OMCT joins initiative asking sponsors of Baku 2015 to reconsider their financial engagement in the light of serious human rights concerns
On behalf of the signatories below, and in the light of the media newsconcerning the sponsorship agreement concluded between (BP / Nar Mobile /P&G / Tissot (part of Swatch Group) / McDonald's / TicketHour) and theNational Olympic Committee of Azerbaijan, which covers both the European Games scheduled for 2015,and the Games Academy launched in April 2014, we would like to draw yourattention to and express our great concern at the current political situationin Azerbaijan and your potential contribution and complicity in the humanrights violations taking place in that country.
In line with the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, businessenterprises have responsibility to respect human rights, also in their businessrelations, which requires them to:
(a) Avoid causing or contributing toadverse human rights impacts through their own activities, and addresssuch impacts when they occur; and
(b) Seek to prevent or mitigateadverse human rights impacts that are directly linked to their operations,products or services by their business relationships, even ifthey have not contributed to those impacts.
Enterprises are also required to ‘know and show’ how they meet thisresponsibility, and in order to enable this, are expected to have in placeeffective policies and processes appropriate to their size and circumstances,including processes to enable the remediation of any adverse human rightsimpacts they cause or to which they contribute.
We understand (BP / Nar Mobile / P&G / Tissot (part of Swatch Group) /McDonald's / TicketHour) is engaged in the country both economically andculturally, and probably perceives its sponsorship agreement as element of itscorporate social responsibility dimension. However, given the potentialnegative human rights impacts that such financial involvement (sponsorship)might have on the local community and human rights defenders in Azerbaijan, wewould like to query whether (BP / Nar Mobile / P&G / Tissot (part of SwatchGroup) / McDonald's / TicketHour) has conducted a rigorous human rights duediligence process, including a thorough human rights impact assessment of its financialinvolvement with the Games organization (including construction of new sportand related facilities and infrastructure), before it entered into sponsorshipagreement. In particular we would like to query whether (BP / Nar Mobile /P&G / Tissot (part of Swatch Group) / McDonald's / TicketHour):
- took into consideration the political situation in the country, particularly the long- lasting repression of civil society in the country and the wave of arrest of human rights defenders in July and August 2014?
- analysed the impact of development of sports infrastructure on local communities, particularly bearing in mind the unlawful evictions in various Baku districts that have preceded this event e.g. for the Eurovision contest?
- required the Games organizer to conduct and disclose the results of the human rights and environmental impact assessment of the new building/infrastructure projects?
- required inclusion of a human rights clause that would enable (BP / Nar Mobile / P&G / Tissot (part of Swatch Group) / McDonald's / TicketHour) to terminate the sponsorship agreement if the organization of the Games gave rise to increased human rights violations?
- has in place adequate policies, processes and grievance mechanisms to enable those negatively affected by the Games, an organization of which it is financially involved, to seek effective remedy and justice in case adverse on human rights impacts and occur?
We believe that a global company like (BP / Nar Mobile / P&G / Tissot(part of Swatch Group) / McDonald's / TicketHour) has the potential not only toimpact great numbers of people around the world, but also to exert importantleverage over its business partners. Insituations like this when it is making a significant financial contribution, itshould use this leverage to require guarantees that sponsored activities andprojects do not result in adverse human rights impacts. It is up to (BP / NarMobile / P&G / Tissot (part of Swatch Group) / McDonald's / TicketHour) tochoose the message it wants to promote, whether that will be the message ofdemocracy, or the message of support for one of the most authoritarian regimesin Europe.
In recent weeks, prominent human rights defenders in Azerbaijan have beenarrested. Hasan Huseynli, acting far from Baku, in Ganja, was detained first.He is a renowned activist for people in the regions. Then, Leyla Yunus and herhusband Arif Yunus were put behind bars. They were involved in the protectionof citizens suffering from massive expropriation in Baku and were promoting apeace process between Armenians and Azerbaijanis in Nagorno-Karabakh. On 2August, Rasul Jafarov, a thirty-year-old human rights defender was detained andarrested for three months. He was the mastermind of the 'Sing for Democracy'campaign organised during the Eurovision song contest held in Baku in 2012. Hewas engaged in counting political prisoners in Azerbaijan and fought tomobilise international organisations to react to the Azerbaijani government’shuman rights abuses. On 8 August, Intigam Aliyev, a well-known activist and aprominent lawyer, was arrested. He had won a dozen of cases against Azerbaijanbefore the European Court of Human Rights. His arrest has left a number ofapplicants to the Court without legal representation.
It is clear that thecharges against these activists are spurious; all of them were accused ofeconomic and tax offences, despite the fact that they operate non-profitorganisations. Three weeks ago, on exactly the same grounds, prosecutionproceedings were opened against 21 non-governmental organisations. Accounts ofactivists and their organizations were frozen, and most of them have had tocease their human rights activity.
The recent crackdown isjust another step in a long chain of assaults on democratic values. AnarMammadli, the head of an independent think-tank monitoring elections, who daredto claim that the presidential elections held in the autumn of 2013 wereunfair, was jailed a couple of months ago. Ilgar Mammadov, the head of theopposition party, was jailed over a year ago, and the European Court of HumanRights has already acknowledged him as a political prisoner. Prominentjournalists, such as Tofiq Yagublu, Sardar Alibeili, and Parviz Hashimli, havealso been added to President Ilham Aliyev’s collection of activists behindbars. These detentions are just a derivative of policies that the Government ofAzerbaijan has been conducting for many years, preventing non-governmentalorganizations from registering their activity and the grants received from foreignfunding.
In the light of these facts, it is striking that (BP / Nar Mobile / P&G/ Tissot (part of Swatch Group) / McDonald's / TicketHour), a company thatstrongly supported John Ruggie’s mandate and development of the GuidingPrinciples on Business and Human rights, and on numerous occasions highlightsits efforts to respect human rights and be a good corporate citizen, chooses topromote Azerbaijan by providing financial support to the European Games. Thisleads to a paradoxical situation in which a repressive leader – Ilham Aliyev –receives loud support from companies in Europe, which choose to turn a blindeye to the human rights abuses.
We call on you to verify and reassess, taking into account the U.N. GuidingPrinciples on Business and Human Rights, to what extent your financial supportfor the European Olympic Games in Baku will white-wash human rights violationsin Azerbaijan, and reconsider your sponsorship. Despite the official statementof the Organizing Committee, which attempts to ignore the political situationin Azerbaijan and ongoing human rights repressions, we believe that theactivists’ arrests, in particular that of Rasul Jafarov, are related to theorganization of the games. The activist was planning to launch a new campaign“Sport for democracy” during the 2015 European Games, engaging sportsman andsport teams to promote democratic values and draw the public attention to thedegrading human rights situation in the country.
We do hope and believe that an honest and diligent assessment of the humanrights situation in the country will lead you to reconsidering the financialengagement in the European Games.