US Department of State: Armenians in Azerbaijan conceal their ethnicity to avoid discrimination
On 25 June 2015, the US Secretary of State John Kerry introduced the Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2014 where the Department of State analyses the human rights situation in different spheres in Azerbaijan, among others. The report is published on the US Department of State website.
According to the report, while the law provides for freedom of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and repatriation, the government at times limited freedom of movement, particularly for civil society activists. For example, on April 28, 2014, authorities prohibited Institute for Peace and Democracy director Leyla Yunus and her husband, Arif Yunusov, from traveling to Brussels to attend a conference, confiscating their passports and detaining them for 24 hours.
While official government policy allows citizens of ethnic Armenian descent to travel, low-level officials reportedly often requested bribes or harassed ethnic Armenians who applied for passports, according to the US Department of State.
According to the Internal Displacement Monitoring Center, many IDPs who resided in Baku were unable to register their residences or gain access to formal employment, government assistance, health care, education, or pensions and had difficulty buying property.
Significant numbers of IDPs remained in overcrowded collective centers, where they were socially marginalized with limited employment opportunities and high rates of poverty. The law requires IDPs to register in the districts where they reside, and registration is necessary to obtain IDP status. Although the UNHCR (the UN High Commissioner for Refugees) noted some improvements, the country’s refugee status determination system did not meet international standards.
According to the Department of State report, citizens of Armenian descent living in the country faced discrimination in employment, housing, and the provision of social services. Citizens who were ethnic Armenians often concealed their ethnicity by legally changing the ethnic designation in their passports. Some groups reported sporadic incidents of discrimination, restrictions on their ability to teach in their native languages, and harassment by local authorities. These groups included Talysh in the south, Lezghi in the north, and Meskhetians and Kurds.
Related:
US Department of State: Sexual abuse widespread in Azerbaijani army, tortures in prisons, foreigners’ communications monitored
IDMC: Azerbaijani government policy holds IDPs in unsuitable living conditions
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