USAID states deterioration of situation of civil society in Azerbaijan

The year 2014 in Azerbaijan was characterized by arrests of journalists and rights defenders, the ban on travels abroad, investigations against activists, a wave of interferences in the work of local and foreign NGOs, says the study of the USAID (the US Agency for International Development).

The report named "Index of Sustainable Development of Civil Society of Azerbaijan-2014" was received by the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent on July 18. The study was written on the basis of experts' interviews. The nine-page report provides an overall assessment of the index of sustainable development of civil society organizations (CSOs), as well as of individual activity parameters and the condition of the non-governmental sector – the "Legal Environment", "Organizational Capacities", "Financial Resources", "Advocacy", "Provision of Services" "Infrastructure" and "Public Image".

The deterioration of the atmosphere of the civil society took place against the background of a sharp decline in world oil prices, which caused an economic decline in the country. On the other hand, in 2014, the government adopted the concept "Azerbaijan-2020: Look into the Future", which defines the strategy of economic growth. It assumes development of cooperation of state bodies with the civil society institutions. However, in practice there was a narrowing of the activity sphere of public organizations, says the study of the USAID.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.