The Ombudsman of Azerbaijan sent an open letter to Human Rights Watch

Azerbaijan's Human Rights Commissioner (Ombudsman) Sabina Aliyeva has sent an open letter to Human Rights Watch (HRW) Executive Director Tirana Hassan.

According to the Ombudsman's press service, the letter states that the Azerbaijan section in the organization's 2024 world report demonstrates a biased and one-sided approach towards Baku.

It was noted that HRW, instead of referring to publicly available annual and parallel reports of the Ombudsman that detail activities protecting human rights and freedoms, including torture prevention, relied on questionable and biased sources. It also indicates that members of the Ombudsman's National Preventive Group met with several individuals mentioned in the organization's report, and no facts of torture or ill-treatment were recorded.

The letter notes that despite important decisions made to address climate change consequences during COP29 held in Azerbaijan, which became a platform for effective discussions on preventing climate change, HRW did not acknowledge these successes in addressing current issues in its report.

According to the document, the report failed to consider that Azerbaijan suffered years of occupation by Armenia, resulting in violations of fundamental rights and freedoms of over a million Azerbaijanis. After the occupation ended, work began to ensure safe and dignified return of former IDPs. The report also ignored the mine problem posing a serious threat to people's lives and health, and the fact of forced expulsion of hundreds of thousands of Azerbaijanis from Armenia, which indicates double standards towards Azerbaijan.

The Ombudsman called on Human Rights Watch to show impartiality, fair approach, and rely on verified facts when preparing their reports.