Azerbaijan Medical University

While in the U.S., first as an FSA undergraduate at Wesleyan University in Connecticut in 1997-98, then as a graduate student at Washington University in St. Louis and as an intern at the Azerbaijani Embassy in Washington, D.C., Fariz focused on social policy and the building of civil society. Today he is putting all this experience to work as Senior Political Advisor at the International Republican Institute in Baku, Azerbaijan, and as a teacher of social and economic policy at Western University. In his efforts to promote civil society in Azerbaijan he encourages the strengthening parliament and political parties, and participation of youth in politics and elections. ... [Read More]

US Department Of State Post Report

Azerbaijan’s population is highly educated with claims of over 90% literacy. As of 1990, over 56% of the population had completed secondary school and almost 13% had completed post-secondary school or university. In Azerbaijan, there are 4,300 primary and secondary schools, 78 technical colleges, and 44 institutions of higher education, including 16 private universities. Baku State University has 15,000 students. Khazar University has 1,000 students, as does Western University, both private institutions with English‑language programs. The Academy of Sciences has 30 research institutes employing 4,200 researchers. Commerce and IndustryLast Updated:  11/25/2003 2:21 PM  ... [Read More]

For the Record Newsletter – European Programs Branch

In mid-February, Ludmila Petrova delivered a 20-minute presentation on health legislation in Russia for students and faculty at the Washington College of Law at American University. She also spoke briefly about the policy research she is pursuing in the U.S. at American University. ...

Mykola Koval, Leading Engineer and Senior Researcher Information Systems Laboratory, Odesa National Polytechnic University, Odesa, Ukraine researching public health policy at University of California-San Diego, School of Medicine ... [Read More]

Completed Projects – Archives – Project Profiles – Educational Partnerships Program

The University of North Carolina System (primarily North Carolina State University and the University of North Carolina - Greensboro) collaborated with two institutions of higher education in Moldova, the International Institute of Management and the Agrarian State University of Moldova, for the purpose of curriculum development. ...

This linkage between the Northwestern University School of Law and the University of Ghana Faculty of Law aimed at producing a curriculum on legal issues related to family, women, and children, including domestic violence, human rights. In addition, it enhanced the resources at the University of Ghana Law Library to support teaching and research. For Northwestern University, it enabled the law school to add an African perspective to its international law curriculum. ... [Read More]

Azerbaijan

Prison conditions are harsh. The quality of food, housing, and medical care is poor. Prisoners must rely on their families to provide food and medicine. There are widespread and credible reports that authorities deny or give inadequate medical treatment to prisoners with serious medical conditions. Tuberculosis is a problem. Approximately 2,000 prisoners have been treated for tuberculosis. Due to the absence of systematic screening of the prison population, patients often start treatment when they are already seriously ill and there is only a 55 percent cure rate. Authorities severely limit opportunities for exercise and visits by lawyers and family members of prisoners in security prisons. Some prisoners are kept in "separation cells" often located in basements, in which prisoners reportedly are denied food and sleep in order to elicit confessions from them with no physical evidence of abuse. Men and women are housed in separate prison facilities. On March 20, President Aliyev signed ... [Read More]

Azerbaijan

There was slight improvement in the status of respect for religious freedom during the period covered by this report. While some religious groups reported delays in and denials of registration, several churches have indicated that they either received or expect to receive their registration, they are able to import religious literature, and they meet without government interference. However, local authorities occasionally monitor religious services, and officials at times harassed nontraditional religious groups. The generally amicable relationship among religions in society contributed to religious freedom; however, there is popular prejudice against Muslims who convert to non-Muslim faiths and hostility towards groups that proselytize, particularly Evangelical Christian and missionary groups. The U.S. Government discusses religious freedom issues with the Government i ... [Read More]

Azerbaijan

Some local officials continued to prevent women from wearing the headscarves. Early in the year, students at Baku State University and the Baku Medical Institute reportedly were instructed to refrain from wearing headscarves to class. However, according to the Center for Protection of Conscience and Religious Persuasion Freedom (DEVAMM), the issue was resolved satisfactorily and ceased to be a problem. ...

Conditions in prisons, which were managed by the Ministry of Justice, remained harsh and sometimes life threatening. Deaths of inmates occurred, in part due to these harsh conditions and in some cases due to mistreatment by prison guards (see Section 1.a.). Overcrowding and poor medical care combined to make the spread of infectious diseases, including tuberculosis (TB), a serious problem. TB continued to be the main cause of death in prisons. By year's end, approximately 841 detainees were undergoing treatment for TB, according to the ICRC. Due to the absence of systematic screening of the prison population, patients often started treatment when they were already seriously ill. There were widespread and credible reports that the authorities have withheld medical treatment from selected inmates, especially political prisoners. ... [Read More]

V. Country Narratives -- Countries A through G

Australia is a destination country for women from Southeast Asia, South Korea, and the People’s Republic of China (P.R.C.) who are trafficked for the purposes of sexual exploitation. Some of these women travel to Australia voluntarily to work in both legal and illegal brothels but are deceived or coerced into debt bondage or sexual servitude. The Government of Australia fully complies with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking. The Commonwealth’s Action Plan to Eradicate Trafficking in Persons provided substantial financial and personnel resources to combat the problem both domestically and internationally. Over the last year, the government further refined its anti-trafficking program. In 2004, the government made significant and greater efforts to combat trafficking, including develop ... [Read More]

Azerbaijan

During the year, a total of three POWs were released, one from Azerbaijan and two from Armenia.The law prohibits forced exile, and the Government did not employ it. e. Denial of a Fair and Public Trial The Constitution provides for an independent judiciary; however, in practice, judges did not function independently of the executive branch, and the judiciary was widely believed to be corrupt and inefficient. Judges preside over and direct trials. The President appoints Supreme and Constitutional Court judges, whom Parliament confirms. The President appoints lower-level judges without confirmation. Qualifying exams for judges were administered periodically as part of a judicial reform effort; however, credible allegations persisted that judgeships were bought and sold. Low salaries for judges and lawyers increased the incentives for bribe taking and ... [Read More]