MP Mike Morrice and ANCC Hold a Joint Press Conference to Expose Azerbaijan’s Unsuitability as Host of COP29

(OTTAWA – November 5, 2024) – The Armenian National Committee of Canada (ANCC), in partnership with MP Mike Morrice, Green Party of Canada MP for Kitchener Centre, today held a joint press conference to shed light on the troubling reality of Azerbaijan’s selection as the host for the upcoming COP29 climate conference. The ANCC and MP Morrice emphasized that Azerbaijan’s deplorable human rights record, its ethnic cleansing campaign against Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh, the unlawful detention of Armenian prisoners, the destruction of cultural heritage, its suppression of political opposition and civil society and blatant environmental misconduct undermine its legitimacy as a host for such a critical international event.

MP Elizabeth May stated that “As a delegate at COP28 in Dubai I observed in horror the negotiations for the host country for COP29. The reality is that the U.N. regions to host each COP move in a rotation. No other location in Europe and Central Asia was acceptable to Putin. As a major oil producing nation, its credentials as a host are questionable – as were those of UAE and Poland in the past. But it is the ethnic cleansing of Armenians that make this choice truly appalling. The blame here lies with Putin. He held the veto over location. We know Canada must be there to negotiate, but I will not be attending as part of our delegation.”

“The hosting of COP29 in Baku is a cynical attempt by the Azerbaijani regime to greenwash its ongoing human rights abuses,” said Sevag Belian, Executive Director of the Armenian National Committee of Canada. “Azerbaijan’s recent genocidal aggression against the Nagorno-Karabakh-Artsakh, particularly its brutal attack on September 19, 2023, forced over 120,000 Armenians to flee their ancestral homeland in what is undeniably a case of ethnic cleansing with genocidal intent.”

“We call on the Canadian government not to afford Azerbaijan the privilege of hosting any Canadian elected official at the COP29. Canada must make it clear that it stands against the exploitation of crucial global platforms by autocratic regimes seeking to cleanse their image. We urge the international community to take this opportunity to expose and denounce Azerbaijan’s abhorrent human rights record and environmental misconduct,” added Belian.

The press conference underscored the urgent need for international scrutiny of Azerbaijan’s human rights violations, environmental hypocrisy, and suppression of civil liberties. Both Belian and Morrice stressed that climate justice cannot be achieved without addressing fundamental issues of governance, transparency, and human rights. As the world prepares for COP29, they called on the global community to question Azerbaijan’s role as host and to hold it accountable for its actions both at home and abroad.