of the country’s foreign policy, said Mr. Khalafov. The country had organized an international conference on the role of the media in promoting understanding and tolerance in Baku in April 2007. Also, since 2007 Azerbaijan was a member of the United Nations Group of Friends of the Alliance of Civilizations.

The Government also carried out consistent work to maintain and develop the cultural values of national minorities and ethnic groups living in the country. With a view to the preservation and development of minority languages, special attention was given to the teaching of those languages in schools. Favourable conditions had been created in place where national minorities were compactly living to study their mother tongue in local schools, said Mr. Khalafov.

In the schools of the Republic, Russian, Georgian, Talysh, Avar, Udin, Lezghi, Sahur, Hynalag, Kurdish and Hebrew were being taught. Radio and television transmissions in the languages of national minorities living in the country were broadcast and newspapers in these languages were also published, said Mr. Khalafov.

The gravest problem for Azerbaijan was still the long-lasting Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict. As a result of the ethic cleansing policy conducted by Armenia, more than one million Azerbaijanis had become refugees and internally displaced persons. This had a negative impact on the realization of their human rights and fundamental freedoms. Systematic and grave international humanitarian law violations had been committed by Armenia, said Mr. Khalafov, including numerous extrajudicial executions, mass killings and torture. Due to this situation, Azerbaijan was unable to fulfil its international obligations in the field of the promotion and protection of human rights in the occupied territories.

Oral Questions Raised by the Rapporteur and Experts

REGIS DE GOUTTES, the Committee Expert serving as country Rapporteur for the report of Azerbaijan, said it was quite rare to have the presence of six [deputy] ministers within a delegation. On the Azerbaijan-Armenian conflict, could the delegation elaborate on the latest developments of the conflicts and the impact it had had on the displacement of population, the refugee flow and the possible discrimination which could result from it. Had there been any plans towards a reconciliation process? What measures had been taken to put the children of the internally displaced persons back to school?

Mr. De Gouttes also asked for more information from the delegation on the following issues: the fight against trafficking; the problem of immigration and the control of migrants and illegal migration; the fight against terrorism and the measures adopted against terrorist organizations; and the problem of poverty which affected the part of the population living in rural areas and in the mountainous region.

No information on the nature and outcome of the surveys that had been carried out by the Ministry of National Security on social hatred acts was provided in the report, Mr. De Gouttes said; could the delegation elaborate? Also no information had been provided on the activities of the Azerbaijani Ombudsman in the fight against racism. Further, the report did not give any practical examples of sentences that had been applied in case of human trafficking.

In the report, there was a linkage of the question of irregular migrants and Islamic extremist terrorists; did this not constitute a prejudice? Turning to the judicial reform of 2004, what had been its results? Could the delegation give statistics on the representation of the different ethnic groups in the National Assembly, asked Mr. De Gouttes.

On internally displaced persons and refugees, Mr. De Gouttes asked whether the Government had an initial list of results of the measures that had been adopted to help improve the difficult living conditions under which internally displaced persons were living. What had been done to improve the access to education and health services to these people, and particularly the access to normal schools for children?

Turning to the issue of Russian refugees from Chechnya, could the delegation tell what measures had been taken to ensure that Russian Chechens were enjoying the same social and economic rights as other asylum seekers? Mr. De Gouttes also wondered whether the principle of non-refoulement of asylum seekers was consistent with the Government’s fight against illegal immigration and the fight against terrorism.

Also, what was the situation of Armenians living in Azerbaijan? Information provided to the Committee showed that they tried to hide their origin. Further, the lack of complaints against discrimination in the statistics was not necessarily a positive fact, as it could mean that people were afraid or simply not informed enough or even because of a lack of trust in the judicial authorities. What measures had been taken to ensure facility of access to justice?

What had been done by the State to ensure that teaching in Armeni and Talish language was being provided in schools? What sort of television and radio programmes had been put in place to promote cultural minorities and respect for human rights and to reflect the multi ethnic nature of Azerbaijan? What training was being provided to the police forces, with regards to human rights? And what measures had been taken to ensure that the public had access to the Convention, the country report and the recommendations issued by the Committee?

