Azerbaijan's Ombudswoman Criticizes HRW's 2024 Report For Bias And Inaccuracies
Date
1/31/2025 2:06:46 AM
(MENAFN- AzerNews)
Qabil Ashirov
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Sabina Aliyeva, the Human Rights Commissioner (Ombudsman) of the
Republic of Azerbaijan, has addressed an open letter to Tirana
Hassan, the Executive Director of Human Rights Watch (HRW).
Azernews reports that the letter criticizes the
section of HRW's 2024 report that pertains to Azerbaijan, citing a
biased and one-sided approach against the country.
Aliyeva highlights that, while preparing the report, HRW relied
on dubious and biased sources instead of referring to publicly
available annual and parallel reports that comprehensively detail
the Ombudsman's activities in protecting human rights and freedoms,
including preventing torture. The letter also mentions that members
of the Ombudsman's National Preventive Group met with several
individuals cited in HRW's report and found no evidence of torture
or mistreatment.
Additionally, the letter points out that HRW's report failed to
acknowledge Azerbaijan's significant achievements, such as the
effective discussions and crucial decisions made during COP29,
which Azerbaijan hosted to address the consequences of climate
change. The report also overlooked Azerbaijan's efforts to safely
and dignifiedly reintegrate former internally displaced persons
(IDPs) into their homes after ending Armenia's occupation policy,
which had grossly violated the fundamental rights and freedoms of
over one million Azerbaijanis.
Moreover, the Ombudsman's letter emphasizes the long-standing
issues of landmines posing significant threats to people's lives
and health and the forced displacement of hundreds of thousands of
Azerbaijanis from Armenia. These crucial issues were ignored in
HRW's report, leading to a display of double standards against
Azerbaijan.
Ombudsman Sabina Aliyeva calls on Human Rights Watch to adopt an
impartial approach, ensure fairness, and base their reports on
verified facts when preparing their assessments.
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