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2007 Assessment

Azerbaijan: Integrity Indicators Scorecard

Azerbaijan: Integrity Scorecard Report > Sub-Category: Civil Society Organizations
Indicators		Score
1	Are anti-corruption/good governance CSOs legally protected?	100
2	Are good governance/anti-corruption CSOs able to operate freely?	67
3	Are civil society activists safe when working on corruption issues?	100
4	Can citizens organize into trade unions?	75

Indicator and sub-Indicator Details

Are anti-corruption/good governance CSOs legally protected?

1a: In law, citizens have a right to form civil society organizations (CSOs) focused on anti-corruption or good governance.

Score:

YES

Comments: There are no restrictions for Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) to focus on anti-corruption and good governance issues in law. The Anti-Corruption State Program, approved on Sept. 3, 2004, indicates that CSOs should be engaged in the public control process to fight corruption and promote good governance principles.

References: Reference: Anti-Corruption State Program of Azerbaijan Republic

1b: In law, anti-corruption/good governance CSOs are free to accept funding from any foreign or domestic sources.

Score:

YES

Comments: The law on Non-Government Organizations allows NGOs to use domestic and foreign financial sources (article number 24). According to the law on Mass Media, however, foreign citizens can set up mass media organizations if there is bilateral agreement between countries (article number 14). Another article of this law prohibits mass media organizations from getting any financial assistance from foreign sources (article number 21). Foreign sources can be used for partial financing, such as sponsoring special programs/talk shows on TV.

References: Reference: The law on Non-Government Organizations and the law on Mass Media.

Peer Review Comments: Article 24, clause 6.7. of Law on Non-Governmental Organizations (public associations and foundations) prohibits CSOs to accept funding that is not approved by the legislature.

1c: In law, anti-corruption/good governance CSOs are required to disclose their sources of funding.

Score:

YES

Comments: According to the law on Non-Government Organizations, Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) are responsible for disclosing their annual financial reports (article number 29.3). The law on Mass Media also requires disclosing financial activities (article number 21).

References: Reference: the law on Non-Government Organizations and the law on Mass Media.

Peer Review Comments: Also regarding the Law on Grants: "Agreements (awards) on provision of grants by donors, being legal or natural entities of Azerbaijan Republic, to foreign recipients shall be registered at the relevant body of the executive power." (Article 4.4)

Are good governance/anti-corruption CSOs able to operate freely?

2a: In practice, the government does not create barriers to the organization of new anti-corruption/good governance CSOs.

Score:

100

Comments: There is no concrete response to this question, such as "no" or "yes." However, Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) are able to operate freely when they focus on anti-corruption issues. There is pressure from the government, however, on CSOs that want to focus on procurement of state projects and the activities of top senior government members.

References: Reference: Azadliq newspaper articles between March 2007 and May 2007 www.azadliq.az

Peer Review Comments: Clause 5 of article 5 of Law on Grants stipulates that the recipient of a grant has to inform the appropriate executive body about each grant received.

2b: In practice, anti-corruption/good governance CSOs actively engage in the political and policymaking process.

Score:

100

Comments: Such practice is not usual for Azerbaijan. Even some legislation requires such participation, but it does not work in practice. For example, according to the legislation, there should be one representative from Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) in the Observation Council of State Oil Fund of Azerbaijan Republic. However, only state officials are engaged with the Observation Council. Besides that, according to the Chapter of Anti-Corruption Commission approved by the president on May 3, 2005, the commission should cooperate with CSOs to engage them in anti-corruption initiatives. However, there is no proof that CSOs are engaged in the commission's activities or programs.

References: Reference: Oil and Gas Report by Himayedar (May 2006). President's Chapter signed on May 3, 2005.

Peer Review Comments: In reality CSOs have some influence in the decision making process. References: - Memorandum of Understanding between the Coalition of NGOs "For Improving Transparency in Extractive Industries", State EITI Committee, and oil companies - Permanent consultations of the Ministry of Economic Development with CSOs, etc.

Peer Review Comments: I believe that there are two barriers to this occurring.

1) The government is only looking to cooperate with "loyal CSOs," which are not associated with radical opposition parties.

2) Many CSOs lack credibility with the public because of their affiliation with certain political parties or individuals.

