Human Rights Watch (HRW) and 16 other organizations urged the European Union on Wednesday to confront Azerbaijan’s government on human rights abuses during the upcoming COP29 climate conference.

The organizations call for EU leaders to help end the increasing politically motivated arrests, detainments, and restrictions on free speech in Azerbaijan. The joint statement was released ahead of the climate conference scheduled this month, mainly highlighting the severe escalation in Azerbaijan’s crackdown on government critics. It urges EU representatives to demand the release of political prisoners, and insist on human rights as a central pillar in EU-Azerbaijan relations. Moreover, the international spotlight on Azerbaijan, hosting the COP 29 conference, allows EU officials to press for reforms directly. Several requests were made from statements to EU leaders attending COP29. For example, these include raising cases concerning those imprisoned on politically motivated grounds directly with the Azerbaijani authorities and requesting EU officials to “speak publicly on all occasions to express support for independent media and civil society, including human rights defenders.”

Moreover, the joint statement points to many activists arbitrarily detained by the county’s police. For example, Gubad Ibadoghlu, a London School of Economics scholar and anti-corruption activist, was detained last year on spurious criminal charges and is now under house arrest under strict police supervision. If convicted, he faces a potential 17-year sentence. Another notable arrest includes Anar Mammadli, a human rights advocate detained in April 2024 after his organization criticized Azerbaijan’s election practices. Many more political prisoners and activists were cited in the statement.

Many observers argue that without international pressure, Azerbaijan’s stance on dissent and civil liberties will continue to worsen. The Azerbaijani government relies on fossil fuels for revenue and has an increasingly strategic relationship with the EU. The EU’s vested interest in energy ties with the country has led to accusations that the EU is “turning a blind eye” to human rights violations for political and economic convenience.

Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev has shown no sign of backing down. At a pre-COP meeting, he stated:

Here, I cannot but touch upon the smear campaign by some media outlets aimed at tarnishing Azerbaijan’s image under false pretexts. Such vain attempts cannot derail us from achieving our noble mission to cope with the negative impacts of climate change.

EU leaders are not the only ones being called out. Almost 60 US lawmakers have signed an open letter urging Secretary of State Antony Blinken to use COP29 to “press for the immediate and unconditional release of all political prisoners, hostages and prisoners of war.”

The 17 signatories to this message include leading human rights organizations like Amnesty International and the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom.