COP29 in Baku: Aliyev urges climate aid, slams France’s 'colonial record'
Aliyev criticizes France at COP29
The COP29 summit is underway in Baku, where the November 13 event featured a Summit for Small Island Developing States (SIDS), attended by Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev.
In his remarks, Aliyev sharply criticized France and the Netherlands for their colonial policies, emphasizing the impact of these legacies on affected regions.
“The European Parliament and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, symbols of political corruption, share responsibility with President Macron’s government for the deaths of innocent people,” Aliyev stated, adding that “all political prisoners in France must be immediately released.”
- Former Georgian Prime Minister: Spending foreign reserves will trigger an economic crisis
- Armenia faces growing power outages amid calls for energy security, infrastructure investment
- Analyst: “International report on Armenians in Karabakh ‘biased and misleading’”
Addressing the summit, Aliyev welcomed the participants: “Since Azerbaijan took on the role of COP29 host, our relationship with small island developing states has grown to a new level. The voices of small island nations deserve to be heard on the global stage.”
He called on developed nations, particularly those with colonial histories, to provide substantial financial and technical support to these states, allowing them to better protect themselves from the impacts of climate change.
“Climate change affects every country, including Azerbaijan. We are witnessing the shrinking of the Caspian Sea, declining river flows, decreasing snowfall in our mountains, and the emergence of floods and heavy rains as a new reality. While climate change is a universal issue, it poses an existential threat to small island developing states.
Azerbaijan demonstrates firm support for small island states. We have provided assistance to several countries affected by natural disasters, helping to mitigate the consequences of hurricanes, earthquakes, and floods. We have also supported projects in water supply, food security, and cultural heritage restoration,” added the president.
He also noted that more than ten small island states have benefited from an educational scholarship program for studying at universities in Azerbaijan.
“During our four-year chairmanship of the Non-Aligned Movement, we provided financial and humanitarian aid to more than 80 countries, including 20 small island nations.”
Solving the problems these countries face is at the center of Azerbaijan’s efforts at COP29. In May of this year, the leaders of the Bahamas, Tonga, and Tuvalu visited Azerbaijan to discuss their vision for COP. The Baku Communique adopted during this time called for meaningful outcomes at COP29 and emphasized the importance of accessible climate financing.
In September, significant progress was made in Baku on the establishment of a Loss and Damage Fund. The process should now be completed to provide funding to needy countries, particularly small island states. This summer, in Tonga, Azerbaijan signed a joint declaration with the Commonwealth.”
According to Aliyev, Azerbaijan is making a contribution of $10 million to support joint projects implemented in small island states of the Commonwealth. A memorandum of understanding was also signed with the Commonwealth for the use of satellite data from Azerbaijan’s Space Agency to monitor and assess the environmental situation.
“Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to bring attention to an important issue on the international agenda — neo-colonialism and climate change,” Aliyev continued.
So-called overseas territories of France and the Netherlands, especially in the Caribbean and Pacific regions, are among the territories most affected by climate change.
Rising sea levels, extreme weather events, and biodiversity loss pose serious threats to these regions. The voices of these communities are often cruelly suppressed by regimes in their metropolises.
These are the people of the French colonies of New Caledonia, French Polynesia, Mayotte, Wallis and Futuna, Corsica, Reunion, Guadeloupe, Martinique, French Guiana, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Saint Martin, Saint Barthelemy, as well as the colonies of the Netherlands, such as Aruba, Curacao, Sint Maarten, Bonaire, Sint Eustatius, and Saba.
Let us applaud the residents of these territories. They continue to suffer under colonial dominance in the 21st century. Since 1946-1947, French Polynesia and New Caledonia have been recognized by the United Nations as non-self-governing territories. However, their decolonization process is still delayed.
Between 1966 and 1996, French Polynesia suffered severe environmental degradation due to 193 nuclear tests conducted by France.
France bears responsibility for severe soil and water contamination, as well as radioactive pollution in this area. Radiation levels exceeded 4,900 percent. Adding to this, France conducted 17 nuclear tests in Algeria during the years of occupation, illustrating the extent of damage this country has inflicted on the planet’s ecosystem.
The list of France’s crimes in its so-called overseas territories would be incomplete without mentioning recent human rights violations by this regime. The Macron regime killed 13 people and injured 169 during a lawful protest by the Kanak people in New Caledonia this year. 1,700 people were arrested. During protests in Martinique and Guadeloupe, also this year, 38 people were arrested.
Despite all this, France has not been condemned by either the European Commission, the European Parliament, or the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. This is political hypocrisy. The European Parliament and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE)—two institutions that have become symbols of political corruption—share responsibility with Macron’s government for the deaths of innocent people. All political prisoners in France must be immediately released.
And what else can we expect from the European Parliament and PACE if the chief European diplomat, Josep Borrell, calls Europe a garden and the rest of the world a jungle?! If we are the jungle, then stay away from us and don’t interfere in our affairs.
Azerbaijan has supported small island states as chair of the Non-Aligned Movement, supports them as chair of COP29, and will continue to support its friends in the future,” concluded President Aliyev.