Other Committee Experts raised questions and asked for further information on subjects pertaining to, among other things, whether the police and other law enforcement services had members among them from the various ethnic groups? Information received by the Committee said that 10 per cent of the children in the country were not registered. These unregistered children were especially among vulnerable groups such as refugees and internally displaced persons. Could the delegation comment on this issue? Also, were there any Roma people in the country and if yes, could the delegation elaborate on their status? Turning to the autonomous region of Nakhitchevan, an Expert wondered whether there was any ethnic basis for this autonomy. Was it true that Azerbaijan was reluctant to recognize Russian Chechens as refugees? What was the ethnic origin of the people of the Republic of Azerbaijan? What national minorities had the country communicated to the Council in Europe? What was the role of the “Mediator Ombudsman”?

Response by Delegation to Oral Questions

Addressing concerns expressed and questions raised, the delegation said that the Ombudsman was very involved with several stakeholders and held briefings with non-governmental organizations and State representatives. On the population censuses, the data on which the report was based dated back to 1999. A new census had taken place in April of 2009 and the written responses of the delegation would be based on these new numbers.

On the consequences of the conflict with Armenia, the delegation said that indeed this conflict had had and was having a negative impact on the whole situation in the southern Caucasus region and on the stable development of the region, as well as regional cooperation and greater harmony between the people of the Caucasus. Azerbaijan was for a peaceful settlement of the conflict and the establishment of security guarantee for all people living on the territory of Azerbaijan and Armenia. The process was a complex one and Azerbaijan hoped that it would be a successful one. The conflict had led to serous problems with refugees. There had been a complete ethnic cleansing of the occupied territory. This had no precedent in history.

The delegation said that there were tens of thousands of Armenians living in Azerbaijan and that they were not discriminated against. Many were residing in Azerbaijan as a result of mixed marriages and they enjoyed all rights and worked in state functions. The choice of the last name was up to the families and the delegation said that it was impossible to tell how many preferred to use an Armenian, Azerbaijani or Russian form of their last name.

The people who had been driven out of Armenia had been given the status of refugees or had become citizens of Azerbaijan, the delegation indicated. The country’s income from oil was being collected and went into improving the living standards of internally displaced persons, refugees and the Azerbaijani people themselves.

The delegation said that measures were being undertaken to foster a culture of peace and tolerance among religions in Azerbaijan. National minorities generally lived grouped in a compact manner. Under the new Constitution, the question of nationality was no longer present in official identity papers and there were no statistics available anymore on the representation of nationalities in the public sector. There were no restrictions to occupying a post.

Turning to the independence of the Nakhitchevan region, the delegation underscored the geographical particularly of the region and indicated that this region had always belonged to Azerbaijan and was inhabited by Azerbaijanis. The autonomous status was due to the particular history of the region. The southern Caucuses region had been subjected to several changes of borders under the Soviet Union and in this process Nakhitchevan had become a geographical enclave.

On the question of Chechens, the delegations said that Azerbaijan had cooperated with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and that the status of the refugees was being reviewed with its help. Azerbaijan was also a party to the Refugee Convention. Further, no person had yet been extradited to a foreign country and thus Azerbaijan was in respect with the international regulations in this regard.

Chechens with refugee status in Azerbaijan were quite numerous and had been exclusively granted refugee status for humanitarian reasons. The delegation also said that the Chechens linked with terrorist activities had been brought to court.

On the national rights of minorities and their involvement in political life, the delegation said that statistics of nationality were not available because the nationality was not communicated anymore in official papers. All persons enjoyed their rights as citizens, not as members of a particular group. For job interviews, nationality was also not asked about anymore.

Further, Azerbaijan was a party to the European Council’s Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities but they had not been able to fully implement its provisions yet. They hoped that as the legislation and the socio-economic situation improved and as Azerbaijan became part of the European space, they would be able to improve this situation.

The delegation said that Azerbaijan was continuing to reform its legal system, in collaboration with the Council of Europe, to bring it to European standards. In accordance with new legislation they had from a judicial legal council, an independent body organized the vacancies of judges and the changing of their assignments, among other tasks. The selection process of judges was of particular importance. The selection included written and oral tests and the training of candidates in courts. Azerbaijan was increasing the number of judges in the country and had increased their professionalism. To ensure the independence of the judiciary they had increased the speed of investigations against them.

Turning to the issue of the number of complaints filed for discrimination and the Experts’ opinion that this could mean that people were not well informed about their rights, the delegation said that there was a high level of knowledge among the Azerbaijani citizens concerning their rights and freedoms. There was a high level of tolerance in Azerbaijan and access to the justice system was very high. A high number of non-governmental organizations were working in the country, of which more than 150 dealt with human rights issues, including the rights of minorities. Also, although they had no statistics to provide, the delegation ensured the Committee that there was a high percentage of representatives of minorities in law enforcement forces and the judiciary.

