BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 3. Executive Director of the Baku Initiative Group Abbas Abbasov has delivered a speech at the international conference "Colonialism, neocolonialism and its consequences", attended by President of the Simon Bolivar Institute's Foundation for Peace and Solidarity among Peoples Blanca Gomez, Trend reports.
Abbasov greeted the event participants on behalf of the Baku Initiative Group and expressed his gratitude to its organizers and host.
He said that the main theme of today's conference is fully consistent with the mission of our organization. Thus, the Baku Initiative Group actively supports the legitimate struggle against colonialism and neocolonialism.
In this context, the group was able to effectively convey the realities of (neo)colonialism and its manifestations to the international community.
The executive director recalled that Azerbaijan successfully chaired the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) in 2019-2023.
In July 2023, at the international conference 'Towards the complete elimination of colonialism' organized in Baku within the framework of the Ministerial Meeting of the NAM Coordination Bureau, a decision was made to establish the Baku Initiative Group with the status of an international non-governmental organization with the participation of representatives of overseas territories.
Demonstrating full commitment to the principles of international law and human rights, the organization's activities are dedicated to the complete elimination of colonialism and neo-colonialism, promoting the right to decolonization, as well as providing support to peoples suffering from the persistent manifestations of colonial rule.
He emphasized that since its inception, the NAM has become an internationally influential and credible platform in the global decolonization movement.
Over the past two years, it has organized more than 40 international conferences and high-level events at the UN headquarters in New York, Geneva, and Vienna, as well as in Rome, Istanbul, and Baku, known as the center of decolonization dialogues.
"Our international events are dedicated to various aspects of colonialism - its environmental, cultural, social, educational and health impacts. Within the framework of these events, political leaders, scholars, international law experts, special rapporteurs and civil society organizations from territories still under colonial rule were brought together, creating a broad platform for dialogue and cooperation.
One of the main achievements of the Baku Initiative Group was the holding of the First Congress of Nationalist and Independence Movements, held in Baku in July 2024.
Within the framework of this event, representatives of independence movements from the French and Dutch colonies signed a founding declaration on the creation of the International Decolonization Front.
This significant step united the collective voice of movements operating under colonial slavery and became a solid foundation for their coordinated action at the international level.
Another important achievement was the inclusion of the report prepared by the Baku Initiative Group in the 'International Decade for Action for People of African Descent', launched by the UN Secretary-General in 2025.
In addition, the Baku Initiative Group organized side events in cooperation with the UN General Assembly sessions, the Special Committee on Decolonization (C24) and the Fourth Committee of the General Assembly (C4), the Permanent Forum of People of African Descent, the UN Human Rights Committee and the UN Human Rights Council, and contributed to the substantive dialogue, in addition to intergovernmental discussions.
The Baku Initiative Group also organized a number of events and actions within the framework of COP29. The aim was to show not only the political and social consequences of colonialism, but also its devastating environmental impacts. Our mission was to draw the attention of the international community to the fact that colonial rule destroys ecosystems, depletes natural resources and threatens the existence of island states and colonial dependent territories.
In addition, the Baku Initiative Group acts as an analytical center and produces high-level research and expert analysis in the fields of colonialism and decolonization. So far, reports, journals and has published more than 20 publications, including books. Among these publications, the remarkable work 'The Evolution of French Colonialism: A Political and Constitutional Analysis' written by the international expert on the management of colonial territories, Corlyle Corbin, is of particular importance.
The Baku Initiative Group continues to play an important role in supporting peoples who remained under colonial slavery. In this regard, Azerbaijan is a place of hope and a global platform for peoples struggling for independence and freedom," Abbasov concluded.
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