Asia Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan
According to the IOM, the Government continued to deport illegal Iranian immigrants during the year. Section 3 Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to Change Their GovernmentThe Constitution and the law allow citizens to change their government by peaceful means; however, the Government continued to restrict citizens' ability to do so by interfering in local and national elections. The country is a republic with a strong presidency, and the Constitution provides for an independent legislature. However, in practice, Parliament's independence was minimal, and it exercised little legislative initiative independent of the executive. The October 15 presidential election failed to meet international standards due to a number of serious irregularities. These included the lack of a level playing field in the pre-election campaign--including a flawed candidate registratio ... [Read More]
Caucasus and Central Asia
Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs Regional Topics [Read More]
Signatories to the 1970 UNESCO Convention
1970 UNESCO Convention by Region1 EUROPEAFRICA EAST ASIA ... SOUTH ASIA Argentina ... [Read More]
V. Country Narratives -- Countries A through G
Finland is a destination and transit country for women and girls trafficked primarily from Russia for the purpose of sexual exploitation. A smaller number of victims are trafficked from other former Soviet states including Estonia, Ukraine, Belarus, Latvia, Lithuania, and Georgia. Finnish authorities in 2004 reported Asian women trafficked to and through Finland by Chinese crime syndicates, facilitated by the advent of direct air routes with several major Asian cities. Finland is used as a transit point to other EU countries. The Government of Finland does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so. The government’s awareness of trafficking increased greatly in 2004, and Finland laid the groundwork for success with its new National Action Plan to combat trafficking. Unveiled on March 3 ... [Read More]
The Azerbaijan School Connectivity Program (ASCP) – Youth Programs Division – Citizen Exchanges
South Asia ... Home > Citizen Exchanges > Youth Programs > Eurasia > School Connectivity Programs Azerbaijan School Connectivity Program (AzSCP) ... [Read More]
Europe and Central Asia
AlbaniaI. Summary Drug trafficking is a significant problem in Albania, which is a major transit country for heroin from Afghanistan and Turkey destined for markets throughout Europe. Organized crime groups use Albania as a transit point for drug and other types of smuggling due to the country’s strategic location, weak police and judicial systems, and porous borders. The most common illegal drugs are heroin, marijuana, and to a lesser extent, cocaine. Heroin is typically transported through the "Balkans Route" of Turkey-Bulgaria-Macedonia-Albania, and on to Italy, Greece and the Netherlands. Cocaine is smuggled from South America, via the United States, Italy, Spain, Greece or the Netherlands, and ... [Read More]
Azerbaijan (10/04)
At the collapse of the Russian Empire in 1917, an independent republic was proclaimed in 1918 following an abortive attempt to establish a Transcaucasian Republic with Armenia and Georgia. Azerbaijan received de facto recognition by the Allies as an independent nation in January 1920, an independence terminated by the arrival of the Red Army in April. Incorporated into the Transcaucasian Federated Soviet Socialist Republic in 1922, Azerbaijan became a union republic of the U.S.S.R. (Soviet Union) in 1936. The late 1980s were characterized by increasing unrest, eventually leading to a violent confrontation when Soviet troops killed 190 nationalist demonstrators in Baku in January 1990. Azerbaijan declared its independence from the U.S.S.R. on August 30, 1991. ... [Read More]
Central Asia-Caucasus - US Department of State
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U.S. Department of State Websites of U.S. Embassies and Consulates
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