Database on the Gender resources in Azerbaijan

As known GBV, whether occurring within the family, in the community or any other setting constitutes grave violation of human rights and fundamental freedoms and seriously hinders the women’s participation in decision-making processes.

GBV constituted an inevitable even though regrettable element of family relations in Azerbaijan for a very long period of time. It was always viewed as a private matter that would not allow an outside intervention as this could have been regarded as interference into domestic affairs of families. After regaining the independence in 1991 Azerbaijan has proclaimed its stance for democracy, human rights and respect to the rule of law that are crucial in order to achieve social progress as well as modernization in any society. The country has acceded to major international treaties on human rights, including the legally binding instruments that regulate various aspects of women’s rights. The Convention on the Political Rights of Women, Convention on the Nationality of Married Women, Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, Convention on Consent to Marriage, Minimum Age of Marriage and Registration of Marriages are among the treaties that have been ratified by Azerbaijan Republic. The Convention on Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women that was acceded by the Republic of Azerbaijan in 1995 without any reservations as well as the CEDAW Committee General Recommendation 19 are among the main guiding documents that set a framework for combating GBV in the country. Ratification of the First Optional Protocol to CEDAW in 2001 that has opened a possibility to issue individual complaints to the UN Committee on Women’s Rights as well as accession to the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms that has provided an opportunity to file a complaint to the European Court in case of violation of the human rights, including the right to life free of violence are among the most important developments in this respect.

In line with these developments, the legislative reforms have been initiated in order to bring the country’s legislation into compliance with these international human rights standards. The adoption of the new Constitution in 1995 was a step forward in confirming the country’s stance for the provision of equal rights and opportunities for men and women.

The Law “On guarantees of gender equality” adopted in 2006 provides equal opportunities for men and women in the political, economic, social, cultural and other fields of public life, and clearly stipulates the importance of the elimination of all forms of discrimination based on gender.

The “Complex Program of the Republic of Azerbaijan on combating daily violence in democratic society” enacted by the Decree number 17 of the Cabinet of Ministers on January 25, 2007 is among the key documents in the field of combating gender based violence in the country.

The Law on Prevention of the Domestic Violence is pending its adoption in Milli Mejlis. The document was sent for revision and consultations with international organizations such as OSCE and Council of Europe after the first reading. If successful, the Law will represent the first document adopted in the frame of Azerbaijani legislation in order to outlaw the domestic violence and lay down the frame work for ensuring the protection of the victims of violence.

It should be mentioned that certain progress has been achieved towards acknowledging the fact that GBV is a societal problem that needs to be tackled in a prompt and comprehensive manner in order to ensure the protection and provision of human rights and fundamental freedoms to all. And even though GBV in Azerbaijan is among the issues that are difficult to ascertain due to the lack of thorough qualitative and quantitative research on the topic and a lot is still to be done in this respect, a political will, support of civil society organizations and important legislative initiatives are already in place for organizing the coordinated response to GBV in Azerbaijan.

What are the present gaps in Azerbaijan to combat GBV?: Problems in the field of combating GBV in Azerbaijan can be summarised as follows:

  • Lack of accurate data on GBV
  • Lack of knowledge and awareness on gender equality and GBV
  • Lack of legislation, policies and plans to combat GBV
  • Lack of institutional capacity to address GBV
  • Lack of coordination and cooperation on activities on GBV

How does the project “Combating Gender Based Violence” (CGBV) respond to these gaps?: CGBV Project aims to respond the gaps in Azerbaijan through following components:

  • Research
  • Awareness Raising
  • Enabling Environment
  • Capacity Building
  • Coordination and Inter-country Collaboration