The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on Monday challenged Azerbaijan’s credentials to the body on which called “substantive grounds.”
In making the challenge, Frank Schwabe (Germany) cited political prisoners in the country, the violent displacement of people from Nagorno-Karabakh, the fact that Assembly rapporteurs were unable to visit Azerbaijan at least three times during 2023, and the lack of an invitation to the Assembly to observe the country’s February 7 presidential election in Azerbaijan, a press statement from PACE said.
At least 30 other members from five delegations supported Schwabe’s motion.
“The challenge was immediately referred to the Assembly’s Monitoring Committee for report and to its Rules Committee for opinion, and will be debated by the Assembly on the evening of Wednesday January 24,” the statement added.
It is noted that under the PACE rules, the body must vote for one of three options: to ratify the credentials, not to ratify them, or to ratify them “together with depriving or suspending the exercise of some of the rights of participation or representation of members of the delegation concerned in the activities of the Assembly and its bodies.
“The members of Azerbaijan’s delegation may sit provisionally with the same rights as other Assembly members until the Assembly has reached a decision, but shall not vote in any proceedings relating to the examination of their credentials,” the statement explained.