Azerbaijan was also carrying out efforts to create a unified state register for the Azerbaijani population. All territorial agencies were involved in the effort, said the delegation. The register would include all the population: citizens and foreigners residing temporarily in the country.

On migratory processes, Azerbaijan had set out a new structure that was carrying out the State’s migration policy. It had virtually started work and through this new structure the parallelism with other services had been eliminated, noted the delegation.

As regards to the registration of refugee children, the delegation said that in 2007 the Government had adopted a system of electronic health-cards. Since then every child born on the Azerbaijani territory, regardless of whether he was a citizen or not, was issued with such health-card, as well as a birth certificate. Since 2007 there had been 780 registered new born children with both parents as migrants and more than 3,500 registered children with one migrant parent.

Over the last three years, some 320 acts of violence by police officers had been identified. Out of these cases 18 officers had been charged and their cases went to court and other disciplinary measures had been adopted for several others, including dismissal. Among all the complaints received there had not been a single complaint or communication based on race or ethnicity.

Through a state decree, a second national plan to combat human trafficking had been recently approved which had also set up a working group to combat trafficking in persons. This working group consisted of various officials of ministries, including the migration service, the culture and tourism ministry and the border services, among others. The working group’s coordinator reported to the Parliament annually. Problems were then solved inside a coordination council.

Replying to the issue of sanctions pronounced against journalists, the delegation said that, in conformity with the Azerbaijani criminal code, incitement to national and racial hatred was severely sanctioned with sentences of between three to five years imprisonment. Since 2005 there had been three offences of racial and religious or national hatred. A newspaper editor had been taken to court under the relevant criminal code article because in 2006 he had published an article containing elements of propaganda of hatred against the Muslim religion. He was sentenced to three year imprisonment. Another newspaper editor had been taken to court for publishing some fragments of Hitler’s book “Mein Kampf”, which included elements of hatred. This publisher had also been sentenced to imprisonment.

Turning to the Armenians living in Azerbaijan and possible violence against them, the delegation said that there were about 30,000 Armenians living in Azerbaijan and there had been no such events reported to the General Prosecutor’s office. However, in the areas occupied by Armenia, 160 cases related to killings perpetrated by military and paramilitary groups had been reported. During the first half of 2009, there had also been violations of religious hatred perpetrated by unlawful Armenian armed groups in the Nagorny Karabakh region.

Great attention was given by the State to the teaching of the languages of national minorities. At present, all the schools teaching native languages of minorities had been provided with textbooks at the expense of the State. In 1999 a specialized agency had been created which was tasked with the drafting of pedagogical methods for the teaching of minority languages, said the delegation. Schools for the teaching of the national minorities’ religions had also been created. The State was giving great attention to modernizing the school system. More than 1,000 schools had recently been created. Great attention was also given to the training of teachers, especially in rural areas.

On the fight against terrorism, the delegation said that no country was safe from it; it affected the entire world and Azerbaijan had already felt the impact of terrorism themselves. The legislative basis in the fight against terrorism was the law against terrorism. Azerbaijan had joined several conventions on terrorism and the legislation had appropriately been updated through the last years.

With regard to combating terrorist organizations, several members of terrorist organizations, whose purpose had been to conduct terrorist attacks, such as the bombing of the Baku-Ceyan pipeline, had been arrested in the past three years by Azerbaijani authorities and brought to court. Several of them had been sentenced to imprisonment. Other cases were still before the courts and appropriate investigations were being conducted, said the delegation.

The historic and cultural features of Azerbaijan had ensured that people were living in harmony, noted the delegations. More that 20 communities were living in the capital Baku, as well as members of the three main Abrahamic religions. All had the right to preserve their national identity and cultural originality. People also had the right to maintain cultural contacts with their historical mainland.

Further Oral Questions Posed by Experts

Other Experts asked further questions and made additional remarks, including whether Azerbaijan was a receiving or a transit country with regards to trafficking in persons. What was the ethnicity of the trafficked persons?

On the conflict in the Nagorny Karabakh region, one Expert said that the political nature of this conflict was not of particular focus to the Committee. More important was the possible ethnic cleansing and discrimination happening there. As close to a million Azeri had been forced to flee their home, what was the legal status of the properties they had left behind? What about the homes of the Armenians who had also fled this region and were now residing in Azerbaijan?

