By: Chloe Ross Bohn
Edited By: Inesa Sargsyan
Azerbaijan is hosting the 29th UN Conference of the Parties (COP29) on climate change in its capital, Baku, attracting global leaders to address pressing environmental priorities. Azerbaijan was selected through regional consultations within the UN’s Eastern Europe Group, which assesses logistical and financial readiness. After Russia vetoed all EU member states, the options left were Armenia or Azerbaijan. In exchange for a release of prisoners, Armenia supported Azerbaijan’s bid. As the host, Azerbaijan is responsible for providing facilities, security, and translation services to ensure the conference proceeds smoothly. The conference is divided into the UN-managed “blue zone” for accredited participants and the host-managed “green zone” open to civil society, businesses, and academia. However, this climate summit unfolds amid international concerns over Azerbaijan’s human rights record and its tensions with Armenia.
Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev used his opening speech on Monday to criticize Western governments for their perceived hypocrisy. He accused them of double standards, lecturing other nations while buying his country’s gas, and engaging in political hypocrisy. Aliyev’s remarks stood out for their candid and critical tone, as well as for openly defending fossil fuel as a “gift from God”—an unusual stance for a host nation at the annual climate conference.
On October 3, 2024, nearly 60 U.S. lawmakers sent a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken, urging him to advocate for Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to uphold human rights protections in the lead-up to COP29, scheduled for November 11 to November 22, 2024. The bipartisan coalition called “for the immediate and unconditional release of all political prisoners, hostages, and POWs, including ethnic Armenians, to create a more conducive environment for effective diplomacy at COP29.”
This criticism follows Azerbaijan’s recapture of Nagorno-Karabakh, a region with a historically Armenian population. September 19, 2024, marked the one-year anniversary of the bombing of Nagorno-Karabakh. SAIS student Alena Mikhaelyan reminded classmates that, for “the first time in 2,000+ years…there is not a single indigenous Armenian in Nagorno-Karabakh.” A recent academic paper from the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute described this exodus as “a forced displacement of nearly 120,000 Armenians,” amounting to “ethnic cleansing” driven by a longstanding policy of “institutionalized anti-Armenian hatred.”
The perpetual ethnic cleansing of the Armenians in the region is not a new endeavour, but rather a century-old mission fueled with hatred and animosity, first carried out by the Ottoman Empire in 1915 as a way to oppress a Christian nation, and now continued by Azerbaijan. Mikhaelyan explained that Turks and Azeris are ethnically the same people, with the same language, a “one nation, two states” alliance, and shared anti-Armenian policies openly expressed by their presidents: “They are seen by Armenians as the same perpetrator, 100 years later, committing genocide again.”
Reflecting, Mikhaelyan shared, “The indigenous Armenian population of Artsakh simply did not have trust in the Azerbaijani government’s promises of peaceful rule; they experienced massacres and pogroms in Sumgait [1988] and Baku [1990] under the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic’s rule and also earlier in the 20th century with the Shushi massacre of 1920, not to mention the two Nagorno-Karabakh wars and continuous rhetoric dehumanizing Armenians by its state ministers and president.” In August 2023, former chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court Louis Moreno warned that Azerbaijan was preparing to commit genocide against Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh. In his report, he called out Russia and the US as having “privileged positions to prevent this genocide.” Ocampo wrote that “their intense confrontation due to the Ukrainian conflict should not transform the Armenians into collateral victims.” A month later, the genocide was carried out.
Azerbaijan’s domestic human rights record has also raised questions about its suitability as the COP29 host. Amnesty International’s June 2024 report condemned repression of activists, journalists, and civil society, highlighting over 300 arbitrary arrests. Amnesty cautioned that this crackdown could hinder the inclusive dialogue COP29 aims to promote. Freedom House’s Freedom in the World 2024 report classified Azerbaijan as ‘not free’ and the country scored only 7 points on the 100-point scale, earning zero points in the political rights category.
The case of Anar Mammadli, a prominent climate advocate and founder of the Climate of Justice Initiative, is illustrative. Mammadli, who criticized the Azerbaijani government’s policies, was arrested on fabricated smuggling charges earlier this year and faces up to eight years in prison. Such arrests underscore Amnesty’s call for “safe and enabling” conditions for civil society at COP29 and represent a key point in the demands from US lawmakers and international groups alike for Azerbaijan to release political prisoners and open space for freedom of expression. Mammadli is just one of many arrested during Azerbaijan’s “campaign of intimidation” against civil society.
Azerbaijani foreign policy chief Hikmet Hajiyev has dismissed the criticism as a “smear campaign” aimed at “tarnishing Azerbaijan’s image under false pretext.” He argued that “overburdening the COP agenda with issues not having direct and immediate linkage to climate change is not helpful but detrimental.” Emphasizing a science-based approach, Hajiyev stated, “Climate change is based on science. There is no place for ideology here.”
Without addressing human rights issues, COP29 will fall short of its inclusive vision, casting doubt on Azerbaijan’s capacity to host a fair, transparent, and impactful climate conference. This concern over human rights abuses has led to suspicions that COP29 serves as “greenwashing “ for Azerbaijan—a bid to deflect attention from its domestic policies by focusing on climate issues. Secret footage recently revealed COP29’s chief Elnur Soltanov using his role to broker fossil fuel deals, furthering support of greenwashing claims. As Greta Thunberg aptly stated, “You cannot claim to care about climate justice if you ignore the sufferings of oppressed and colonised people today.” If Azerbaijan uses COP29 to enhance its international image without committing to civil liberties, it risks undermining the credibility of not just the climate conference, but also of the United Nations itself.
As Azerbaijan hosts COP29, the summit stands at a crossroads between climate action and human rights advocacy. While the conference in Baku represents an opportunity for global collaboration on urgent environmental issues, it also places a spotlight on Azerbaijan’s complex political and social landscape. The juxtaposition of the country’s hosting responsibilities with ongoing criticism of its human rights record, the legacy of ethnic tensions, and alleged suppression of dissent raises pressing questions about the integrity and inclusivity of international climate negotiations. For COP29 to succeed in fostering genuine progress, it must transcend symbolic gestures and address the underlying calls for justice and equity. The global community’s watchful eye will determine if COP29 can serve as a catalyst for both environmental action and a broader commitment to human rights, or if it will merely become a platform overshadowed by political and ethical contradictions.