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United States is concerned with the persecution of the civil society in Azerbaijan. At Human Dimension Implementation Meeting of the OSCE said the head of the United States delegation, Professor Brian Atwood. Statement is published on the official website of the organization.

“We are gathered for this Human Dimension Implementation Meeting at a time when the fundamental precepts upon which European security and this Organization rest are under increasing threat. Not least among these is the OSCE’s comprehensive security concept, which recognizes that security and cooperation among states is indivisible from respect for human rights and democratic principles within states,” Atwood stated.

According to him sovereignty and territorial integrity are inviolable and disputes among States should be settled peacefully without the threat or use of force. Adherence to these commitments in all three dimensions of security is essential to lasting peace and well-being. When governments breach these fundamental principles, they do harm not just to their neighbors, but also to their own citizens’ ability fully to take part and succeed in an increasingly interconnected, rules-based international system. Moreover, they undermine our common effort to achieve a Europe that is whole, free and at peace.

“During the next two weeks of HDIM, my delegation also will draw attention to serious human dimension concerns arising in other parts of the OSCE region. To cite a few illustrative examples, the intensified closing of space for independent civil society in Hungary and Azerbaijan and for free and open expression in Turkey. These countries continue to imprison human rights defenders, journalists and peaceful religious adherents amidst abiding concerns from the outside world about torture and unfair trials. And we call for the immediate and unconditional release of all individuals imprisoned in participating States for nothing more than peacefully exercising their human right,” Atwood stated.