became mandatory to access most indoor INTERNALLY DISPLACED PEOPLE’S public places. As of December, 50% of the RIGHTS country’s population had been vaccinated The majority of the 40,000 Azeri civilians with one dose of the coronavirus vaccine and displaced to government-held territory during 45% had received two. the 2020 conflict returned to their homes. VIOLATIONS OF INTERNATIONAL However, conditions remained inadequate for HUMANITARIAN LAW the safe and dignified return of over 650,000 people displaced since the 1990s because of No substantive progress was made in mines, destruction of infrastructure and lost investigating war crimes and other violations livelihoods. of international humanitarian law during the FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION AND 2020 Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict and in its ASSEMBLY immediate aftermath or in bringing suspected perpetrators to justice.1 Peaceful protests over both political and Over 100 people were reported killed and social issues continued to be broken up by injured by mines planted by Armenian forces police using unnecessary and excessive in territories where they had ceded control to force, while peaceful protesters faced Azerbaijan. By the end of the year Azerbaijan arbitrary administrative and criminal charges. had reportedly handed over 60 captives to On 8 March in the capital, Baku, police Armenia, some in exchange for minefield detained 20 women activists attempting to maps in the conflict affected areas, including hold a peaceful march to mark International Agdam, Fizuli and Zangilan districts. The Women’s Day. They were taken to the police exact number of people remaining in captivity station and forced to sign “explanatory in Azerbaijan at the end of the year was statements” before being released. unknown. In its September report the Council On 1 and 15 December, also in Baku, of Europe raised concerns that dozens of police violently broke up peaceful rallies captives continued to be held in inhumane demanding the release of unfairly imprisoned conditions and subjected to speedy, unfair opposition activist Saleh Rustamli. Police trials, while the fate and whereabouts of used excessive force against protesters around 30 Armenian captives remained arrested at the 1 December rally, including unknown amid allegations of their enforced opposition activist Tofig Yagoublu, who was disappearance and possible killing. hospitalized with serious injuries. Five of the ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL protesters detained on 1 December were RIGHTS given up to 30 days’ administrative detention, the rest were released. In November, the UN Committee on In March, 625 prisoners, including 38 Economic, Social and Cultural Rights people considered by local human rights (CESCR) noted “reports of economic, social groups to be detained for political reasons, and cultural rights violations, in the context of were freed by presidential pardon. Politically armed hostilities involving [Azerbaijan’s] motivated persecution and harassment of military forces” in 2020 in and around government critics continued unabated, Nagorno-Karabakh. These included the however, and many of its victims remained destruction of residential, educational, imprisoned. cultural and religious buildings. The Government critic Huseyn Abdullayev Committee called on Azerbaijan to effectively remained in prison, in spite of the UN investigate all violations reported in the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention context of military hostilities and provide regarding his deprivation of liberty as access to remedies for victims. arbitrary and UN human rights experts demanding his immediate release. In October, opposition activist Niyameddin Amnesty International Report 2021/22 82