Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department is taking steps to help protect political prisoners in Azerbaijan in the period (a) before, (b) during and (c) after COP29.

The UK Government has consistently urged the Azerbaijani authorities, including ahead of COP29, to ensure that those in detention are provided safe conditions and treated with humanity and respect for the inherent dignity of the human person, in line with international human rights law. We encourage the authorities to guarantee those in detention are also afforded a fair trial, in accordance with Azerbaijan's international obligations and commitments. We raised our human rights concerns during Azerbaijan's Universal Periodic Review at the Human Rights Council in November 2023, and British Embassy Baku regularly raises these issues with the Azerbaijani authorities at senior levels.