The 2025 Spring Session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) was held in Strasbourg from 7 to 11 April and officially concluded today. Throughout the five-day session, critical political and legal developments across Europe, as well as issues related to democracy and human rights, were extensively debated.
Among the key agenda items were the situation in Georgia and the challenge, on substantive grounds, to the still unratified credentials of its parliamentary delegation, in accordance with Resolution 2585 (2025). The arrest of Istanbul’s Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu and the state of democracy and human rights in Türkiye also featured prominently in discussions. Another major topic was Russia’s ongoing war of aggression against Ukraine and the urgent need for accountability and the prevention of impunity under international law.
During the session, members of the Armenian delegation delivered biased and one-sided statements targeting Azerbaijan. Unfortunately, since Azerbaijan’s parliamentary delegation has been excluded from PACE activities since January 2024, there was no opportunity to provide immediate and direct responses to these accusations. This reality once again underlines the vital importance of Azerbaijan’s presence in such international platforms to protect national interests, voice its rightful position, and respond effectively to disinformation.
Human rights defender Ahmad Shahidov followed the session closely on-site and released a concluding video address. In his statement, he emphasized that PACE remains a key platform for conveying Azerbaijan’s just stance to the international community. Shahidov noted that Azerbaijan’s absence from such bodies enables Armenia and other hostile actors to misuse these tribunes for anti-Azerbaijani narratives. Therefore, he stressed, Azerbaijan must be represented in all such forums and must continue defending its national interests. He also affirmed his commitment to actively representing Azerbaijan at various international events in the future.