Another Expert noted that Azerbaijan had gone from the Cyrillic alphabet to the Latin alphabet. Some minorities in the country had also done so, such as the Talins and Lezgins. But it was important to preserve the right of every community to make the choice of which alphabet to choose freely and without pressure.

Replies by the Delegation

Responding to those questions and others, the delegation said, on trafficking of persons, that Azerbaijan was in a sensitive area with regards to that problem. There was also a problem of trafficking in narcotics in the region. Azerbaijan was mainly used as a transit country for trafficking in human beings. The State had been dealing more intensively with this problem recently and had intensified its efforts to combat this phenomenon.

The Internal Affairs Ministry was responsible for the fight against trafficking in persons. Victims were mainly brought to Iran, India, Russia and Turkey. This fight could not be done by a single country alone. Azerbaijan had contacts with countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States region, Black Sea countries, Middle Eastern region countries and East European region countries to fight this problem. While mainly a transit country, there had been instances where victims and traffickers had been Azerbaijanis themselves. Dozens of criminal cases had been instituted and the guilty parties were punished under Azerbaijani law.

Turning to the issue of journalism and freedom of speech, the delegation said that a concept for a draft law on defamation had been elaborated. There were already law articles on insult and slander. There were certain discussions among the Azerbaijani society towards removing those two articles. A panel of experts regularly reviewed material to provided expert conclusions on whether a specific comment could be seen as inciting hatred.

Concerning the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan, the delegation said that it was a difficult situation because it was a military conflict. Tens of thousands of people had been killed or wounded in the conflict and it had created one million refugees and internally displaced persons. People had lost everything. At the beginning of the war it had been a difficult situation, as the refugees had had to live only in tents. Over the years the displaced had been given better living conditions.

With regard to property rights, the delegation said that Armenians living in Azerbaijan had sometimes exchanged their houses with people who had left Armenia. But the most part of the Azerbaijanis who had fled the region had lost everything and they had not been able to register their properties. Tens of thousands of cases had been filed in this regard. This issue was part of the settlement of the conflict and the delegation expressed the hope that the displaced would get their properties back. The delegation also believed that the same would happen for Armenians who had left the region.

The delegation said that there was also an existing inventory of state property in the occupied territories. No legal mechanism to ensure property existed yet. Once the occupied territories were returned and once there was a guarantee for safe return of people to their homes, then the question of return of lost property or return of property rights could be considered.

Preliminary Concluding Observations

In preliminary concluding observations, REGIS DE GOUTTES, the Committee Expert who served as Rapporteur for the report of Azerbaijan, thanked the delegation for the quality of the replies, they bore witness to a willingness by Azerbaijan to continue its dialogue with the Committee. In the course of the current session the Committee had received a number of written replies and an extensive oral presentation. He thought that this very interactive dialogue, further enriched by other information sources, had highlighted progress and positive aspects, as well as remaining problems.

Mr. De Gouttes said that the positive aspects included the adoption of a national plan of action for human rights; the ratification of a large number of treaties concerning human rights; the enshrining of the freedom of beliefs; the stepping up of the fight against trafficking; the new measures to improve the situation of migrants and refugees and the large number of internally displaced persons, and the reform of the visa system. Also positive had been the improvements made in the education system and the very important role of the Ombudsman. The Committee hoped that the Ombudsman could be present alongside the delegation when Azerbaijan submitted its next report.

The remaining problems that were identified were, first of all, the ongoing conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan, with all its consequences and results for the population, said Mr. De Gouttes. The will announced by the head of delegation to become involved in a negotiation process in order to promote a reconciliation process and to come up with a peaceful solution of the conflict was welcomed by the Committee. Another ongoing difficulty, although it was beginning to improve, was the continuing concern of the large number of internally displaced persons displaced due to the conflict and their access to employment, housing, health and school services, as well as their access to their properties.

Mr. De Gouttes said that the situation was also difficult for asylum seekers, especially Chechen refugees. It was necessary to step up all efforts in the fight against the trafficking in persons; this had to be done in collaboration with other affected countries.

There was still a problem of insufficient implementation and practical application of the existing legislation against racism and discrimination, said Mr. De Gouttes. There had been very few prosecutions and verdicts that had been handed down. Legislation was not enough; it had to be effectively implemented. The explanations concerning the debate that was currently underway in Azerbaijan on certain criminal code provisions for the criminalization of religious defamation showed that efforts were being made to improve the criminal code.

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