Ministry of Education of the Republic of Azerbaijan Baku International Multiculturalism Centre Azerbaijani Multiculturalism Textbook for Higher Education

UN Alliance of Civilizations Global Forum

BIMC held a group session on ‘The role of Azerbaijan in shaping a multicultural society’ at the 7th Global Forum of the UN Alliance of Civilizations, in accordance with Paragraph 30 of the 2016 – Year of Multiculturalism Action Plan.

Terror against Multiculturalism

BIMC has put forward the initiative to hold a series of conferences and round tables in different countries as part of a project Terror against Multiculturalism. The events will draw international attention once more to the grave consequences of

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     the terror committed by Armenians against Azerbaijanis and other
     

peoples and highlight the importance of the fight against terrorism on the international level. ‘Armenian terrorism and Azerbaijani multiculturalism’ is the topic of the first round table as part of the project.


Albanian Apostolic Church: our past and present

BIMC held an international conference on the Albanian Apostolic Church in the town of Qabala on 20 July 2016, under Paragraph 28 of the 2016 – Year of Multiculturalism Action Plan. In 1836 the Albanian Apostolic Church was liquidated and put under the jurisdiction of the Armenian Church. This was a great injustice against the Albanians, including the Udis. Work is under way to restore justice and the rights of the Udis. The Azerbaijani government provides the support needed by the Albanian-Udi community and creates the right conditions for it.

BIMC has coordinated and carried out provisions in the Action Plan for 2016 – Year of Multiculturalism in Azerbaijan, by instruction of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

6.5. The Multiculturalism Policy of the Republic of Azerbaijan and International Organizations

Multiculturalism policy is a successful model followed by many states as a new political model in the context of globalization. Fully ensuring the rights of indigenous national minorities or new national minorities, which emerged as a result of migration, and eliminating discrimination play a vital role in the sovereignty of states.

Azerbaijan was unable to follow an independent foreign policy when it was part of the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union respectively. Only during the first, brief period of independence was

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it able to determine its own policy. After 1991 Azerbaijan pursued an independent foreign policy, turning multiculturalism into a significant factor in its foreign policy.

To ensure its multicultural security, Azerbaijan created the legislative base for the religions and national minorities that are important components of multicultural society. In this context Azerbaijan cooperates with the United Nations, Council of Europe, Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, European Union, Organization of Islamic Cooperation and other international organizations. To date Azerbaijan has signed over 50 international documents and made important achievements in executing its international obligations.

Azerbaijan joined the UN in March 1992 (for more, see Chapter 4). Azerbaijan’s supreme legislative body then approved two significant conventions on national minorities and multiculturalism policy: the Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities and the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.

Article 1 of the Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities, adopted on 18 December 1992, says that the state guarantees the protection of persons belonging to minorities and the preservation of their customs and traditions. The declaration ensures the rights of persons belonging to minorities to use their mother tongue in their daily life and freely to practise their religion and enjoy their culture. They can make contact with members of their own group or other national minorities without any discrimination, even if they live abroad.

The International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination was approved and came into force by Law

of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan (No. IC 95) on 31 May 1996. In the convention the term racial discrimination means any differentiation, exception and restriction on grounds of race, colour or ethnic origin in the recognition, expression or execution of human rights and freedoms on an equal basis in political, socio-economic, cultural and social life. The Convention rules out all differentiation, exception, restriction or preferential treatment of citizens or non-citizens of states that are signatories to the Convention.

It should be noted that the ideas and principles set out in this Convention are the main areas of policy carried out by the Republic of Azerbaijan. The National Action Plan, approved by Instruction of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan on 27 December 2011, makes the protection of rights and freedoms in the Republic of Azerbaijan more effective. It should also be mentioned that Paragraphs 1.1 and 1.2 of the National Action Plan emphasize the protection of the rights set out in the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. These paragraphs reflect the normative-legal acts of the Republic of Azerbaijan which meet the requirements of international legal documents and meet obligations originating in the international treaties on human rights and freedoms supported by the Republic of Azerbaijan.

