Do as we say, not as we do<\/strong><\/p>\n Few people worry about which country chairs the committee of ministers of the Council of Europe (CoE), a body of 47 European countries, committed to upholding human rights, democracy and the rule of law. But with Azerbaijan taking the helm on May 14th, perhaps more should. After all, few European governments have done more to undermine those standards than the regime in Baku.<\/p>\n Flush with oil and gas revenues, Azerbaijan\u2019s living standards have risen considerably in the last decade. GDP per capita has increased almost sevenfold since 2004, according to the World Bank, and Baku\u2019s glitzy skyline is a world away from the drab, post-Soviet city of the early 1990s. But material progress has come at a cost: rigged elections<\/a> and suppression<\/a> of internal dissent mean that Azerbaijan\u2019s democracy is little more than a sham<\/a>.<\/p>\n Europe and the United States, reliant on Azerbaijan\u2019s energy supplies, have largely looked the other way and Baku\u2019s \u201ccaviar diplomacy<\/a>\u201d has won it friends in western circles, not least in the CoE. Since Ilham Aliev, the country\u2019s president, is famously sensitive to criticism from abroad, western officials have learnt to pull their punches, despite occasional noises<\/a> to the contrary.<\/p>\n That is worrying on its own terms: after all, what is the point of a club if members can flout its rules with impunity? Far from tempering its behaviour, Baku has actually stepped up its suppression of internal dissent in recent weeks. Dozens of youth activists have been imprisoned since January, supposedly for illegal arms possession and plotting mass disorder. Last month eight of them went on a two-week hunger strike<\/a> and the authorities also detained two prominent human rights defenders on bogus espionage charges.<\/p>\n Recent events in Ukraine highlight the importance of the CoE\u2019s founding principles. As Carl Bildt, the Swedish foreign minister, noted in his recent statement<\/a> at the CoE: \u201cWhen Russia occupied and annexed Crimea, it violated\u2026one of the very basic principles of the security and stability of our continent.\u201d But in practice, fear of overdependence on Russian oil and gas has increased Azerbaijan\u2019s value as an alternative energy conduit to Europe. Baku\u2019s free pass on human rights issues is likely to continue.<\/p>\n Azerbaijan\u2019s relationship with Russia is far from trouble-free. With Armenian troops controlling Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding areas in Azerbaijan, the implication of Russia\u2019s actions – that borders can be easily redrawn – is deeply threatening to Baku. Yet wary of offending its powerful northern neighbour, Mr Aliev\u2019s regime has avoided any Russia-bashing over the last few months.<\/p>\n Instead, the government says it will use<\/a> its chairmanship to focus on human-rights education and corruption, among other things. Azerbaijan\u2019s imprisoned hunger strikers highlight the irony of this first goal. And despite its claims of recent success in fighting graft, Azerbaijan (alongside Russia) remains the most corrupt<\/a> country in the CoE, according to Transparency International, a watchdog. That is no coincidence. As Azerbaijanis know all too well, corruption and political repression go hand in hand.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"![\"\"](\"https:\/\/covcasbulletin-info.hhd.am\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/Az.-protester-police-Reuters.jpg\")
<\/a>This is not the first time a repressive government has held the role. Russia\u2019s dismal human rights record did not prevent it from chairing the CoE in 2006, under the slogan \u201cTowards a united Europe without dividing lines\u201d.<\/p>\n