The European Commission against Racism and Intolerance published a report on Azerbaijan which contains a part dedicated discrimination against people of Armenian origin.

“The constant negative official and media discourse concerning the Republic of Armenia helps to sustain a negative climate of opinion regarding people of Armenian origin, who remain vulnerable to discrimination,” says the report.

The report mentions that persons of Armenian origin are at risk of being discriminated against in their daily lives. Certain people born of mixed Armenian-Azerbaijani marriages choose to use the name of their Azerbaijani parent so as to avoid problems in their contacts with officialdom.

Others who did not immediately apply for Azerbaijani identity documents when the former Soviet passports were done away with today encounter difficulties in obtaining identity papers.

The commission considers that the Azerbaijani authorities “should actively contribute to generating a climate where all persons of Armenian origin living in Azerbaijan can declare their ethnic origin without fear”.

“ECRI urges the Azerbaijani authorities to work actively to improve the climate of opinion concerning Armenians coming under Azerbaijan’s jurisdiction. It underlines that all the political parties must take a firm stance against all forms of racism, discrimination and xenophobia and convey a clear political message in favour of diversity and pluralism; they must also avoid addressing issues of relevance to the Armenians in a negative light,” the report reads.