By Eurasianet - Nov 07, 2024
Armenian NGOs are boycotting COP29 in Baku, accusing Azerbaijan of "greenwashing" its human rights record and environmental damage in Nagorno-Karabakh.
The NGOs allege that Azerbaijan is engaged in deforestation, landmine planting, and destruction of cultural heritage in the occupied territories.
The UN's decision to host COP29 in Baku has been criticized, given the ongoing tensions between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
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Feeling excluded from directly participating in the upcoming COP29 climate conference starting November 11 inBaku, Armenian environmental organizations have issued a statement urging participants to speak up about Azerbaijan’s rights and environmental protection records.
The statement, issued by the Yerevan-based non-governmental organization Ecolur and signed by over 50 other Armenian entities, accuses the Azerbaijani government of using COP29 to craft a “greenwashing” narrative designed to obscure rights abuses and conceal alleged shortcomings in safeguarding regional ecosystems.
Armenian NGOs specifically accused Azerbaijan of engaging in “mass deforestation” in Armenian territory currently occupied by Azerbaijani armed forces in the wake of Baku’s reconquest of Nagorno-Karabakh. Azerbaijani activities in the area, according to the NGO statement, are “devastating ecosystems” via the construction of a network of roads and the planting of land mines “restricting the movement of nearby [Armenian] residents and depriving them of access to water.”
The statement also urges participants to speak out about what it terms as “violations of humanitarian law, ethnic cleansing of the indigenous Armenian population [and] the destruction of Armenian historical and cultural heritage” in Karabakh.
Azerbaijani officials deny allegations of rights violations against Karabakh Armenians, while citing a variety of United Nations Security Council resolutions that endorse Baku’s sovereignty over the Karabakh enclave.
It seems unlikely that many participants will raise non-environmental topics publicly during COP29. A hosting agreement between the UN agency running the annual conference and the Azerbaijani government contains language that potentially enables the hosts to legally retaliate against anyone who voices public criticism of government policies.
The Armenian NGO statement criticized the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change for selecting Baku as a host city. Given the ongoing tension surrounding the Armenian-Azerbaijani peace process, Armenian environmentalists did not feel secure in attending the conference.
“The decision to hold COP29 in Baku was problematic in itself, considering not only the fact that such an event is being held in a country with a fossil fuel-based economy, but also the reality that this state uses profits from these resources to expand military aggression and blatantly violate international law,” the statement reads.
By Eurasianet.org
Armenian NGOs are boycotting COP29 in Baku, accusing Azerbaijan of "greenwashing" its human rights record and environmental damage in Nagorno-Karabakh.
The NGOs allege that Azerbaijan is engaged in deforestation, landmine planting, and destruction of cultural heritage in the occupied territories.
The UN's decision to host COP29 in Baku has been criticized, given the ongoing tensions between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
Feeling excluded from directly participating in the upcoming COP29 climate conference starting November 11 inBaku, Armenian environmental organizations have issued a statement urging participants to speak up about Azerbaijan’s rights and environmental protection records.
The statement, issued by the Yerevan-based non-governmental organization Ecolur and signed by over 50 other Armenian entities, accuses the Azerbaijani government of using COP29 to craft a “greenwashing” narrative designed to obscure rights abuses and conceal alleged shortcomings in safeguarding regional ecosystems.
Armenian NGOs specifically accused Azerbaijan of engaging in “mass deforestation” in Armenian territory currently occupied by Azerbaijani armed forces in the wake of Baku’s reconquest of Nagorno-Karabakh. Azerbaijani activities in the area, according to the NGO statement, are “devastating ecosystems” via the construction of a network of roads and the planting of land mines “restricting the movement of nearby [Armenian] residents and depriving them of access to water.”
The statement also urges participants to speak out about what it terms as “violations of humanitarian law, ethnic cleansing of the indigenous Armenian population [and] the destruction of Armenian historical and cultural heritage” in Karabakh.
Azerbaijani officials deny allegations of rights violations against Karabakh Armenians, while citing a variety of United Nations Security Council resolutions that endorse Baku’s sovereignty over the Karabakh enclave.
It seems unlikely that many participants will raise non-environmental topics publicly during COP29. A hosting agreement between the UN agency running the annual conference and the Azerbaijani government contains language that potentially enables the hosts to legally retaliate against anyone who voices public criticism of government policies.
The Armenian NGO statement criticized the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change for selecting Baku as a host city. Given the ongoing tension surrounding the Armenian-Azerbaijani peace process, Armenian environmentalists did not feel secure in attending the conference.
“The decision to hold COP29 in Baku was problematic in itself, considering not only the fact that such an event is being held in a country with a fossil fuel-based economy, but also the reality that this state uses profits from these resources to expand military aggression and blatantly violate international law,” the statement reads.
By Eurasianet.org
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