Azerbaijan accused of hypocrisy after calling for global ceasefire during Cop29 | Cop29

The host country of this year's UN climate summit, Azerbaijan, is being accused of hypocrisy for calling for a global ceasefire at the same time as the conference.

Azerbaijan is chairing the Cop29 summit, which will take place in the capital Baku for two weeks starting on November 11. Heads of government from all over the world are expected to attend, with more than 180 countries expected to be represented.

During the conference and for a week before and after, Azerbaijan will call on all countries involved in conflict to lay down their arms. The presidency will also hold a special “Day of Peace” on 15 November and join with the UK, Germany, Italy, Uganda and others in launching a Cop29 peace and climate initiative to help the most vulnerable countries.

Conflicts between Ukraine and Russia, and Israel and Gaza – both regions close to Azerbaijan – will overshadow the conference. Russia is a leading producer of fossil fuels and emitter of greenhouse gases, while Azerbaijan is helping to supply Europe with gas in place of Russian gas. Working out a diplomatic agreement on climate change is likely to be even more difficult than usual given the already high geopolitical tensions.

A leaked draft of the ceasefire appeal, seen by the Guardian, shows Azerbaijan positioning itself as a peacemaker.”[Cop29] is a unique opportunity to bridge divides and find paths to lasting peace. Conflicts increase greenhouse gas emissions and destroy the environment by polluting soil, water and air. The destruction of ecosystems and pollution caused by conflict exacerbate climate change and undermine our efforts to protect the planet,” says the draft resolution, a short text of 180 words.

But activists point to Azerbaijan's human rights record and the recently ended war with Armenia. More than 100,000 people were displaced in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region after Azerbaijan launched an offensive last September.

Although a peace agreement was reached at the end of December, human rights activists say Azerbaijan is still holding hundreds of political prisoners.

Several accused the COP host country of hypocrisy. Paul Polman, former head of Unilever and now climate and peace activist, said: “The idea of ​​a 'cop ceasefire' is a deeply cynical PR stunt by Azerbaijan designed to distract the world's attention from the ethnic cleansing in Nagorno-Karabakh last year.”

“If President [Ilhan] Aliyev [of Azerbaijan] “If he really wants to lead by example, instead of calling on others to act, he should commit to decarbonising Azerbaijan’s fossil fuel economy and release the over 300 political prisoners he is holding before the start of COP29.”

Ibad Bayramov, whose father Gubad Ibadoghlu, a scholar at the London School of Economics, is among those detained, said: “The conflicts have allowed the Azerbaijani government to stay under the radar while systematically crushing civil society by imprisoning opposition voices. As COP29 approaches, international attention is increasingly focused on the regime's repressive tactics. The government's latest ceasefire call is nothing more than a diversionary tactic designed to distract foreign governments from the harsh reality on the ground.”

He added: “My father's trial has been deliberately put on hold while others are being held in pre-trial detention until after COP29. Their aim is to get through COP29 without trials of political prisoners in the hope of avoiding closer scrutiny.”

A spokesperson for the Conflict and Environment Observatory said of the ceasefire agreement: “This does nothing to address the root causes of the conflict. It is like putting a plaster on a gaping wound. Ending conflict for a few weeks would of course save lives, and that is a good thing, but immediately after that it would be business as usual. COP can lead to meaningful action for peace and climate justice, but it must take into account the impact that military and conflict have on the climate crisis.”

The Azerbaijani government rejected the criticism. Yalchin Rafiyev, the country's chief negotiator for the COP, said: “This initiative has no connection with Armenia. What we are seeking is completely general in nature. We are simply calling for a ceasefire; it has nothing to do with political issues.”

He said the reaction from other countries to the idea of ​​a ceasefire in Cuba had so far been overwhelmingly positive. But he acknowledged that it would be difficult in practice. “We cannot assure everyone that it will be respected by all parties to the conflict,” he said.

Azerbaijan has also announced its programme for the Cop, which includes several initiatives on topics such as reducing greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture and organic waste and promoting hydrogen as an environmentally friendly fuel. However, the central promise of last year's Cop28 that the world would “move away from fossil fuels” is not mentioned.

Rafiyev said fossil fuels would be on the COP agenda, as would the need to promote renewable energy. The other pressing issue at COP29 will be providing sufficient finance to developing countries to help them cut their greenhouse gas emissions and deal with the impacts of climate change. So far, there is little agreement on how to raise the trillions needed for such an effort.