Azerbaijani Ombudsperson participated in the international web-forum dedicated to the International Youth Day 2020

The Commissioner for Human Rights (Ombudsman) of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Sabina Aliyeva participated in the Samarkand Forum on Human Rights “Youth 2020: Global Solidarity, Sustainable Development and Human Rights” held on August 12-13, 2020. The event organized by Uzbekistan National Human Rights Center, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of that country, UN Country Team in Uzbekistan, OSCE and others, was dedicated to the International Youth Day 2020.

After greeting the Forum participants, during her speech, the Ombudsperson highlighted the importance of young people’s participation in decision-making processes as a global challenge. While talking about the measures taken in this field at the national level, S. Aliyeva stated that in 2002, the Law on the Youth Policy was adopted in Azerbaijan, which regulates the key principles, main directions, the legal and organizational framework of the national youth policy and the relations emerging in this context. She also said that the main objective of this Law is to create opportunities for physical, intellectual and spiritual development of the young people, solution of their social and economic problems, including protection and promotion of human rights and fundamental freedoms.   

“In the last years, the participation of the youth in decision-making processes in Azerbaijan took an important place and furthermore, the young people actively participate in the implementation process of the already approved “State Program on Azerbaijani Youth in 2017-2021 years”, said the Ombudsperson. S. Aliyeva stressed that as a result of the efforts of the Government, the well-educated young people from Azerbaijan continued their education in well-known, high-ranked world universities in the frame of the relevant State Program.   

Furthermore, the Commissioner said that following the First Youth Forum held in Azerbaijan in 1996, February 2 has been marked as a National Day of Youth since 1997 and that last year, Baku hosted the 19^th Baku International Youth Forum, mainly campaigning the blood donation in the country.

The country President has issued an Order declaring the year 2020 as a year of Volunteers to strengthen social responsibility among the young adolescents, promote individual development and using their potential in a proper manner, stated the Ombudsperson. She added that the Ombudsman Office run a project for volunteer young people by giving them opportunity to learn the work of the Office and to build their career path. She also said that the young people are being actively engaged in various social projects due to the pandemic in a view to preventing the further outbreak of the coronavirus infection and stimulating the social adaptation of the society to this challenging period.

S. Aliyeva highlighted the main activity of the Ombudsman in the relevant field, including the organization of annual country-wide human rights Month-long campaign (between May 18 and June 18), and involving relevant governmental agencies, scientific and educational institutions, civil society institutions, non-governmental organizations and mass media outlets. For example, she said that present year, during this campaign, students, young people from refugee and IDP families, young activists from ethnic minorities and local communities have been also involved in this process through online events. The awareness measures running by the Office with and for the participation of the young people has been continued online although the special quarantine regime enacted in the country due to COVID-19 pandemic.

The Ombudsman underlined the fact of impossibility of peace without development and effective protection of human rights and vice-versa. In this context, she gave a brief information about the aggressive policy of Armenia against Azerbaijan, including Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict and the recent Armenian military provocations committed at the Armenia-Azerbaijan state border in the direction of Tovuz district of our country, which in general, aggravated the life of the Azerbaijani young people violating all fundamental rights and freedoms in gross breach of international law principles and legal documents, including four UN Resolutions on the abovementioned armed conflict and that Armenia still keeps the Azerbaijani territories under occupation and that the new generation of Azerbaijan cannot visit those places. She reiterate that the last military clashes pose a great threat to the entire peace process and sustainable development in the region.

The Commissioner stated that despite the state’s support for this category of young people, the security, education and labor rights of these young refugees and IDPs, in particular, have been grossly violated, and this protracted military conflict has hampered the full realization of the mentioned rights.

At the end of her speech, Ombudsman called on NHRIs and ombudsman institutions to create conditions for young people’s participation in the development and effective protection of their rights, guided by the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights and relevant international documents.