HUMAN RIGHTS COMMITTEE COMPLETES REVIEW OF REPORT OF AZERBAIJAN

Human Rights Committee
73rd session
26 October 2001
Afternoon




Calls, in Preliminary Remarks, for Independent System for
Complaints against Police; Citizen Access to Constitutional Court



The Human Rights Committee concluded its consideration this afternoon of a second periodic report of Azerbaijan, stating among its preliminary reactions that the Government should establish an independent office to probe complaints of maltreatment of detainees by police, as allegations from non-governmental organizations indicated torture was 'not an uncommon occurrence'; and that citizens should have the right to go before the country's Constitutional Court to challenge laws they felt violated human rights standards.

The Committee, in responses read out by Chairman Prafullachandra Natwarlal Bhagwati, cited among positive developments Azerbaijan's abolition of the death penalty and well-advanced plans to establish an Ombudsman's office to deal with human rights matters.

The Committee's official, written conclusions and recommendations will be issued before the end of its autumn session on 2 November.

Earlier in the afternoon, an eight-member Azerbaijani delegation responded to questions falling under the general topics of freedom of religion; freedom of opinion and expression; freedom of assembly and association; participation in the conduct of public affairs; non-discrimination; sexual equality; and the rights of minorities. The delegation presented the report this morning.

As one of the 148 States parties to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Azerbaijan must submit regular accountings to the Committee on efforts to implement the terms of the treaty. Government delegations generally appear before the Committee when such reports are considered.

The Committee will meet in private on Monday, 29 October.


Discussion

The Azerbaijani delegation, responding to questions put at the end of the morning meeting, said among other things that the country's Constitution did not allow for direct access of the public to the Constitutional Court. However, such a reform was being discussed and a draft amendment to the Constitution had been drawn up for submission to Parliament. Moreover, there were several procedures through which the public could consult the Constitutional Court through the auspices of several other courts, although the process was complex and there was no guarantee that such appeals would be reviewed by the Constitutional Court.

The council that now appointed judges had set up a series of working groups, the delegation said; these often sought international advice and expertise; tests had been drawn up, including a written exam and an interview. The country's new law on protecting the independence of lawyers unfortunately lacked a mechanism for moving from the old system to the new one; there had been some problems and these had been pointed out during the country's negotiations aimed at joining the Council of Europe; an addition to and amendment of the law had been drawn up to chart an effective transition and the Council of Europe had agreed to provide methodological help in establishing a training system and code of conduct for lawyers.

Under the new criminal procedure code, the delegation said, detention was seen as a limited form of procedural coercion, and could not exceed 48 hours without a decision by a court; detention could occur on the suspicion of the perpetration of an offense; additional detention required the bringing of a charge within 24 hours and promptly, through the Procurator's Office, seeking court authorization. Before adoption of the new code, it was true, there could in some cases be detention of up to 10 days, but now there were no periods of that length allowed. Administrative detention, for matters involving suspicion of commitment of an administrative offense, could not exceed three hours; certain exceptions allowed detention of 24 hours, including offenses related to border violations.

There was a law on non-governmental organizations (NGOs), adopted last year, the delegation said; NGOs were considered indispensable for a democratic system and the Government cooperated extensively with them, among other things through work on legal codification and on human rights protection. NGOs helped monitor the country's human rights situation.

During states of emergency, the delegation said, priority was granted to international instruments ratified by Azerbaijan; restrictions on human rights required that public officials base their activities on international standards; a new bill before Parliament on states of emergency took into account international recommendations, including those made by the Committee.

The death penalty had been abolished, the delegation said; some 19 persons had died while awaiting imposition of the death penalty before it was outlawed -- there had been a moratorium on executions.

Azerbaijan still had 20 per cent of its territory occupied by Armenia, the delegation said, and this affected every aspect of daily and economic life, not least because the country was struggling to meet the needs of 1 million refugees. There was a law on refugees and internally displaced persons; in addition, by action of the President, steps had been taken to provide additional financial help to these people and to integrate them into society; still many lived in camps and even in tents.

The problem of trafficking in women and children had not traditionally been a problem in Azerbaijan, the delegation said, and it was likely there were lacunae in legislation related to the offense.

Amendments foreseen to the Constitution would likely include additions to provisions related to human rights to protect them from infringement or derogation under other Constitutional provisions, the delegation said.

Remand centres under the Ministry of Internal Affairs had been handed over to the Ministry of Justice, the delegation said; in addition there were detention centres under the Ministry of Internal Security; human rights organizations did not have access to these centres, and their activities were monitored.

Codes had been adopted for the application of penalties served in 'corrective labour' centres, the delegation said; the term 'labour colonies' was no longer used, and the centres were nothing like such centres had been under the Soviet system.

There were no legal obstacles now to freedom of movement, the delegation said.

In the course of election campaigns there had been certain violations, the delegation said; some dealt with and some still not dealt with; the leaders of certain executive bodies in certain regions of the countries had been punished for undue influence and some elections had been declared null and had had to be repeated.

Corruption was one of the serious problems faced by the country, the delegation said; other societies faced it too; a Presidential decree had set the basis for a broad campaign against corruption but it was understood that the problem would not be solved overnight. Azerbaijan had sought international help with it. A draft Act on Corruption had been drawn up; once it was passed, everyone understood that the real challenge would be implementing it.

