As part of the 40th session of the European Congress of Local and Regional Authorities, an influential body responsible for local self-government in Europe, a video conference hearing was held on June 17 to discuss the monitoring report on Azerbaijan on application of the European Charter of Local Self-Government.
Vice-Minister of Justice of Azerbaijan Mr. Vilayat Zahirov, attending the event, spoke about the state of local and regional democracy in our country, as well as the implementation of the European Charter.
The Vice-Minister informed about the measures taken under the leadership of President Mr. Ilham Aliyev to develop the municipal institution, expand the powers of municipalities through legislation and institutional reforms, improve their financial situation, increase their independence, and establish transparent local self-government activities in accordance with modern requirements.
They also noted the works done by the Ministry of Justice to provide methodological assistance to municipalities, training and education of municipal members and employees, and noted the effective cooperation with the Congress.
It was noted that in accordance with the recommendations of the Congress, "open days" in municipalities and meetings with the population within the "Local Democracy Week", which has become a tradition, strengthen "citizen-municipality" relations by educating citizens about local self-government.
The video conference highlighted the impossibility of establishing a municipal institution in those territories during the Armenian occupation and the long-term deprivation of local IDPs of their right to local self-government. It was noted that our country won the Patriotic War last year in response to Armenia's military provocations and ended the occupation.
The Ministry informed the Congress about the grave consequences of the war for our civilian population. It was noted that huge restoration and construction works were being carried out in the liberated territories to ensure the return of our compatriots to their native lands.
However, it should be noted that our territories have been mined by Armenia to prevent the safe return of our compatriots, which has led to new casualties among the civilian population. It was noted that more than 140 people were hit by landmines after the war, 27 of them, including three people, two of them were journalists, were recently killed in the Kalbajar region of Azerbaijan.
It was noted that only after the calls of the international community, Armenia provided the Azerbaijani side with maps describing 97,000 mines against tanks and pedestrians on Aghdam region alone. In order to save lives and prevent new
casualties, and for the safe return of IDPs to their ancestral homes, members of Congress were called upon to raise their voices to fulfil their international obligations to make Armenia to give landmine maps in other liberated areas.
The event expressed hope that the Congress will continue to support the local self-government rights of our citizens, who will return to our liberated territories after the resolution of this problem.
The members of the Congress noted the positive measures taken to develop local self-government in our country, expressed readiness to conduct dialogue and constructive cooperation with Azerbaijan, gave recommendations on improving the institution of the municipality, and answered questions.
Information of the Press Service of the Ministry of Justice