2c: In practice, no anti-corruption/good governance CSOs have been shut down by the government for their work on corruption-related issues during the study period.

Score:

YES

$Scoring Criteria :: YES: A YES score is earned is there were no CSOs shut down by the government or forced to cease operations because of their work on corruption-related issues during the study period. NO: A NO score is earned if any CSO has been effectively shut down by the government or forced to cease operations because of its work on corruption-related issues during the study period. The causal relationship between the cessation of operations and the CSO\'s work may not be explicit, however the burden of proof here is low. If it seems likely that the CSO was forced to cease operations due to its work, then the indicator is scored as a NO. Corruption is defined broadly to include any abuses of power, not just the passing of bribes.$

Comments: No Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) were shut down by the government last year.

References: Reference: Reports by different NGOs, including Azerbaijan NGO Collation's Reports in 2007.

Are civil society activists safe when working on corruption issues?

3a: In practice, in the past year, no civil society activists working on corruption issues have been imprisoned.

Score:

YES

$Scoring Criteria :: YES: A YES score is earned if there were no CSO activists imprisoned because of their work covering corruption. YES is a positive score. NO: A NO score is earned if any activist was jailed in relation to work covering corruption. The causal relationship between the official charges and the person\'s work may not be explicit, however the burden of proof here is low. If it seems likely that the person was imprisoned due to his or her work, then the indicator is scored as a NO. Corruption is defined broadly to include any abuses of power, not just the passing of bribes.$

Comments: None of the Civil Society Organization's (CSO) activities were imprisoned last years, however, the government's pressure is still strong on NGOs.

References: Reference: Reports by different NGOs, including Azerbaijan NGO Collation's Reports in 2007.

3b: In practice, in the past year, no civil society activists working on corruption issues have been physically harmed.

Score:

YES

$Scoring Criteria :: YES: A YES score is earned if there were no documented cases of CSO activists covering corruption being assaulted in the specific study period. A YES score can be earned if there was an attack but it was clearly unrelated to the activist\'s work. YES is a positive score. NO: A NO score is earned if there were any documented cases during the study period of assault to an activist who covers corruption. Corruption is defined broadly to include any abuses of power, not just the passing of bribes.$

Comments: None of the Civil Society Organization's (CSO) activities were physically harmed last year.

References: Reference: Reports by different NGOs, including Azerbaijan NGO Collation's Reports in 2007.

3c: In practice, in the past year, no civil society activists working on corruption issues have been killed.

Score:

YES

$Scoring Criteria :: YES: A YES score is earned if there were no documented cases of CSO activists being killed because of their work covering corruption in the specific study period. YES is a positive score. NO: A NO score is earned if there were any documented cases during the study period where a person was killed related to a corruption trial, scandal or investigation. The relationship between a mysterious death and an individual\'s history may not be clear, however the burden of proof here is low. If it is reasonable that a person was killed in relation to his or her work on corruption issues, then the indicator is scored as a NO. Corruption is defined broadly to include any abuses of power, not just the passing of bribes.$

Comments: No civil society activists working on corruption issues were killed last year.

References: Reference: Reports by different NGOs, including Azerbaijan NGO Collation's Reports in 2007.

Peer Review Comments: No civil society activist working on corruption issues was killed last year. So, the answer should be YES.

Can citizens organize into trade unions?

4a: In law, citizens have a right to organize into trade unions.

Score:

YES

Comments: According to the Law on Trade Unions, approved Feb. 24, 1994, citizens are free to set up trade unions.

References: Reference: Law on Trade Unions (Feb. 24, 1994).

Peer Review Comments: In addition, according to the Article 58 of the Constitution of the Republic of Azerbaijan and Article 19 of the Labor Code, citizens have a right to establish trade unions.

4b: In practice, citizens are able to organize into trade unions.

Score:

100

Comments: Despite the fact that there are no barriers in the legislation to setting up trade unions, it is not easy to establish unions. For instance, workers have not yet been able to set up unions in some oil companies in Azerbaijan.

References: Reference: Interview with Mirvari Gahramanli, NGO activist (August 2007).

Peer Review Comments: Though they exist, trade unions in Azerbaijan do not play a major role in the public or social life of the country.

However, progress has been made recently, as several oil companies have accepted union demands to change working conditions.