Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Azerbaijan about its reported actions in (1) arresting and detaining key persons in civil organisations and human rights defenders, (2) freezing the bank accounts of non-governmental organisations and of certain private individuals, (3) denying registration to new non-governmental organisations, and (4) alleged breaches of Article 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights; and whether all these matters were raised during Azerbaijan's presidency of the Council of Europe.

The UK consistently raises human rights concerns with the Government of Azerbaijan, including during Azerbaijan’s Chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe. The Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Aylesbury (Mr Lidington), visited Baku in November 2014 and discussed concerns about the human rights situation in Azerbaijan with both the President and the Foreign Minister. In addition to statements from Mr Lidington, the UK has supported EU and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) statements on human rights issues. In August 2014 we discussed the treatment of non-governmental organisations with Azerbaijan’s Ambassador to the UK. In the Council of Europe, the UK has made a number of statements about the arrest and detention of members of civil society, in addition to raising it bilaterally. As a member of the Council of Europe, Azerbaijan is a party to the European Convention on Human Rights, and we regularly encourage Azerbaijan to implement its Council of Europe commitments.