Azerbaijan will revise its cooperation format with several international organizations. This step taken by official Baku is explained by the emergence of new realities and the loss of effectiveness in cooperation with outdated organizations.
Among the organizations whose cooperation format will be revised, UN bodies are dominant.
Cooperation with the UN in line with new realities
Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan Jeyhun Bayramov addressed this issue during a meeting with Gwi-Yeop Son, United Nations Development Coordination Office’s Regional Director for Europe and Central Asia on the sidelines of the latter’s visit to Azerbaijan on March 3.
It was noted at the meeting that the liberation of Azerbaijan's territories and the socio-economic progress Azerbaijan has achieved in recent years have created the conditions for the country to rely on its own internal resources and capabilities in the implementation of social-profile projects and Azerbaijan acts as a donor to many countries through several UN bodies.
In this regard, it was emphasized that Azerbaijan has revised its priorities in cooperation with the UN in line with the new realities of the period and will use the UN's resources more effectively. In this regard, it was pointed out that future partnerships with some UN bodies will continue through a project-based cooperation mechanism that aligns with national priorities.
Official Baku want to close of four UN offices in Azerbaijan
After the Patriotic War and anti-terror operations, new realities have emerged in Azerbaijan and as well as in the entire region. Now, Azerbaijan's needs and priorities are different. Azerbaijan is no longer a country facing a humanitarian crisis as it did in the 1990s; it has now become a donor country, providing aid to others.
In this context, the presence of some international organizations, particularly international humanitarian organizations, in Azerbaijan is considered to have lost its significance. The problems and issues they were previously involved with no longer exist.
Official Baku has proposed the closure of four UN offices in Azerbaijan – the UN Development Programme (UNDP), the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), and the UNICEF office.
According to information obtained by APA, the Azerbaijani government has also sent notices regarding the closure of local representations of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD), in addition to the four UN offices.
The government justifies this decision by stating that since these organizations no longer have any work to do in Azerbaijan, there is no point in maintaining their offices. Azerbaijan, actually, has effectively been assisting the UN, which currently has limited financial resources. It relieves it from maintaining additional offices. The UN could redirect these resources to crisis zones and countries that are in greater need.
UNHCR’s "Non-publicization Condition" for Azerbaijan
Along with other international organizations, the UN structures have not carried out particularly satisfactory activities towards Azerbaijan over the years.
When Azerbaijan raised the issue of IDPs, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) stated that this issue did not fall under their mandate. UNHCR emphasized that their mandate focused on refugees, not internally displaced persons.
It is also not forgotten that despite Azerbaijan's insistence in 2021, the UNHCR refused to visit the Talish village, which is part of the former Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region. Later, the organization mentioned that it could visit the area "under the condition of non-publicization."
UNDP in the role of an NGO
On August 27, 2022, an international conference was organized in Shusha, dedicated to the work done in the field of restoration and reconstruction works in the liberated territories, mine clearance and other relevant issues. The UN Development Programme (UNDP) representative in Azerbaijan had declined to visit the city of Shusha. According to information from the Azerbaijani side, after the Patriotic War, they received informal instructions from the UN not to enter the former Nagorno-Karabakh region.
Negative aspects of the activities of the UNDP Azerbaijan office have already been covered in the media. These issues were extensively discussed in the results of an audit conducted by the UNDP headquarters. Operating more like an NGO than a UN organization, the UNDP Azerbaijan office has left questions unanswered regarding the 23 NGOs it granted funds to in 2023. This organization has violated Azerbaijan's "Grant Law" by conducting financial operations not with NGOs, but with LLCs created by NGO members or their relatives.
These facts suggest that the UNDP and most other projects do not meet Azerbaijan's needs.
Is Azerbaijan halting cooperation with the UN?
The Azerbaijani government has repeatedly stated its intention to continue cooperation with the UN. Azerbaijan will also host the World Urban Forum in 2026. The World Urban Forum (WUF) was established by the UN in 2001.
This suggests that Azerbaijan’s cooperation with the UN will continue. This cooperation will be directly established with the UN’s central headquarters or regional offices. The reason for this is the numerous questions raised regarding the Azerbaijani representations of some organizations, and the inability of some organizations to set their work to the demands of the new era and their inactivity.
MP: “UN organizations do not contribute to these issues”
Arzu Naghiyev, the Chairman of the Defence, Security and Counter-Corruption Committee of the Milli Majlis (Azerbaijani Parliament), also stated in his statement to APA that after the 44-day Patriotic War, a new reality emerged in Azerbaijan, and the country is no longer in a humanitarian crisis as it was in the 1990s: “Our country has now become a donor state, providing assistance to other countries. The UN’s financial resources are getting increasingly limited because, in a world with ongoing wars as well as conflicts, more aid is needed for the victims. The UN can direct its limited financial resources to those areas.”
Azerbaijan once cooperated with the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) on issues related to refugees and internally displaced persons. However, today Azerbaijan is returning its citizens to the liberated territories, and this is being done using its own funds. The UN and other international organizations are not contributing to this effort."
The deputy further emphasized that Azerbaijan has restored its territorial integrity and sovereignty, and no longer requires humanitarian assistance or projects: “Therefore, continuing cooperation with these organizations in the same way is not efficient. We should now work directly with the central headquarters of these organizations, not with not with various UN programs and NGOs. Closing the offices of these organizations does not mean Azerbaijan is halting cooperation or ending partnerships with them. As I mentioned, Azerbaijan will work directly with the headquarters of these organizations, with the UN, and limiting cooperation with the UN is not being planned. This cooperation must be realistic and effective.”
