A bill “On the situation of human rights in the United States” has been submitted to the Azerbaijani parliament.

The author of the bill is Rovshan Rzayev, who is the deputy chairman of the parliamentary Committee on Legal Policy and State Building also a board member of the “Azerbaijani Community of Nagorno-Karabakh” Public Union.

According to the bill, independent Azerbaijan has faced double standards demonstrated by various organizations of a number of countries including the US.

“These organizations are seeking to subdue Azerbaijan – a state with own independent policy – and they are trying to intervene in its domestic and foreign policy by a variety of means, one of which is to have a country under constant pressure by demonstrating a biased stance on issues like human rights and democracy,” says the bill.

The document also mentions that while preparing constant reports on the situation of human rights in other countries, the US on the other hand evades from joining main international agreements on human rights.

“To date, the US has ratified only four of the 14 UN major documents on human rights. The US is one of the two countries (US and Somalia) that have not joined the convention on children’s rights so far,” says the bill.

The bill goes on to note that cases of religious and racial discrimination, xenophobia and islamophobia have lately increased in the US, where there is total control on society. Cases of intervention in personal life as well as restrictions on freedom of expression and press have mounted.

“Legal corruption and lobbying have become one of the main attributes of the US political system. The ongoing negative developments in the US, as well as a claim to global hegemony compel Azerbaijan to review the cooperation and bilateral relations formed over the years with this country,” says the bill.

The bill includes provisions regarding racial and religious discrimination, establishing a system of total control over the society, restrictions on freedom of speech and press, electoral fraud, violation of the norms and principles of international law.

The bill recommends the Foreign Ministry to refuse to issue visas to individuals representing in the US government and their family members, the congressmen and senators consistently working for discrediting Azerbaijan in Congress and their families, officials cooperating with Armenian diaspora organizations and lobby groups, leaders of media outlets, NGO representatives and experts conducting a smear campaign against Azerbaijan.

Meanwhile, the visa sanction is expected to be imposed on those receiving large sums of money as a result of collaboration with top US officials, as well as on people who are elected to the electoral authorities of the US with the support of the Armenian diaspora organizations and lobby groups and who oppose the improvement of the electoral legislation and US accession to international treaties on human rights.


The bill also recommends the Cabinet of Ministers to consider the suspension of all contacts between the state authorities of Azerbaijan and US companies and representatives of the private sector to cancel contracts concluded with US companies and renounce the establishment of new trade and economic ties.

Relevant central executive bodies are recommended not to allow US-based NGOs to implement programs and projects in Azerbaijan and close their bank accounts, as well as take necessary measures to suspend the activities of branches and representative offices of NGOs financed by the US government and Congress in Azerbaijan.

The bill also envisages the preparation of proposals for terminating the cooperation with the US in the fields of trade, energy, military and security.

Moreover, it covers the suspension of Azerbaijan’s participation in operations of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan, the ban on transportation of military and other types of US cargo thorough Azerbaijan and use of local infrastructure for this purpose and the commencement of the procedure to recall the US from the co-chairmanship of the OSCE Minsk Group.

The following issues need to be resolved in order to cancel sanctions envisaged by the bill:

The US must put an end to the flagrant violation of human rights, the inhumane treatment of prisoners and eliminate manifestations of racial and religious discrimination and xenophobia and Islamophobia; the US must refrain from the use of inadequate force against the participants of protest actions; the US must prevent restriction of freedom of speech and press and interference in the private lives of citizens; the US must keep a consistent fight against corruption; the US must avoid the practice of lobbying; the US must reject the harmful practice widespread in the election process and put an end to electoral fraud; the US must abandon efforts to grossly interfere in the international affairs of other countries; the US must avoid to conduct a campaign to smear and discredit the Republic of Azerbaijan and prevent reoccurrence of such cases in the future; the US must take an unambiguous stance on the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in accordance with international law, impose sanctions on the aggressor and break off all its ties with the separatist regime created in occupied Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan.

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