Amnesty International, the international human rights organization, published its State of the World's Human Rights 2022/23 Report, presenting the findings of studies on 156 countries, including Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia.

Armenia

The report on Armenia stated that the Investigations into war crimes and other violations of international humanitarian law that occurred during the 2020 Armenia-Azerbaijani conflict and in its immediate aftermath, as well as efforts to bring suspected perpetrators to justice, have not made any significant headway.

The report added that the freedom of peaceful assembly was limited by the violent and disproportionate response of law enforcement authorities to the series of anti-government protests from April to June demanding the resignation of PM Nikol Pashinyan over negotiations on the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict.

The Human rights watchdog criticized Armenia for unduly restricting the freedom of speech. The legitimate criticism of the government that led to criminal prosecutions is reported to have a chilling effect on free speech. "On July 4, new amendments proposed by the Prosecutor General giving the government powers to block online content it considers harmful, without prior judicial oversight, prompted concerns regarding ever-increasing government censorship of free speech on the internet," the report reads.

Regarding environmental degradation, the report highlighted that the amendments in the Mining Code made it easier to ignore public protests and environmental concerns and allowed mining operations to move forward despite protests. "Laws to combat discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity remained inadequate," the report added.

Azerbaijan

Regarding the human rights situation in Azerbaijan, the report stated, "Freedom of expression, assembly and association remained severely restricted as authorities carried out arbitrary arrests and politically motivated prosecutions of civil society activists, crushed peaceful protests and hindered the work of independent organizations and media outlets. Women and girls continued to face discrimination."

Regarding the blockade of the Lachin road, the information said: "Security along the Armenia-Azerbaijan border remained fragile. During a flare-up between 12-14 September, Azerbaijani shelling inside Armenia proper, in the Syunik, Gegharkunik, and Vayots Dzor provinces, killed at least two civilians. In October, Azerbaijan and Armenia agreed on the short-term deployment of an EU monitoring mission along their border. The Lachin corridor, the only road connecting Nagorno-Karabakh with Armenia, was blocked since December 12 and remained closed at the end of the year. Dozens of Azerbaijani protesters had blocked the road, demanding an end to alleged unlawful mining in the area and that Azerbaijan retake control of the corridor. Russian peacekeeping forces subsequently barricaded the road to prevent an escalation of tensions. Access to essential goods and services for ethnic Armenian residents of Nagorno-Karabakh was disrupted, and hundreds of people were stranded."

"People continued to be killed and injured by mines which Azerbaijan claimed Armenian forces continued to lay in its internationally recognized territory, retaken in 2020. Azerbaijani authorities also maintained that the mine maps provided earlier by Armenia were not reliable. In October, the Azerbaijani authorities reported that 45 people had been killed and 221 injured by mines since the 2020 conflict," it added.

The organization stressed, "Media remained severely restricted, with websites publishing dissenting views blocked and critical social media users arbitrarily penalized and prosecuted. Having effectively muzzled most of the independent media in the country, authorities targeted critical outlets reporting on Azerbaijan from abroad."

"Authorities continued to subject civil society activists and independent media to arbitrary arrest and other forms of harassment. In September, Azerbaijani human rights organizations reported that 99 people were imprisoned on politically motivated charges," it added. Amnesty International added: "The right to freedom of association remained curtailed while excessive restrictions, both in law and practice, continued to hinder the work of human rights defenders and NGOs. Authorities continued to arbitrarily restrict the right to freedom of peaceful assembly. Police broke up peaceful anti-government rallies in the capital, Baku, on at least three occasions between May and November. Peaceful protesters were rounded up, beaten, and arbitrarily detained; most were released shortly afterward without formal charges being brought."

Georgia

Regarding the human rights situation in Georgia, the report stated, "Freedom of expression was further restricted. Selective justice and politically motivated prosecution of government opponents persisted. New laws increased the government’s surveillance powers and further eroded the independence of the judiciary and official watchdogs. Women and girls continued to suffer discrimination and high levels of violence. Failure to effectively investigate torture and other ill-treatment remained a concern in government-controlled and breakaway territories."

About freedom of expression, it said: "Increasingly aggressive rhetoric from the authorities and defamation suits against critical journalists had a chilling effect on freedom of expression, as did the failure to effectively investigate crimes against journalists. In May, the NGO Reporters Without Borders downgraded Georgia in its World Press Freedom Index, in part due to interference by public officials undermining freedom of expression and increasing threats against journalistic work, trends which continued throughout the year."

Also, the information added, "On September 6, parliament overrode a presidential veto and adopted controversial amendments giving law enforcement authorities increased powers to conduct covert surveillance. The new law extended the scope and duration of covert investigative activities and permitted individuals to be surveilled indefinitely without their knowledge. Covert surveillance continued to be used against opposition members, critical media, and NGOs. In July, pro-government media published a secretly obtained audio recording of critical Mtavari TV channel employees discussing editorial matters. In September, other leaked material, including audio and photos detailing information about their private lives, showed journalists, opposition party members, and activists being allegedly spied on by the security services."

On the judiciary system, the organization stressed, "Growing government influence over the judiciary, the use of selective justice and the politically motivated prosecution of political opponents and critical media remained ongoing concerns."

Regarding discrimination, it said: "In May, the Federal Ministry of the Interior reported significant increases in hate crimes related to antisemitism (28.8%), sexual orientation (50.5%), gender (66.7%), and disability (81.5%) compared with the previous year, although xenophobic hate crimes remained the most common in absolute terms."

Read also:

Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia in Amnesty International 2021 report

Amnesty International calls on Russian authorities to end Ingush case

Human rights watchdogs report on violations during the second Karabakh war