On May 24, "Freedom House" human rights organization released a report called "Transition Countries - 2023".

The report said that Armenia and Georgia are hybrid, and Azerbaijan is on the list of authoritarian regimes. According to the report, democratic governance has declined in the region, stretching from Central Europe to Central Asia for 19 years.

The report added that the democracy score has decreased in 11 out of 29 countries, and progress has been recorded in 7 countries. It is also noted that civil society activists and democratic leaders continue to strive for better governance in the region. Russia experienced its most significant decline in the last year since the publication of this report. Decreases occurred in five out of seven evaluation indicators; the score decreased from 1.32 to 1.11.

The report noted that the civil society of Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan had shrunk significantly. In some cases, the authorities of these countries used deadly violence against protesters and torture against prisoners.

Moreover, "Freedom House" reported that the citizens of Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan continued to tolerate the nepotism of the ruling elite: "The ruling parties in Georgia, Serbia, and Hungary manipulated their voters."

Azerbaijan ranked third in the report. With this position, the country could surpass only Turkmenistan and Tajikistan. Including these three countries, a total of eight countries are on the list of entrenched authoritarian regimes.

In previous years, the organization included Azerbaijan in the list of solidified autocratic regimes: "It can be said that the state institutions of Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan are deprived of democratic qualities. Citizens in both countries suffer from nepotism of the ruling elite."

The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict was also touched upon in the part of the report related to Azerbaijan. It was reported that the President of Azerbaijan continues his territorial ambitions by military means, at the same time suppressing the opposition within the country and threatening the freedoms of the people living in Karabakh. The report added that autocracies cannot escape a recurring cycle of repression and instability. 

Six of the eight countries classified as authoritarian regimes in the report reported further declines in weak democracy scores: "Russia's aggression against Ukraine, Azerbaijan's attack on Armenia, and the violent suppression of protests in Central Asia have revealed the deadly consequences of bad authoritarian rule," the report said.

"Every possible step should be taken to strengthen democracy in Armenia, and they should ensure the protection of all people living under the rule or occupation of Azerbaijan or fleeing from it," the report emphasized.

The organization's report added that Armenia has not yet applied for EU candidacy. But this country is the only country in the Countries in Transition report to improve on more than one indicator, increasing its democratic achievements in 2022. "Freedom House" reports that progress has been registered in the NGO and independent media sectors of Armenia.

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