BackOn the occasion of National Human Rights Day, the ninth International Baku Conference of Ombudspersons entitled "The cultural rights of national minorities and migrants: legal aspects and implementation" was held on 16-18 June, 2011 in Baku, Azerbaijan.
The conference was attended by the ombudsmen or the representatives of national human rights institutions of Sweden, Norway, Poland, Slovenia, India, Thailand, Pakistan, Ukraine, Moldavia, as well as 12 oblasts of Russian Federation, international experts, the representatives of International and European Ombudsman Institutes and Asian Ombudsman Association.
The representatives of state bodies, international organizations, NGOs, civil society, communities and mass-media also attended the event.
The first plenary session was dedicated to protection of national minorities and migrants: domestic and international standards. The Commissioner delivered a speech on "The activity of the Commissioner in protection of national minorities and migrants. The Commissioner focused on the activity of the Ombudsman Institute in protection of the rights of national minorities and migrants, as well as cultural rights, the fight against discrimination, and in public awareness-raising events in this regard.
The deputy Prime-Minister Ali Hasanov, Minister of Culture and Tourism Abulfas Garayev, Chairperson of State Committee on Family, Woman and Child Issues, the representative of UNESCO Moscow Office, first secretary of Azerbaijan National Commission for UNESCO, and others also made presentations during the conference.
The second plenary session was dedicated to cultural diversity and efficient provision of cultural rights.
On the second day of the Conference the efficient provision of the rights of ethnic groups and minorities were discussed.
It should be noted, that during the International Baku Conference of Ombudspersons, upon the initiative of the Azerbaijani Commissioner the member of IOI Board A. Fliflet, Secretary General of EOI J. Siegele, and the representatives of AOA M. Azhar had a meeting for the first time. The Commissioner highlighted the importance of building cooperation among these organizations and the perspectives of future cooperation were discussed. E. Suleymanova made several proposals such as conforming the national legislation to international documents after ratifying them, building cooperation with international organizations, working with state bodies, NGOs and civil society, establishing cooperation in the field of protection of the rights of vulnerable groups, human rights education and creation of electronic library and network in this regard.
The conference participants also visited the Milli Majlis and met with Ziyafat Asgharov, first deputy chairperson of the Parliament.
The third day of the conference was held at the Ombudsman Office. Baku Declaration covering the proposals of the Azerbaijani Commissioner was adopted at the end of the Conference. The Declaration included development of cooperation for protection of cultural rights of national minorities and migrants, realization of joint projects with international organizations, and NHRIs, etc.
Norway Ombudsman, IOI Board A. Fliflet, Secretary General of EOI J. Siegele, the representative of Moscow Office A. Ampar, Moldavian Ombudsman, A. Grigoriu, Human Rights Commissioners of Sverdolovsk and Kaluga oblasts of Russian Federation, T. Merzlyakova and E. Zelnikov and others highly appreciated the Azerbaijani Commissioner's initiatives, dynamic activity, thanked her for organizing the conference at high level, and expressed their hope for further cooperation.
Source: Office of Ombudsman of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Press-release N 1497-2415/155-11, 21.06.2011