The right to equality based on the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination is reflected in Article 25 of the Constitution of the Republic of Azerbaijan, in the Criminal Code, the Criminal Procedure Code, the Civil Criminal Procedure Code, the Family and Labour Codes and other legislative acts.

A Committee has been established to eliminate racial discrimination on the basis of this Convention. The Committee

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consists of 18 experts chosen by the member states. It is noticeable that the powers of this Committee coincide with those of the Committee on Human Rights. The only difference is that the interstate complaint procedure reflected in the 1963 Convention is compulsory. It means that any member state can complain to the Committee about another member state if that state has ignored or allowed racial discrimination in its territory, without giving prior warning.

At present Azerbaijan cooperates with the Council of Europe, which is one of the most important international organizations. On 13 June 2000, the Republic of Azerbaijan joined the Council of Europe framework Convention for the Protection of the National Minorities. On 25 January 2001, the Republic of Azerbaijan was elected a full member of the Council of Europe. At that time, the National Leader of the Azerbaijani People Heydar Aliyev determined the main areas of relations between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Council of Europe in his historic speech to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg.

The framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities is the first international treaty designed to protect the rights of national minorities, but it does not mean prohibition of fundamental rights (freedom of thought, conscience, religion, peaceful assembly etc.) or discrimination in order to protect national minorities, their culture and identity. Such fundamental rights are also regulated by the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights. At the same time, the fundamental rights determined by the Convention (the right to speak in one’s mother tongue, the right to communicate freely with people of the same ethnocultural, linguistic and religious identity etc.) refer to only national minorities Therefore, Article 1 of the Convention states clearly that the protection of national minorities and of the rights

and freedoms of persons belonging to those minorities are an integral part of the international protection of human rights and are, therefore, considered a part of international cooperation.

The aim of the framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities is to create conditions for the protection and development of national minorities, which ensure the full and genuine equality of national minorities and allow them to express their national identity with respect for national sovereignty, territorial integrity and the rule of law. The states which have joined the Convention must refrain from policies or practices aimed at assimilation of persons belonging to national minorities against their will; this is one of the most important provisions in the Convention. Article 3 of the Convention says that every person belonging to a national minority shall have the right freely to choose to be treated or not to be treated as such and no disadvantage shall result from this choice or from the exercise of the rights that are connected to that choice.

As there are complicated legal and political stumbling blocks in this sensitive sphere, the framework Convention does not define the concept of a national minority but suggests the following criteria: minorities determined by religion, language, traditions and cultural heritage.

Every state that has ratified the framework Convention, including the Republic of Azerbaijan, must report back in detail to the Secretary-General of the Council of Europe within one year on the legislative acts or other measures adopted in order to meet the principles and provisions of the framework Convention.

What do legislative acts mean? They mean the reflection of the main principles of the Convention in domestic legislation. What’s most important is that as far back as 1992, three years prior to the signature of the Framework Convention, the Republic of Azerbaijan

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guaranteed the protection of the fundamental rights and freedoms of national minorities and ethnic groups living in the country by Decree of the President ‘On protecting the rights and freedoms of national minorities and state support for the development of the languages and cultures of national minorities, small nations and ethnic groups, residing in the Azerbaijan Republic’. Many provisions of the framework Convention, such as eliminating discrimination, ensuring the free practise of religion, preserving cultural, linguistic and religious identity and the right to get information in one’s native tongue, were already in the Presidential Decree of 1992. But other important provisions, such as the right to testify in one’s mother tongue and the right to education in one’s mother tongue, were reflected in legislative acts such as the Criminal Procedure Code and the law on education.

The framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities sets out the following principles:

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  No discrimination;
  

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  Support to ensure equality among the national minorities and majority of the population;
  

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  The creation of favourable conditions for the development and preservation of the cultures, languages, religions, customs and traditions of national minorities;
  

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  Freedom of speech, thought, conscience and religion;
  

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  The right to education;
  

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  Cross-border relations and cooperation;
  

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