The appeal was a reaction to the events of March 10 2011 when the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Azerbaijan ordered the Human Rights House Azerbaijan to cease all activities. The Ministry based its decision on the amended law stating that international organizations have to carry out their activities after agreement about those activities with the State.
In its letters to the Ambassadors HFHR, who is also a member of the Human Rights House Network, highlighted the fact that the authorities issued no official warnings and expressed no previous discontent concerning the timely and regular reporting by the Human Rights House Azerbaijan. The HFHR underscored that as a result of the events The Human Rights House Network will have to undergo the uncertain registration process. In the letters HFHR referred to the fact that the Human Rights House Azerbaijan has been under government scrutiny since its establishment and that in the last years the pressures became even greater. This was confirmed by the statement made by the Speaker of Azerbaijan’s Parliament who criticized the NGO activities at the Council of Europe and called for “steps to be taken” against human rights NGOs that criticize the government in international inter-governmental institutions or the police inspection conducted on 10 February 2011.
The HFHR underscored that it is strongly convinced that the closing down of the Human Rights House Azerbaijan was politically motivated and that it violates the rights to freedom of expression, freedom of association and peaceful assembly, as well as the right to be a human rights defender in Azerbaijan.
The Foundation asked the Azerbaijani Ambassador to take steps in order to revoke the decision about the closing of the Human Rights House. It called upon the Polish Ambassador in Baku to increase his activity in promoting the international standards of human rights protection.
