“As chair of the Non-Aligned Movement, the Republic of Azerbaijan has always attached great importance to issues relevant to humanity and carried out effective work towards eliminating the injustices faced by peoples worldwide. In this regard, our time demands to bring the issues of women and colonialism together and amplify the role of women in the decolonization process. Regrettably, in the 21st century, women are still being subjected to slavery and exploitation in colonies, meaning that they are deprived of fundamental human rights,” said President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev as he addressed to the participants of the international conference on “Decolonization: Women's Empowerment and Development” held in Baku.

“Azerbaijan is very concerned about the continuation of colonialism, especially the flagrant violation of the rights of women and children in colonies. France, which currently controls 13 overseas territories as its colonies and interferes in the internal affairs of its former colonies located on different continents worldwide, continues its neocolonialism policy despite the many years of demands from international organizations and peoples fighting for independence,” the head of state underlined.