Coordinator of Government- Civil Society Dialogue Platform for the Promotion of Open Government Alimammad Nuriyev gave an interview to AzVision.az

- 18 international organizations called to halt the operation of Azerbaijan in the institution in their letter to the board of Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI)… What is the matter?

- We support the initiatives to strengthen the Civil Society in Azerbaijan. In this regard, we highly appreciate the efforts of the international partners. However, there are political and other factors which are behind this kind of initiatives. Those organizations are not aware of the real situation in Azerbaijan and mispresent the reality. The government of Azerbaijan closely cooperates with the NGOs via the EITI Coalition and Civil Society Dialogue Platform of Open Government. Furthermore, it takes intense measures to settle the issues raised by the NGOs.

The problems were observed regarding the implementation of the amendments to the law regulating the transparency and accountability in NGO activities two years ago. These problems have also had an impact on both Coalition and its members. On 15 April, 2015, the EITI International Board made a decision to lower the status of Azerbaijan from a "permanent member" to a "candidate country in order to draw attention to these problems.

At the same time, a number of the NGOs misuse grants. This cast a shadow on the activities of other Civil Society Institutions.

- What steps does the Azerbaijani Government take to solve the problems raised by the NGOs?

- Last year the Law and Monitoring Commission consisting of only NGO representatives was established under the Council of State Support to NGOs under the President of Azerbaijan in order to study possible problems arising from implementation of the amendments to the legislation and to suggest proposals for the resolution of those problems.

The commission held 3 public discussions on these issues with the participation of the international organizations and embassies. The proposals of NGOs and International Organizations were summarized.

The proposals package simplifying the rules on the registration of the grant contracts, the rules of receiving grants from the international donors and the registration of grant contracts in Azerbaijan was prepared in order to solve the problems arising from the implementation of amendments to the legislation.

The Government-Civil Society Dialogue Platform on Open Government Initiative was established in Azerbaijan with the participation of the NGO representatives and state agencies in accordance with `the Open Government Initiative National Action Plan for 2016-2018`. The sides signed a Memorandum and adopted a statement.

The government examined the submitted proposals package regarding the final results of the meeting of the Platform held on October 3, 2016.

Constant discussions were held with the Civil Society institutions to improve the working conditions for the NGOs, and relevant concrete steps have been taken by the government.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev signed a decree facilitating the issuance of grants by the foreign donors to the Azerbaijani Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs). Under the decree, starting from January 1, 2017, the “single window” principle will be applied to the procedure for issuance of grants by the foreign donors to the NGOs in Azerbaijan. I hope, the international organizations will decisively appreciated the joint efforts by Azerbaijan Civil Society Institutions and the Government .

- What kind of works will be implemented in the future?

- This decree should be evaluated as an adequate step by the government towards the solution of the problems raised by the NGOs. The initiative by the Azerbaijani president solves the issues concerning NGOs. This decree is an important contemplation of the dialogue and cooperation between the Azerbaijani Civil Society and Government. According to the decree, the “single window” principle will be applied to the procedure for issuance of grants by the foreign donors to the NGOs in Azerbaijan starting from January 1, 2017. Moreover, relevant measures will be taken to simplify the review process of financial and economic relevance as well as of the implementation of the procedure relying on the appeal of both foreign donors and recipients.

- Which results have been obtained regarding the implementation of the measures in the Action Plan adopted by EITI?

- The issues on the state registration and enrollment of the relevant documents of 15 member organizations of EITI have been resolved as a continuation of the current measures. The grant contracts of 5 Coalition NGOs issued by foreign donors were registered and provided with notification. Tax and banking problems as well as limitations on the accounts of the Coalition members were lifted and criminal cases were terminated. The process is underway; discussions on the resolution of other problems are being held with the government.

- How will the operation of the Government-Civil Society Dialogue Platform on Open Government Initiative be arranged?

- The Platform presents an effective format for open discussions and cooperation. Surely, the Platform will contribute to the strengthening of Civil Society in Azerbaijan.

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