Statement by Mr. Javid Ismayilov Chargé d’ffaires a. i. of the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Azerbaijan to the United Nations at the 2025 resumed session of the Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations
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Azərbaycan Respublikasının |
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Permanent Mission |
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Statement by Mr. Javid Ismayilov Chargé d’ffaires a. i. of the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Azerbaijan to the United Nations at the 2025 resumed session of the Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations
19 May 2025
At the outset, I wish to express my appreciation to the Committee for the opportunity to present the persistent concerns of my delegation regarding the activities of the non-governmental organization "Christian Solidarity International" (CSI), as well as to draw your attention to apparent inconsistencies and misrepresentations contained in this NGO’s responses to the questions posed during the Committee’s first meeting on 20 January 2025.
Although CSI in its responses stated that it respects the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity of States and geographical names established by legitimate national authorities for their sovereign territories, its own records, however, testify to a diametrically opposite conduct. Thus, during the side events convened by CSI in Geneva on 9 July and 1 October 2024, and most recently on 18 March 2025, that is, after the Committee’s first meeting and the submission of its answers, as well as in a series of publications and statements issued since at least September 2023, a distorted map of the Republic of Azerbaijan was displayed, and part of my country’s sovereign territory was repeatedly referred to with invalid or fictitious names.
Moreover, at the side event on 18 March 2025, on the margins of the 58th session of the Human Rights Council, CSI continued politically motivated hostile actions. During this event, the panelists distorted the facts about the ongoing trials of the persons accused of war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide, acts of terrorism and other serious offences. CSI cynically characterized these persons as “prisoners of war”, “political prisoners” and “hostages”, groundlessly attaching also religious and ethnic contexts to the legal process, thereby trying to discredit the legitimate measures of a sovereign State. The panelists even blamed the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention of the Human Rights Council, which, in its opinion issued in February 2025, concluded in relation to one of the accused persons that his deprivation of liberty did not constitute a violation of international law on the grounds of discrimination, nor of his right to a fair trial and due process and thus was not arbitrary. Furthermore, in its responses, CSI reported that a former high-level official of a third country, Mr. Vartan Oskanian, is not directly affiliated with it. The fact, however, is that this person delivered a statement on behalf of CSI during the 56th regular session of the Human Rights Council on 8 July 2024. In other words, CSI lied to this Committee.
In this regard, we want to particularly point out Articles 11 and 35 of ECOSOC resolution 1996/31, which state, respectively, that “The organization shall have authority to speak for its members through its authorized representatives” and “Organizations in general consultative status and special consultative status may designate authorized representatives to sit as observers at public meetings of commissions and other subsidiary organs of the Council”. The question here is whether a person not affiliated with CSI could speak on its behalf at the session of the Human Rights Council.
Considering the foregoing, my delegation underscores that CSI’s responses to the questions posed by the Committee during its first meeting on 20 January 2025 are not only insufficient but also deliberately misleading. We conclude, in this sense, that CSI continues to exploit its Special Consultative Status with ECOSOC for organized and coordinated actions directed against the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan and its legitimate efforts to prosecute and punish the most serious crimes. Such actions are in clear contravention of the purposes and principles enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, and notably, Article 57 (a) of ECOSOC resolution 1996/31.
Therefore, by appearing before the Committee, we respectfully request the Committee to give careful consideration to apparent noncompliance by the NGO in question with the requirements set forth for the purposes of the Consultative Status with ECOSOC, and in this regard, to communicate to abide our statement to CSI, noting that no further clarification or response is needed from their side at this stage of scrutiny.
Thank you. |
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