Human Rights Watch: Governments shouldn’t allow Azerbaijan to use COP29 for fossil fuel expansion amid human rights violations

Governments participating in the 29th annual United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP29) should fulfill their human rights obligations, Human Rights Watch said.

“This is the third straight year that COP takes place in a repressive state that severely limits free speech and peaceful assembly,” Myrto Tilianaki, a senior environmental advocate at Human Rights Watch, said. “Governments attending COP29 in Azerbaijan need to be prepared to deliver a clear message that equitable and ambitious climate action needs the meaningful participation of independent voices.”

Azerbaijan has an authoritarian government that does not tolerate dissent and in recent months has cracked down on independent journalists and civic activists. Those arbitrarily detained include an anti-corruption activist critical of Azerbaijan’s oil and gas sector and a human rights defender who co-founded an initiative that advocated for civic freedoms and environmental justice in Azerbaijan ahead of COP29.

The Azerbaijani government’s hostility toward independent activism raises concerns about whether civil society groups will be able to participate meaningfully at COP29, Human Rights Watch said.

Oil and gas revenues accounted for 52 percent of Azerbaijan’s state budget in 2022 and about 90 percent of its export revenue. During a high-level meeting in April to prepare for COP29, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev announced plans to expand gas production, mainly in response to European Union market demands.

“Governments shouldn’t allow Azerbaijan to use its position as COP29 host to continue to push the expansion of fossil fuels and undermine efforts to confront the climate crisis and protect human rights,” Tilianaki said.