Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan has a standing national mechanism for implementation, reporting and follow-up (NMIRF) established by Presidential Order on 20 September 2018. The "Working Group on Enhancing Cooperation with United Nations Human Rights Bodies" is led by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and includes 21 ministries and agencies. It coordinates reporting to UN human rights mechanisms and monitors the implementation of recommendations.

INSTITUTIONAL SET UP

The National mechanism for implementation, reporting and follow (NMIRF) is a working group composed of 19 ministries, the Office of the Prosecutor General, and the Ombudsperson. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs leads coordination and acts as the secretariat for the NMIRF.

Four ministries are designated as leads for specific treaty bodies. The mechanism was established by Presidential Order and includes focal points from gender and disability mechanisms. It does not have Terms of Reference or Standing Operating Procedures.

Composition

The NMIRF includes:

19 ministries Office of the Prosecutor General Office of the Commissioner for Human Rights (Ombudsperson) 21 ministries and agencies are involved in total. Four are designated as lead entities for specific treaty bodies:

Ministry of Foreign Affairs has the lead for reporting under CERD, CAT, CCPR, CESCR Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of Population leads on CRPD reporting State Committee for Family, Women and Children Affairs leads on CRC and CEDAW reporting State Migration Service coordinates reporting under CMW

The NMIRF includes focal points for: Article 33(1) of CRPD: ☑ Yes Gender Equality Mechanisms: ☑ Yes

Working Methods

Meetings are held regularly to prepare for reviews and discuss implementation.

Information Management:

• Official correspondence is the main tool.
• Spreadsheets are used for tracking.
• Emails are used for internal communication.
• There are no Standing Operating Procedures guiding the use of these tools.

MANDATE

The NMIRF is mandated to:

• Report to UN Treaty Bodies and the Universal Periodic Review (UPR)
• Follow up on recommendations from these mechanisms
• Implement recommendations, including contributing to legislative changes

It does not currently engage with:

• UN Special Procedures
• Regional human rights mechanisms
• Sustainable Development Goal-related processes

The mechanism engages with UN Treaty Bodies and the Universal Periodic Review of the Human Rights Council.

Process for the preparation of state reports

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs sends written requests to relevant ministries for inputs. The Ombudsperson and Office of the Prosecutor General are also involved. Inputs are compiled and submitted via the Permanent Representation in Geneva. The Ombudsperson also independently contributes to periodic reports.

COORDINATION

The working group meets regularly to prepare reports and discuss implementation. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs coordinates data collection and submission through official correspondence and the Permanent Mission in Geneva. The NMIRF includes the National Statistics Office, Parliament, and Judiciary.

Channel of communication with the Judiciary

The Judicial-Legal Council is the main authority of the Republic of Azerbaijan responsible for organizing the judicial system and safeguarding judicial independence, as well as performing the self-governance functions of the judiciary. It plays an important role in the implementation of recommendations related to the judiciary. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs collects all necessary information, including statistics related to the judiciary, by sending requests directly to the Judicial-Legal Council.

CONSULTATION

The NMIRF does consult with CSOs and marginalized groups. The National Human Rights Institution (Ombudsperson) is also invited to meetings of the working group and also contributes to periodic reports. Additionally, the National Human Rights Institution of the Republic of Azerbaijan (Ombudsperson) maintains cooperation with Special Procedure mandate holders, including submission of inputs for periodic reports.

Azerbaijan has implemented several human rights action plans, including the 1998 State Program, the 2006 National Action Plan, and the 2011 National Action Programme. These plans address legal reforms, institutional strengthening, awareness-raising and cooperation with international bodies.

The National Action Plan on the Protection of Human Rights that was developed on the proposals by different governmental bodies was approved by the Presidential Order dated December 28, 2006. The Plan determined measures regarding the action for the improvement of normative legal framework, cooperation with international human rights institutions, strengthening the protection of the rights of various groups of population, improving the activities of state bodies in terms of ensuring human rights and educational, awareness-raising, scientific-analytical and cooperation activities in the field of human rights.

On 27 December, 2011 the National Action Programme on raising the efficiency of human rights protection in the Republic of Azerbaijan, was approved by the President. This Programme covers the issues mainly reflected in the recommendations addressed to Azerbaijan in course of consideration of its first UN Human Rights Council (HRC) Universal Periodic Review (UPR) report. The Action Programme envisages such issues as improvement of the normative-legal basis (including through definition of human rights and fundamental freedoms as a major criteria for drafting laws), improvement of activities of the state agencies, increasing transparency, training, research and awareness-raising measures on human rights, as well as cooperation with different international organizations in the field of human rights.

Website: https://www.mfa.gov.az/en

Email: katiblik@mfa.gov.az