Azernews.Az

By Sara Rajabova

An Azerbaijani official has voiced regret over the European Union's double standards regarding the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, which emerged in 1988 over Armenia's territorial claims against Azerbaijan.

Chairman of the Council of State Support to NGOs (CSSN) under the President of Azerbaijan, Azay Guliyev made the remark at a meeting with Belgian Senate Speaker Sabine de Bethune, the CSSN said September 10.

Guliyev said the EU does not show an adequate attitude towards Armenia, which ignores the UN Security Council resolutions, demanding the Armenian withdrawal from the Azerbaijani territory. Armenia hasn't enforced the four UN resolutions to this day.

Since a lengthy war in the early 1990s that displaced over one million Azerbaijanis, Armenian armed forces have occupied over 20 percent of Azerbaijan's internationally recognized territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent regions. Long-standing efforts by U.S, Russian and French mediators have been largely fruitless so far.

Guliyev noted that the impunity of the occupier Armenia is the main reason behind the growth of tensions in the region.

He further stressed that Nagorno-Karabakh conflict should be in mind while taking measures to protect Ukraine's territorial integrity.

Guliyev called on Belgium to contribute to a just solution for this conflict.

He also asked Sabine de Bethune's help in holding a meeting between Azerbaijani and Armenian communities of Nagorno-Karabakh in Brussels to discuss ways of peaceful coexistence.

Speaking about the financial support of foreign NGOs, he said the main goal is to build long-term cooperation with the European countries and the U.S. through civil institutions and the CSSN.

He went on to add that CSSN is cooperating with 30 foreign organizations, four of them from Belgium.

During the meeting, Sabine de Bethune, for her part, spoke about the Belgian Senate's activities, adding that Belgium attaches great importance to cooperation with the countries of the Eastern Partnership, including Azerbaijan.

Azerbaijan's experience in protection of women's rights, boosting employment and other fields were also discussed at the meeting.

The meeting was also attended by the Chairwoman of the State Committee for Family, Women and Children Affairs Hijran Huseynova, MP Malahat Ibrahimgizi, CSSN Member Rena Mirzazade, and a representative of the Azerbaijani Embassy in Belgium.

On September 9, a report was released about Azerbaijan at the European Parliament, which was drafted by the experts at the Belgian League for Women's Rights.

It was prepared as part of a project titled "Impact of the issue of women's rights on Azerbaijan's strategic image" with the financial support of the CSSN.

The 50-page report touches upon the active participation of women in the social, political, socio-economic and cultural life of Azerbaijan.

The parliament meeting was opened by the European Parliament's British Member, human rights activist Julie Ward, who underscored Azerbaijan's achievements in the field of women's rights, stressing that Azerbaijan is able to share its experience in this regard with other countries of the Eastern Partnership.

Guliyev noted at the event that hundreds of thousands of Azerbaijani women are suffering as a result of Armenia's aggressive policy; about 300,000 women currently live as refugees and internally displaced persons.

He also stressed that some 17 young girls and 247 women are among those missing and taken hostage by the Armenian armed forces.

As a result of Armenia's military aggression, over 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed, 4,866 are still reported missing, almost 100,000 were injured and 50,000 were disabled.

European Parliament in 2013 adopted a resolution which confirmed that Armenian troops have occupied Azerbaijani territories. It also called for resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict on the basis of UN Security Council resolutions and the L'Aquila statement of the mediating countries' leaders in 2009.

According to changes to the resolution, the European Parliament recalled its position that occupation of the territory of an Eastern Partnership member by another member state violates the fundamental principles and objectives of the EU program.