Human Rights in Azerbaijan Congressional Briefing

The Senate Human Rights Caucus Co-Chairs Senator Mark Kirk and Senator Chris Coons invite you to join us for a special congressional briefing:

Human Rights in Azerbaijan: A Pre-Election Preview

Wednesday, October 28

3:00-4:00pm

325 Russell Senate Office Building

On November 1, Azerbaijan will hold parliamentary elections in the midst of a systematic crackdown on civil society. As the Azerbaijani government continues to pursue an assertive PR campaign in Washington and Europe, it denies there are political prisoners. Yet, in a one year period, civil society in Azerbaijan has experienced an unprecedented and swift assault – dozens of journalists, human rights defenders, and political and religious activists are behind bars on false charges. Many have been mistreated and are suffering potentially fatal health consequences, including human rights defenders Leyla and Arif Yunus. U.S. civil society and media organizations have been shut down and their employees harassed and arrested, including Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty investigative reporter Khadija Ismayilova, and reports about harassment and imprisonment of local election monitors in Azerbaijan continue to surface in the media. 

This briefing will seek to examine the current political environment in Azerbaijan and address important questions, including: What do the November 1 elections mean for the future of democratic governance in Azerbaijan? What rights violations are occurring? What does the apparent drift from Western values mean for the Azerbaijan’s strategic partnership with the U.S.?  How does corruption in Azerbaijan impact U.S. interests? Is current U.S. foreign policy toward Azerbaijan effectively promoting U.S. values and protecting U.S. interests? How can policymakers support human rights in Azerbaijan and encourage a reliable partnership that is advantageous for both countries?

Briefers:

1. Dinara Yunus, daughter of imprisoned Azerbaijani human rights defenders Leyla and Arif Yunus

2. Ambassador Richard Kauzlarich, former U.S. Ambassador to Azerbaijan

3. Miriam Lanskoy, National Endowment for Democracy

4. Tamara Grigoryeva, Freedom House

Moderator:

David Kramer, The McCain Institute for International Leadership

Cosponsors:

Freedom House | National Endowment for Democracy | Reporters Without Borders