The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) has rejected the credentials of the Azerbaijani delegation, pointing to Baku's failure to meet major commitments since joining the Council of Europe 20 years ago.

The assembly highlighted "very serious concerns" regarding Azerbaijan's capability to conduct free and fair elections, the independence of its judiciary, and respect for human rights, as stated in a resolution adopted with 76 votes in favour, 10 against and 4 abstentions.

PACE's decision is a humiliation for Azerbaijan, which has long had a difficult relationship with the parliamentary body. Baku has been accused of violating the Council of Europe's values and also attempting (and succeeding) in a "caviar diplomacy" campaign to corrupt several PACE representatives in order to improve its reputation and deflect international criticism of its repression of human rights.

Italian MP and PACE delegate Luca Volontè was sentenced to four years in prison by an Italian court in 2021 for taking bribes from Azerbaijani politicians to help mute the Europe’s criticism of Baku’s human rights record. Azerbaijan - which scored 23 out of 100 in the latest Transparency International corruption perception index, worse than neighbours, Georgia (56), Armenia (46), Russia (28) - rejected the accusations.

The decision by PACE only affects the Azerbaijani parliamentary delegation's credentials. Azerbaijan remains a full member of the Council of Europe, though there remains a question over whether it will now withdraw.

Mogens Jensen (Denmark, SOC), the rapporteur for the resolution, underscored the persistent issues in Azerbaijan, including the weak legislature vis-à-vis the executive and numerous judgments by the European Court of Human Rights. Furthermore, the resolution also noted the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh, particularly the humanitarian and human rights consequences following the Azerbaijani military operation in September 2023, which led to allegations of 'ethnic cleansing'.

The Azerbaijani delegation, in response to the decision, stressed their nation's progress in upholding human rights and the rule of law since independence in 1991. They criticised PACE for its alleged failure to hold Armenia accountable for the occupation of Azerbaijani territories and accused the Assembly of using the platform to target Azerbaijan unfairly.

Anar Mammadli, a human rights activist and recipient of the Václav Havel Human Rights Prize, argued that Azerbaijan's refusal to cooperate with PACE had been evident for years. He cited the non-implementation of PACE resolutions by Azerbaijan, the persistence of political prisoners, and restrictions on media, civil society, and political parties.