AZERBAIJANI MP ACHIEVES INCLUSION OF NAGORNO KARABAKH AS UNCONTROLLED TERRITORY INTO REPORT "SITUATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN EUROPE"
Azeri Press Agency, Azerbaijan
March 13 2007
The Parliamentary Assembly of Council of Europe (PACE) Committee for
Legal Affairs and Human Rights met yesterday, APA’s Europe bureau
reports.
The approval of the report on situation of human rights in Europe
and Montenegro’s admission to the Council of Europe were debated.
Analogous issues were discussed at the meeting of the PACE Political
Affairs Committee. Azerbaijan was discussed at the meetings of
both committees. Member of the Azerbaijani delegation to the PACE,
parliamentarian Gultekin Hajiyeva told the APA’s Europe bureau that
the report "The situation of democracy in Europe drawn up by Swiss
parliamentarian Andreas Gross was debated.
"I gave proposals to this report and most of them have been taken
into consideration. The proposals were connected with the necessity of
preventing cases of islamophobia, religious and national discrimination
and creating conditions for ensuring women’s rights in European
democracies. The discussions on the report "Situation of human rights
in Europe" drawn up by Purgoridz, parliamentarian from Cyprus, was
very interesting for Azerbaijan. The most interesting point in the
report is connected with uncontrolled territories in Europe. I had
some additions to the report. The rapporteur included South Ossetia,
Abkhazia and Transnestria in the list of uncontrolled territories,
but forgot Nagorno Karabakh. After my serious remark, the rapporteur
agreed to include Nagorno Karabakh into the list of uncontrolled
territories," she said.
Gultekin Hajiyeva noted that there were unpleasant momentums during
the discussions.
"Deputy Chief of the Committee for Legal Affairs, Ukrainian MP
Holovatiy was against my proposal and said that Nagorno Karabakh
problem differs from South Ossetia, Abkhazia and Transnestria
problems. He always expresses his own position and his position does
not coincide with the position of the Ukrainian government. I protested
against his position and drew his attention to four resolutions of
the UN Security Council and the document #1416 adopted by the PACE
in January, 2005. I also told the committee members that Holovatiy
is very crude towards the Azerbaijani delegation. Nagorno Karabakh
is not a disputed territory. Azerbaijan’s sovereign rights over
Nagorno Karabakh are out of discussion. I asked Holovatiy what his
position is based on and said that such position of a deputy chief
of the Committee for Legal Affairs is unwelcoming. My remarks were
adopted and Nagorno Karabakh was included in the list of uncontrolled
territories in Europe," she said.
Gultekin Hajiyeva said that the reports approved at the meetings of
both committees will be debated in the PACE spring session.