Ombudsperson’s office in Azerbaijan, NGOs to hold online meeting

On 15 July 2020, an online meeting will be organized about the role of NGO platforms in combating discrimination for civil society organizations and Ombudsperson’s office in Azerbaijan. The forthcoming conference is the third in a series of online capacity building, and networking sessions started in April 2020 for both civil society organizations and staff of the Ombudsperson’s office on discrimination topics.

Civil society organizations have an essential role to play in combating discrimination. That includes prevention, awareness-raising and community building and mobilization, support to the development of intercultural dialogue, assistance to victims of discrimination, advocacy for policy and legislative changes, etc. When civil society organizations form platforms, their voice can become stronger; there can be more mutual solidarity within the anti-discrimination movement. It can also happen in the context of new initiatives by public institutions for adopting new legislation on discrimination.

Two examples of NGO platforms will be discussed:

• The Coalition of NGOs against Discrimination, Ukraine
• The Coalition for Equality, Georgia.

The meeting will offer inspiration to civil society organizations and the Ombudsperson’s office in Azerbaijan concerning their role and cooperation on combating discrimination.