By Alish Abdulla

Copyright trend

BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 3. Executive Director
of the Baku Initiative Group Abbas Abbasov has delivered a speech
at the international conference “Colonialism, neocolonialism and
its consequences”, attended by President of the Simon Bolivar
Institute’s Foundation for Peace and Solidarity among Peoples
Blanca Gomez, Trend reports.

Abbasov greeted the event participants on behalf of the Baku
Initiative Group and expressed his gratitude to its organizers and

He said that the main theme of today’s conference is fully
consistent with the mission of our organization. Thus, the Baku
Initiative Group actively supports the legitimate struggle against
colonialism and neocolonialism.

In this context, the group was able to effectively convey the
realities of (neo)colonialism and its manifestations to the
international community.

The executive director recalled that Azerbaijan successfully
chaired the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) in 2019-2023.

In July 2023, at the international conference ‘Towards the
complete elimination of colonialism’ organized in Baku within the
framework of the Ministerial Meeting of the NAM Coordination
Bureau, a decision was made to establish the Baku Initiative Group
with the status of an international non-governmental organization
with the participation of representatives of overseas
territories.

Demonstrating full commitment to the principles of international
law and human rights, the organization’s activities are dedicated
to the complete elimination of colonialism and neo-colonialism,
promoting the right to decolonization, as well as providing support
to peoples suffering from the persistent manifestations of colonial

He emphasized that since its inception, the NAM has become an
internationally influential and credible platform in the global
decolonization movement.

Over the past two years, it has organized more than 40
international conferences and high-level events at the UN
headquarters in New York, Geneva, and Vienna, as well as in Rome,
Istanbul, and Baku, known as the center of decolonization

“Our international events are dedicated to various aspects of
colonialism – its environmental, cultural, social, educational and
health impacts. Within the framework of these events, political
leaders, scholars, international law experts, special rapporteurs
and civil society organizations from territories still under
colonial rule were brought together, creating a broad platform for
dialogue and cooperation.

One of the main achievements of the Baku Initiative Group was
the holding of the First Congress of Nationalist and Independence
Movements, held in Baku in July 2024.

Within the framework of this event, representatives of
independence movements from the French and Dutch colonies signed a
founding declaration on the creation of the International
Decolonization Front.

This significant step united the collective voice of movements
operating under colonial slavery and became a solid foundation for
their coordinated action at the international level.

Another important achievement was the inclusion of the report
prepared by the Baku Initiative Group in the ‘International Decade
for Action for People of African Descent’, launched by the UN
Secretary-General in 2025.

In addition, the Baku Initiative Group organized side events in
cooperation with the UN General Assembly sessions, the Special
Committee on Decolonization (C24) and the Fourth Committee of the
General Assembly (C4), the Permanent Forum of People of African
Descent, the UN Human Rights Committee and the UN Human Rights
Council, and contributed to the substantive dialogue, in addition
to intergovernmental discussions.

The Baku Initiative Group also organized a number of events and
actions within the framework of COP29. The aim was to show not only
the political and social consequences of colonialism, but also its
devastating environmental impacts. Our mission was to draw the
attention of the international community to the fact that colonial
rule destroys ecosystems, depletes natural resources and threatens
the existence of island states and colonial dependent
territories.

In addition, the Baku Initiative Group acts as an analytical
center and produces high-level research and expert analysis in the
fields of colonialism and decolonization. So far, reports, journals
and has published more than 20 publications, including books. Among
these publications, the remarkable work ‘The Evolution of French
Colonialism: A Political and Constitutional Analysis’ written by
the international expert on the management of colonial territories,
Corlyle Corbin, is of particular importance.

The Baku Initiative Group continues to play an important role in
supporting peoples who remained under colonial slavery. In this
regard, Azerbaijan is a place of hope and a global platform for
peoples struggling for independence and freedom,” Abbasov

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