The delegation went on to respond to a series of written questions prepared by the Committee in advance and falling under the general topics of freedom of religion, freedom of opinion and expression, freedom of assembly and association, participation in the conduct of public affairs, non-discrimination, sexual equality, and the rights of minorities.

The Constitution fully protected freedom of opinion, expression, and the media, the delegation said; freedom of information was protected by law except where State secrets were involved or where limits applied related to privacy -- such as medical information. A National Press Council was created in June by Presidential decree; the Council would license the activities of the mass media, among other duties. Regarding allegations of harassment of journalists and independent media, and of bias in the State-owned media, the delegation said that journalists had responsibilities to individual development and to society as a whole, and to the strengthening of principles of democracy and human rights; some journalists forgot their civil responsibilities and forgot the need to comply with certain laws in exercising their right to freedom of expression; on the other side, the Government perhaps at times was over-zealous in interpreting those laws. As an independent country, Azerbaijan was young, and the balance of power between the media and the Government was still working itself out, and the process appeared to be proceeding in a healthy way. Some journalists had been held for violation of the law, it was true, but they actually had violated the law, and the process had been fair and transparent.

NGOs and other associations had to register with the State through an application signed by the founders, the delegation said; State fees had to be paid and a legal address provided; if there was a violation or if the documents were not compatible with legislation or if the objectives of the NGO were prohibited by law, such as propagation of war or inter-ethnic conflict, then a written explanation was given for the refusal to register. A specific, valid reason had to be given for a refusal to register. The country had some 1,400 NGOs. Some others had had their registration refused, including some concerned with human rights; a number of these had adjusted their applications and had subsequently been accepted. Some political parties had had applications refused, although, again, some had applied a second time with adjusted applications and had succeeded. An 'Islam' party had been refused registration because it appeared overly religious for a secular political system. Other political parties had been refused because they were headed by foreigners and even by foreigners with criminal records.

Everyone was entitled to freedom of assembly, the delegation said, but the right was regulated by a law on the freedom of meetings which obliged the State to ensure the security of those holding meetings and demonstrations, and the security of the public; if there was a substantive threat to the security of others, or if weapons were involved posing a danger to the lives and health of bystanders, applications for demonstrations or pickets could be turned down, and that had occurred in a number of cases. One reason for refusal was the demand of demonstrators to hold meetings or demonstrations in locations that were not suitable; in each case the State had suggested alternative sites.

The law on elections to Parliament had a special procedure for the registration of candidates, the delegation said; the Electoral Commission set up working groups whose conclusions formed the basis on whether the information provided by candidates was accurate; false signatures often resulted in denial of registration, as did a failure to draw up the necessary papers in accordance with the law. About 80 per cent of those denied registration were able to reach agreement with the Electoral Commission and register eventually.

Of 8 million citizens, 90 per cent were Azerbaijani and the remainder were members of minority groups, the delegation said; minority citizens were represented throughout Government, in elected positions, and in private business, and many held top posts; generally they held political positions in regions where minorities had substantial populations. Azerbaijan had begun consultations with the Council of Europe to enter into its Convention on Minorities. Legislation on minority rights was now being developed.

A State Committee had been set up on women's issues, the delegation said.

A number of questions were put orally by the Committee. Responding, the Azerbaijani delegation said among other things that the country had some 400 registered religious organizations; that under the law, State and religion were separate; that conscientious objectors to military service were to be provided with alternative service but the system was still being worked out and advice was being sought on the matter from the Council of Europe; that three journalists had in fact been detained for six months for insults and libel, but, as noted, had been pardoned by the President; that these individuals had been provided access to lawyers; that political pluralism was fostered by the Government; that foreigners were not entitled to engage in religious propaganda; that doubtless violence against women and children existed in Azerbaijan, as in other countries, but few occasions came to the attention of authorities and hence there had not been much Governmental response, although such violence could be prosecuted criminally; that criticism of the head of State was not a crime but an insult against his personal dignity or libel against him could result in court action; and that 'information' cited by the Committee that domestic violence occurred frequently did not appear credible.


Preliminary conclusions and recommendations

Brief preliminary conclusions and recommendations were read out by Committee Chairman Prafullachandra Natwarlal Bhagwati. The panel's official conclusions and recommendations will be issued before the end of its autumn session on 2 November.

Mr. Bhagwati said the report was detailed and drew attention to a number of encouraging developments and pointed towards sincere and untiring efforts being made by Azerbaijan to shed the legacy of an unfortunate past. However, the report was heavy on legal provisions and short on facts that would show the state of actual implementation of the Covenant's provisions.

Among positive measures over the last five or six years, Mr. Bhagwati said, and despite Azerbaijan's conflict with Armenia, which drained resources and was a source of national stress, the Government had set up new institutions and laws, including a Constitutional Court, although it was regrettable that individuals could not go before the Constitutional Court to challenge laws that violated the Covenant. It was a matter of satisfaction that Azerbaijan had eliminated the death penalty, that it had ratified the First Optional Protocol to the Covenant, and that establishment of an Ombudsman's office was expected soon.

The Committee cited concern, among other things, that there was no independent system for investigating complaints against police or other law-enforcement officials; that setting up a department within the police administration for investigating complaints, as had been done, was not the sort to inspire public trust; that information provided by NGOs showed that torture by the police was not uncommon; and that derogations from Covenant rights allowed during states of emergency were a matter of worry, as there appeared to be no principle of proportionality attached to the provision -- although, again, it was encouraging to hear that new legislation was being developed on the matter.




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