Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum (EaP CSF) Steering Committee condemns the heavy-handed action taken by the Russian authorities in response to protests on 27 July 2019. The brutality and violence, as well as the wave of arrests that has followed, is no way to respond to peaceful expression of opinion – a civil right, enshrined in human rights and fundamental…

The Council of Europe’s Department for the Execution of Judgments (DEJ) has provided us with some useful feedback, relating to submissions made by applicants and their representatives on the implementation of judgments in Azerbaijan. The feedback is as follows: Submissions on Azerbaijani cases are generally poorer compared to those made from other countries. There are…

“Freedom of expression in Azerbaijan continues to be under threat” said Dunja Mijatović, Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, at the end of a four-day visit to Azerbaijan. Recalling the European Court of Human Rights’ judgments stressing a troubling pattern of arbitrary arrest and detention of government critics, civil society activists and human rights…

This policy paper was prepared within the framework of Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum (EaP CSF), specifically for Tbilisi Eastern Partnership Conference: Promoting Common Values through Education and Culture, happening between 25-26 June 2019. It provides a snapshot of the situation, with regards to promoting the fundamental European values in the higher education systems of the six EaP countries.…

For almost three decades, the peace talks to resolve the conflict over the Nagorno Karabakh[1] between Azerbaijan and Armenia have been under way with virtually no tangible progress. The conflict, which started during the last years of USSR and then turned into large scale war between the two newly independent states, Azerbaijan and Armenia, has…

Conditions in Azerbaijan’s prisons are often so substandard as to amount to torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment. Numerous credible reports are available, detailing severe overcrowding in prison cells and pre-trial detention centres, where low-quality food, poor medication, inadequate drinking water, sanitation and ventilation remain serious concerns.   The government at…