In Azerbaijan, Commission on Combating Corruption holds public hearings on new proposals

Azerbaijan has prepared new proposals to strengthen the fight against corruption. They are included in the draft of the Plan of actions to increase transparency and combat corruption.

"Earlier, similar plans have been adopted for 2004-2006 and 2007-2011. We have analyzed the results of the implementation of previous plans and incorporated into the new project those questions, which had not been completely resolved yet, and we set new goals and objectives in the fight against corruption arising from international documents," said Sayad Kerimov, the head of the working group of the Commission on Combating Corruption.

Sayad Kerimov mentioned establishment of a procedure of preliminary assessment of normative acts for their possible impact on the effectiveness of public administration, business climate, and human rights as one of the principal innovations of the proposed innovations.

Alimamed Nuriev, the coordinator of the anti-corruption network of the NGOs, has positively assessed the inclusion into the document a number of proposals of civil society and, in particular, points to improve the procedure of handling of citizen complaints and information transparency.

Public discussion of the draft Plan of actions to increase transparency and combat corruption with the participation of representatives of the NGOs will be continued. The document will be revised in the light of suggestions and comments from the public.

However, the opposition Civil Movement for Democracy "Public Chamber" (CMDPC) questions the effectiveness of government anti-corruption measures.

"The very essence of the ruling regime in Azerbaijan is corrupted. Early last year, a fight against corruption was vociferously pronounced. As a result, all that fight has been reduced to the arrest of several officials and employees of small and medium level, and at that the campaign has gone out. However, none of the heads from the central authorities had been prosecuted on charges of corruption," said Nureddin Mamedli, the member of CMDPC, Deputy Chairman of the Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan (PFPA).

Isa Gambar, the leader of the "Musavat" Party, believes that "the corruption has reached the scale threatening to the state and its future." According to him, "the high level of corruption comes from the nature of the regime, which seeks to use the resources of the country without control."

According to the "Corruption Perception Index" of the international organization "Transparency International" for 2011, Azerbaijan was on the 143^rd place among 183 countries. In 2010, the country occupied the 134^th place among 178 countries.