01 Nov Geneva Demands Azerbaijan Releases Political Prisoners
Geneva Passes Motion Demanding That Azerbaijan Release Armenian Political Prisoners
On November 1, 2024, the Grand Council of Canton Geneva overwhelmingly passed motion R1044 which demands a resolution in the Federal Council for the release of
political prisoners held by Azerbaijan following their annexation of Nagorno-Karabakh. Azerbaijan’s continued holding of political prisoners is a clear violation of the Geneva Conventions.
Filed in September of this year, the motion showed strong support with 50 yes votes, versus 25 no’s and two abstentions.
This vote comes just a few days before COP29 in Baku, and therefore has a political significance that goes far beyond a simple position paper. The Swiss government is communicating to the Federal Council that the policy of silence on international humanitarian law should not continue, and does not correspond to Switzerland’s values.
As home to the Geneva Conventions, Geneva is uniquely positioned to call out the gross violations of human rights committed by Azerbaijan. The motion addresses Azerbaijan’s forceful annexation of the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh on September 19, 2023, and the policy of ethnic cleansing that followed, including the displacement of over 100,000 people and systemic destruction of Armenian cultural heritage.
The motion also calls out Azerbaijan’s extremely low score in all rankings of democracy, freedom of expression, and respect for human rights, as produced by independent
organizations such as Freedom House, Reporters Without Borders, Democracy
Matrix, The Economist, and others.
The motion was filed by signatories: Julien Nicolet-dit-Félix, Masha Alimi, Sylvain Thévoz, Patricia Bidaux, Oriana Brücker, Marjorie de Chastonay, Cédric Jeanneret, Nicole Valiquer Grecuccio, Alia Chaker Mangeat, Sophie Bobillier, Sophie Demaurex, Angèle-Marie Habiyakare, Yves de Matteis, Francisco Taboada, Jean-Marc Guinchard, Jean-Charles Rielle, Léo Peterschmitt, Thomas Bruchez, Anne Carron, Louise Trottet
Read the full motion (in French)