Abbas Abbasov: Azerbaijan leads second wave of decolonization movement

Azerbaijan's leadership in the decolonization process laid the foundation for a new stage, Abbas Abbasov, Executive Director of the Baku Initiative Group (BIG), told Report during the IV session of the UN Permanent Forum for People of African Descent.

Abbasov noted that representatives of the International Decolonization Front had participated in the summits and conferences of the Non-Aligned Movement chaired by Azerbaijan before the creation of BIG, closely feeling Azerbaijan's support, and this process continues today:

"In the last two years, we have organized more than 20 international conferences, published over 12 reports and 3 books."

Abbasov said that the organization's main goal is to continue supporting national resistance and independence movements: "The first wave of the decolonization process, which began in 1960, resulted in African countries gaining independence. I believe that thanks to Azerbaijan's successful chairmanship of the Non-Aligned Movement and BIG's activities, the 2020s will go down in history as the second wave of this process."

He also touched on the pressures faced by BIG: "We are subjected to cyber attacks and traditional pressures against conference participants. This has already become a tradition. But such pressures cannot deter us from our path. We will continue our support for all movements against French and Dutch colonialism."

Abbasov emphasized that today the voice of the territories supported by the organization is already heard on international platforms: "As BIG, we have also organized these conferences in Baku, which is considered the capital of the decolonization process. About 10 of our conferences on decolonization have been held at the UN headquarters in New York. In addition, we submit annual reports to the UN Human Rights Council and other bodies. Now certain UN institutions are demanding special reports from France regarding events in New Caledonia and French Polynesia."

The BIG leader added that the organization also functions as an international think tank in this field.