The UN should cancel the decision to recognize Azerbaijan as a COP29 host country

The Lemkin Institute for the Prevention of Genocide opposes the decision of the United Nations to consider Azerbaijan as the host country for the annual COP29 summit, taking into account Azerbaijan's genocidal strategy in Nagorno-Karabakh, the genocidal and Armenian-hating ideology of that country's president, Ilham Aliyev, as well as the widespread corruption and human rights violations in the country. This is stated in the statement of the institute.

"By awarding Azerbaijan this important event, namely the honor of hosting COP29, the UN endorses genocidal speech, genocidal policy and dictatorship, which is not beneficial either for the climate or for the humanity of the whole world. The choice of Azerbaijan as the host country of the COP legitimizes, rationalizes and normalizes the genocide in world politics. Moreover, it threatens the credibility of the principles established by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. In the interests of genocide prevention, human rights and the success of the UN as a body representing the peoples of the world, the UN should cancel the selection of Azerbaijan as the host of COP29 and then either find another host country or hold the conference in Bonn, Germany. , where the preliminary meeting of the COP is currently being held.

Azerbaijan was chosen as the host country for COP29 through the UN approved mechanism in December 2023. that is, less than three months after the reality, when that country organized a genocide against the Armenians of the Nagorno Karabakh region (Artsakh) through ethnic cleansing, and before that, subjecting the population of the area to a genocidal siege for ten months. The exodus from Artsakh, which ended the nearly 4,000-year uninterrupted presence of one of the world's oldest Christian communities, was one of the most effective genocides of recent times. To celebrate Azerbaijan's "victory" against the Artsakh Armenians, Aliyev, the president of that country, even lit a bonfire in Stepanakert, the capital of Artsakh, on the occasion of Nowruz, which he called the "final cleansing". President Aliyev saw the selection of Azerbaijan as the host country for COP29 as an endorsement of his genocidal policy towards Armenians. Hearing that news, he announced. "We consider it a sign of respect from the international community towards Azerbaijan and everything we do..."

In addition to these crimes, Azerbaijan continues to illegally detain Armenian prisoners of war, civilians, and members of the democratically elected government of Artsakh, including Ruben Vardanyan, an international humanitarian and co-founder of the Aurora Humanitarian Initiative. There is also solid evidence of repeated use of torture against Armenian hostages.

It should also be noted that human rights in Azerbaijan are in a deplorable state, which is getting worse. In 2023-2024, Azerbaijan's freedom index decreased by 2 points, which makes that country one of the most authoritarian states in the world. Furthermore, the actions of Azerbaijan and the Aliyev regime on land use and natural climate protection directly contradict the fundamental principles underlying the COP29 conference. Not only is Azerbaijan an oil nation that relies on fossil fuel exports, but the country's state-owned energy and natural resources industries are mired in corruption, putting the country in direct opposition to one of the stated goals of COP29, namely the completion of the Enhanced Transparency Framework of the Paris Agreement. .

Some are heralding COP29 as a "peace summit". The Lemkin Institute considers such claims absurd, shameful and deeply cynical, given everything we all know about the Aliyev regime. At a time when the world's population has lost faith in international institutions, the UN must pull its head out of the sand and stop diplomatic sponsorship of the genocidal state of Azerbaijan, starting at COP29."