At Azerbaijan's Climate Conference, Not All 'Protests' Are Equal

by · Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty · Join

Under an inspiring soundtrack, a video shared to the official X account for COP29, the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Baku, shows protesters with the message "COP29 Azerbaijan is a truly inclusive COP where all voices are heard." Comments for the post are turned off.

Two days earlier, animal rights activist Kamran Mammadli found that some protests are more welcome than others at COP29.

Mammadli’s November 15 protest during which he declared, "Azerbaijani authorities are shooting dogs on the street. The Azerbaijani dictatorship is committing massacres against stray street dogs."

Mammadli entered the "green zone" of COP29 on November 15, then pulled out a sign from his backpack decrying Azerbaijan’s notorious practice of killing street dogs.

"I managed to keep the protest going for two minutes," Mammadli told RFE/RL. "The security guards didn't know what to do."

After orders to act came through the guards' radios, Mammadli was hauled away. "After I was detained, I could hear voices coming from the security guard's walkie-talkie right above my head. They were in a panic," he said.

As a known dissident in the authoritarian state, Mammadli said, "one of the voices was scolding the security guards for not following me as soon as I entered the COP29 venue."

Mammadli is carried away by security guards.

The young activist was dragged across the carpeted hall, then he says he was locked inside a toilet cubicle for more than an hour with a security guard as the authorities decided what to do. He was eventually released but human rights observers have called for attention to be paid to what happens to him next.

Mammadli's violent treatment is in stark contrast to how groups of foreign protesters are accommodated elsewhere at COP29.

Multiple protests, on topics from fossil fuels to the war in Gaza have been permitted inside the "blue zone" of the conference, which is under the jurisdiction of the UN rather than local authorities.

An officially sanctioned protest takes place inside COP29 on November 15.

Zhala Bayramova, whose father, civil activist Dr. Gubad Ibadoghlu, is currently imprisoned in Azerbaijan, says the protests at COP29 are being used as a "tool" by Baku. Such protests she says are carefully screened to forbid any direct criticism of Azerbaijan’s government, while allowing fingers to be pointed at other countries.

"Azerbaijan is allowing [the protests] because they don't target them," she told RFE/RL. In some cases, Bayramova says, indigenous people who have genuine grievances are being utilized by Baku. "They are using their pain as a tool, so it's quite saddening."

The venue of COP29 in Baku

Other protests surrounding COP29 are alleged to have been organized by the Azerbaijani government itself. U.S. Representative Frank Pallone (Democrat-New Jersey) was jostled by a crowd of protesters and state media journalists on his arrival at Baku's airport. The congressman left the country shortly afterward.

Pallone is widely known for his pro-Armenian positions relating to Nagorno-Karabakh and other issues. Pallone has since accused Baku of "organizing violent protests to prevent me, [Massachusetts Senator Ed Markey] and others from participating in #COP29."

Activists hold a silent protest inside the COP29 venue to demand that rich countries provide climate finance to developing countries.

COP conferences post strict rules for attendees and forbid "unauthorized demonstrations." Registration at the events requires people to be linked with organizations, and the UN has a section listing "accountability" for people deemed to be in breach of the COP code of conduct. Potential consequences include the UN filing reports to employers or organizations "for appropriate follow-up action."

According to Bayramova, Azerbaijanis have not been permitted to protest at the conference, and even organizations such as Amnesty International have struggled with permissions to protest. "Amnesty was supposed to protest today (November 19) about human rights situations, including in Azerbaijan and they are having difficulty getting a green light for this."

For protester Kamran Mammadli, his lone protest was able to draw attention both to animal welfare and what activists say is a charade of openness at the conference. "The violence used against my protest shows that the claim COP29 is being held in an inclusive manner is false," he said.

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