While Unicef is neither an official sponsor, partner nor supporter of the European Games, we believe that the games create an opportunity to draw attention to children’s calls for safer and more inclusive sport in Azerbaijan (Report, 17 June). This has indeed begun to happen. Less than two weeks ago, adolescents presented to Azerbaijani officials their own recommendations on how to improve access to safe and inclusive sport in the country, following a Unicef-supported online consultation with 15,000 children and young people from different social and economic backgrounds – a consultation that was possible because of the space created by the games’ presence. Those adolescents were able to say, loudly and clearly, that while more than 90% of them considered sport and recreation important in their lives, more than half said that girls were left out of sports and two-thirds said that children with disabilities were being excluded. And they wanted something to be done about that.
These are the small steps that we need to nurture to help bring about larger positive changes in Azerbaijani society, and we firmly believe that these steps are valuable for children and young people.
Children in Azerbaijan, like children everywhere, have the right to have their voices heard and to influence issues that affect them. That’s something we at Unicef advocate in all countries where we work. We have been doing this in Azerbaijan before the games started, and will continue to do so once they are over.
Marie-Pierre Poirier
Unicef regional director for central and eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States
• On 12 June, my country welcomed more than 6,000 athletes from all over Europe to compete in this new multi-sports event. This is a great occasion for people in Azerbaijan and Europe to join in the celebrations of the universal ideals of sport in a relatively new member of the European community of nations. By hosting the first pan-European games, Azerbaijan has shouldered responsibility to set the highest possible standards for the next games.
However, it is disappointing when we are confronted with baseless allegations concerning non-sports issues by human rights groups and the media. I would like to make it clear that Azerbaijan is determined to pursue its strategic course that aims to build a vibrant civil society and strong democracy. Not because we want to please our critics, but because it is a choice consciously made in line with the interests of Azerbaijan.
Over the last few days we have witnessed harsh and unethical language used in relation to Azerbaijan and its head of state. I condemn the media’s choice of scornful and disrespectful expressions used in connection with my country.
When it comes to specific allegations, such as the refusal to accredit the sports correspondent of the Guardian (Report, 12 June), I have to underline the need to respect internal accreditation procedures of the Baku 2015 organising committee. Each press accreditation application is considered separately and there are specific clearance criteria that need to be met before an issuance of press accreditation. It is also unfortunate that our suggestion to Amnesty International to postpone its mission to Baku to a later date has been conveyed to the media as barring AI from entering Azerbaijan (Report 11 June). It goes without saying that for the mission to engage with government officials at a time when the country hosts such a large scale sports event is effectively impossible, both time-wise and logistics-wise.
Tahir Taghizadeh
Ambassador of the Republic of Azerbaijan to the UK
