The Ombudsman’s Chief of Office made a speech at the OSCE HDC Tenth Plenary Session

The Chief of Office of the Ombudsman of Azerbaijan made a speech at the OSCE HDC Tenth Plenary Session “Tolerance and non-discrimination III,” including: Gender Equality and Violence Against Women. 

In his speech, the Chief of Office said that in Azerbaijan, complex measures are being taken to eliminate violence against women (VAW), institutional mechanisms were developed, and new action plans were adopted. 

Briefing the Ombudsman’s activities in the fields of protection of women’s rights and gender equality, Aydin Safikhanli said the Ombudsman Office has built very close cooperation with state institutions, international organizations, and non-governmental organizations. Furthermore, public awareness activities across the country to create a gender-based education environment are conducted by the Ombudsman Institution.   

Noting that armed conflicts in different regions of the world seriously affect the promotion of women’s rights, the Chief of Office emphasized that women’s rights had been seriously breached during occupation and ethnic cleansing policies.  

It was said that around 4000 people, including 267 women, were reported missing during the First Karabakh War, and during the Second Karabakh war, attacks very densely populated cities and other residential areas resulted in the critical loss of innocent people, including women and children. 

The Chief of Office also noted that mines were buried in Azerbaijani lands during the occupation, that those landmines posed a threat to the lives and health of civilians, including women, as well as a serious obstacle to the safe return of former IDPs to those territories and large-scale reconstruction works.