Azerbaijan is a multiethnic country with a rich tapestry of cultures, languages, and traditions. The country's population is composed of various ethnic groups, each contributing to Azerbaijan's vibrant and diverse society.

Azerbaijan has a legal framework in place to protect the rights of minority groups and promote inclusivity within society. The Constitution of Azerbaijan guarantees equal rights and freedoms to all individuals, regardless of their ethnicity, religion, or language, and prohibits discrimination based on ethnicity, race, religion, language, gender, or any other grounds.

Minority groups in Azerbaijan have the right to preserve, develop, and express their own culture, language, and traditions. The government recognizes the importance of cultural diversity and supports initiatives to promote and preserve minority languages and cultures.

Azerbaijan provides education in different languages, including minority languages, in regions where minority populations are concentrated.

Azerbaijan is determined to reintegrate ethnic Armenians living in the country's Karabakh region as equal citizens.

As the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev stated Azerbaijan is a multiethnic country and the Armenian population is not the biggest ethnic minority in Azerbaijan: “Therefore our Constitution provides equal rights for representatives of all ethnicities, including Armenians who live in Azerbaijan for many years.”

Not every country in the world recognizes the rights and freedoms of minority populations.  For example, neocolonialist France!

France pursuing a policy of linguistic discrimination against Corsica.  Historically, France forced the Corsicans to speak French and forbade the official use of their dialect. By canceling the right to use the local language in Corsica, the French side violated the requirements of a number of international treaties and other documents under which it assumed obligations. Among these documents is the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, the most important document of the French Revolution of 1789, defining individual human rights. The final decision of the Court of Bastia, as well as France's discriminatory policy towards Corsicans, is above all a violation of Article 11 of the declaration.

Pressure, intimidation, economic coercion, violence, arrests, and killings aimed at limiting and abolishing human rights in Corsica are contrary to a number of recognized international conventions, international customs, and international human rights.

In France, even people are discriminated against because of their religious views.

The disgraceful decision of the French court to deprive the people living in Corsica of speaking their native language clearly proves that the policy of neo-colonialism of Paris has already been transferred to the European space.

“The decision to speak only French in Corsica is directly discriminatory and violates international law,” United Nations Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues Fernand de Verennes says.

Speaking at a round table on the topic “Towards the Complete Elimination of Colonialism” held in Baku on July 6, as part of the ministerial meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement Coordinating Bureau in Baku, the Spokesperson for the Western Azerbaijan Community Ulviyya Zulfikar emphasized that France has not joined the Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of National Minorities: “France, by not joining the Council of Europe Convention, demonstrates its behavior towards national minorities in its territory and thereby shows a close position with mono-ethnic Armenia.”

Armenia – the monoethnic country only resides Armenians! Prior to 1991, there were thousands of Azerbaijanis living in Armenia.

Ulviyya Zulfikar stressed that the illegal deportation of people from their native lands is a crime. She recalled that in 1987-1991, more than 300,000 Azerbaijanis were forcibly expelled from the territory of present-day Armenia.

Analytic group of News.Az

The article focuses on the religious and national tolerance, development of relations between nations

The article was published with the support of the Media Development Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan (MEDIA)