On July 21-22, a two-day conference called the Asia-Pacific Regional Dialogue was held in the framework of the Open Government Partnership (OGP) in Manila, the capital of the Philippines. Up to 100 participants from 12 countries representing the Pacific Ocean and the Asian continent in AHT attended the event, which took place at the housing headquarters of the Asian Development Bank.
Representatives of state institutions and civil society representatives of South Caucasus countries were also among the participants. Unfortunately, unlike Georgia and Armenia, Azerbaijan was represented at the regional conference only at the level of civil society. The reduction of the status of Azerbaijan to the inactive level was emphasized with regret in the speeches.
I should note that I participated in the event as an expert of the Public Association for Assistance to Economic Initiatives. In our speech at the event, in group and individual meetings, I mentioned that we as a civil society are interested in Azerbaijan staying in the AHT initiative, and that we are ready for a dialogue with the government to improve the status of our country. Of course, the main questions were about how ready the government was for this, and the main expectations were from it. These questions had to be answered by the government representative who was supposed to be there.
The regional event had 3 objectives: – To create a space for countries to share and adopt successful practices
- Presentation of newly adopted National Action Plans (2016-2018) on AHT and receiving opinions
- Determination of requirements for supporting National Action Plans
During the discussions, representatives of both state institutions and civil society made brief statements about the state of implementation of the new National Action Plan for the countries they represent separately. Each country representative spoke about the projects and initiatives they implemented in the field of AHT, and the achievements. A public online database of mineral, oil and real estate ownership licenses has been created in Mongolia. In Georgia, an electronic petition platform I-change.ge was created to deliver citizens’ proposals to the government. In Armenia, the Ministry of Finance has created an electronic database of budget expenditures, and the distribution of expenditure items by organizations and sectors is indicated.
The dialogue between government institutions and civil society was the main topic of the event. AHT CEO Sanjay Pradhan, in his speech, sees supporting Open Government Initiatives as a way to increase the rights and opportunities of citizens. According to him, it is necessary to increase the ambitions of the member countries so that the most important demands of the citizens are met and their living standards rise significantly. According to him, more government institutions and civil society should join the process for this.
“Open government systems and processes strengthen the level at which government and civil society work together to manage more transparently. In the countries of the Asia-Pacific region, the dialogue of key actors such as government and civil society unites them in terms of sharing experiences and identifying new areas.
The dialogue between government institutions and civil society is also relevant for Azerbaijan. It became clear from the discussions that consultative mechanisms were established with the participation of government institutions and civil society representatives for the dissemination of AHT initiatives in Indonesia, Mongolia, the Philippines, Georgia and Armenia. For example, a Forum was established in Georgia with the participation of the government and civil society. The forum is governed by the principle of co-chairmanship. Co-chairs are elected from government and civil society representatives. Similar mechanisms operate in other countries.
While the participants of the event spoke in detail about the government-civil society dialogue, it is a pity that there is no such dialogue in Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan is one of the first countries to join the AHT initiative. The Government adopted the Action Plan twice during its participation in the Initiative. The new Action Plan was adopted in 2016. However, during the 4-year period of operation, the dialogue mechanism with the civil society was not created within the framework of AHT. However, conducting consultations with civil society is the main condition for the effective dissemination of AHT initiatives.
At the meeting of the Steering Committee of the Open Government Partnership held in Cape Town, Republic of South Africa on May 4, 2016, the main reason for lowering the status of Azerbaijan from full membership to the status of an inactive country was the creation of restrictions on the activities of civil society institutions in the country.
In order to spread Open Government Initiatives in Azerbaijan, it is important to establish consultative mechanisms with civil society, including the creation of a Platform where civil society is concentrated, and for the government to hear the voices of civil society, conduct dialogue and consultations with them.