On March 14, 2001, Eldar Zeynalov, a well known human rights activist from Baku, and Agalar Agashirinov, a prominent lawyer, President of the XXI Century Lawyers Association and a co-founder of the Azerbaijan Lawyers Association, completed their visit to the United States at the invitation of the International League for Human Rights.

Zeynalov and Agashirinov Speaking At Radio Liberty, Washintgon DC

The purpose of their visit was to speak to U.S. officials, policy-makers, civic leaders and the media about the crackdown on human rights in Azerbaijan; the current political and legal situation since the parliamentary elections, which were declared undemocratic and fraudulent by the Council of Europe, the OSCE, and other international organizations; and Azerbaijan's recent accession to the Council of Europe. As part of the League's mission to "defend thedefenders," Agalar Agashirinov was invited to discuss the lamentable state of the legal profession in Azerbaijan, given Azerbaijan's restrictive new Law on the Bar as compared to the Council of Europe's recently-issued standards for the legal profession and freedom of association laws and practices.

In New York, Zeynalov and Agashirinov met with Richard Winfield, a prominent lawyer defending freedom of speech and representing Associated Press; gave presentations at Open Society Institute, Columbia University Middle Eastern Institute, Fordham University Law School and had meetings at: United Nations Department of Politics, Committee to Protect Journalists, Public Law Initiative in Transitional Societies, Patterson, Belknap, Webb & Tyler LLP, and Freedom House.

In Washington, the Azeri visitors had meetings at the State Department with Susan Keogh, Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Human Rights, together with her staff, and OSCE desk officers. Meetings also took place at the National Security Council; offices of Senators Brownback and Campbell; office of Congressman Lantos; Helsinki Commission (CSCE); Department of Commerce; Embassy of Romania (Romania is the current chair of OSCE Parliamentary Assembly); National Endowment for Democracy; National Democratic Institute; ABA-CEELI; Initiative for Social Action and Renewal in Eurasia; International Center for Non-Profit Law; Institute for Democracy in Eastern Europe, and Center for International Private Enterprise. In addition, Zeynalov and Agashirinov interviewed to Radio Liberty, Voice of America and Washington Post.

Zeynalov stayed an extra week to prepare for the Working Group of the UN Human Rights Committee. On March 13, 2001, he addressed the Committee's independent members and answered their questions concerning Azerbaijan's compliance with the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights and the Committee's previous recommendations. Following the formal session, the League, in cooperation with the UNHCHR (High Commissioner for Human Rights) Office in Geneva, held an informal briefing for several independent members in the High Commissioner's office. The members were given a short report prepared jointly by Zeynalov and the League as an alternative to Azerbaijan's periodic report of 1999.

The International League for Human Rights is a non-governmental human rights group devoted to defending defenders of human rights around the world.

For more information contact Peter Zalmayev of ILHR, 212-661-0480, ext. 100; pzalmayev@ilhr.org

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