Ombudsman Sabina Aliyeva met with Ghulam Isaczai, the UN Resident Coordinator in Azerbaijan

On December 19, 2019, the Commissioner for Human Rights (Ombudsman) of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Sabina Aliyeva and the United Nations (UN) Resident Coordinator in Azerbaijan, Ghulam Isaczai had a meeting.

The Ombudsman mentioned that Azerbaijan pays special attention to the issue of protection of rights and freedoms of human and citizen. According to her, establishment of the Ombudsman institution after Azerbaijan restored its independence is one of the most significant steps in the sphere of protection of human rights in our country. It was noted that the protection of the rights of all population groups is among the priority directions in the comprehensive activity of the Ombudsman. She added that the Azerbaijani Ombudsman institution co-operates with the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI) in the direction of effective protection of human rights and freedoms in accordance with the requirements of Paris Principles as a national human rights institution (NHRI) recognized by the UN.

The Commissioner stated the Ombudsman institution had established close ties with the UN and its structural units, also implemented joint projects during its term of activity. Within the framework of those projects, awareness raising trainings were conducted with regard to UN human rights mechanisms, submission of reports to the UN Treaty Bodies. All these activities are of great importance from the point of promotion and propagation of human rights, raising awareness of population.

The Commissioner stated that the Ombudsman would make every effort in the direction of implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) thereafter.  The periodic reviews of Azerbaijan in the framework of Universal Periodic Review process, contribution of the Ombudsman Institution to these reviews as an NHRI and taking relevant steps regarding implementation of recommended decisions are the necessary issues ahead.

The Ombudsman Sabina Aliyeva brought to attention that more than one million compatriots became refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) as a result of occupation of 20 percent of the Azerbaijani territory by Armenia, which is a fact of human rights violation, and it’s necessary to restore the violated rights.

The UN Resident Coordinator in our country, Ghulam Isaczai congratulated Sabina Aliyeva on the occasion of being elected to the position of the Commissioner for Human Rights (Ombudsman) of the Republic of Azerbaijan. He spoke about the importance of fostering cooperation between the UN and Ombudsman institution.  G.Isaczai emphasized that human rights protection is one of the necessary issues reflected in the SDGs. Adding that the Ombudspersons play an important role in the protection of human rights and formation of inclusive society, the UN Resident Coordinator stressed upon Azerbaijan’s commitment to achieve SDGs.

Other issues of mutual interest were also discussed in the meeting.