CIAO DATE: 08/04

Azerbaijan

Victoria Garcia and Rachel Stohl

Center for Defense Information

March 2003

Background

Azerbaijan has been involved in a confllict with Armenia over the Azeri republic of Nagorno–Karabakh, which is under the military control of Armenia. Azerbaijan has approximately one million refugees and a large population of internally displaced people. Azerbaijan is a republic with a documented poor human rights record. In the 2001 Human Rights Report, the U.S. State Department described Azerbaijan's poor human rights record, including a lack of support for the democratic governance process, the death of prison inmates and detainees during detention, the use of torture and force by police to extract confessions, the government’s continued holding of political prisoners, and life–threatening prison conditions. Moreover, the report detailed limits on freedom of speech, press, freedom of assembly and association, harassment of religious minorities, and limits on worker's rights. Azerbaijan also experienced violence and discrimination against women and relisious and ethnic minorities, as well as trafficking in persons.

U. S. Military Assistance Prior to Sept. 11, 2001

According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) and the UN Arms Register, Azerbaijan had no arms imports in the last 10 years. Azerbaijan has an armed force totalling 72,000 soldiers and a military expenditure of $121 million in 1999, or 2.6 percent of GDP Prior to Sept. 11, Azerbaijan had been under U.S. sanctions in 1993. However, the country did receive $513,227 in 2001 in military training, according to the Foreign Military Training Report. Azerbaijan did not receive any U.S. weapons between 1990 and 2001, except for $38,000 in Direct Commercial Sales deliveries in 1996 (although $541,000 had been licensed in 1996). In 1997, Azerbaijan was granted $6,000 worth of DCS, but no weapons were ever delivered as part of this licensing.

U. S. Military Assistance Since Sept. 11, 2001

Since Sept. 11, Azerbaijan has been the beneficiary of lifted U.S. sanctions. In the 2001 emergency supplemental bill passed immediately after Sept. 11, Azerbaijan received $3 million nonproliferation, anti–terrorism, demining and related programs (NADR) funding, and was allocated an additional $3.23 million in NADR funding for FY 03. The NADR funding is part of a $45.5 million fund for “specialized training and equipment to prevent and respond to terrorist incidents” (FY 01 Emergency Supplemental). The funding also includes the $42.2 million allocated for military training and equipment for border security forces in Central Asia. Azerbaijan was allotted $4 million in FMF in FY 02, $3 million in FMF in FY 03, and promised $2.5 million in FMF for FY 04. Moreover, Azerbaijan was allocated $750,000 for IMET in FY 03 and $900,000 for IMET in FY 04. Azerbaijan was also appropriated $46 million as part of the FSA in FY 03 and $41.5 million in FSA funding for FY 04

Case Study Profile

Country	Azerbaijan
Government Type	Republic
Infant Mortality Rate (per 1,000 live births–2001 estimate)	83.08
Total Armed Forces (2000 estimate)	72,000
Military Expenditure (U.S.$, millions)	$121 (FY 99)
Military Expenditure % GDP	2.6% (FY 99)
Imports/Conventional Arms Transfers (U.S. $, millions – 2001 estimate)	0
Human Rights Record 2002	Poor

Azerbaijan’s Submission to the United Nations Register of Conventional Arms
1993	n/a
1994	n/a
1995	0
1996	0
1997	0
1998	n/a
1999	n/a
2000	0
2001	0

Fiscal Year	IMET	FMF	FSA	ESF	Total
1990	$0	$0	$0	$0	$0
1991	$0	$0	$0	$0	$0
1992	$0	$0	$0	$0	$0
1993	$0	$0	$0	$0	$0
1994	$0	$0	$0	$0	$0
1995	$0	$0	$0	$0	$0
1996	$0	$0	$0	$0	$0
1997	$0	$0	$0	$0	$0
1998	$0	$0	$0	$0	$0
1999	$0	$0	$0	$0	$0
2000	$0	$0	$0	$0	$0
2001	$0	$0	$0	$0	$0
2002	$377,000	$4,000,000	$43,510,000	$0	$47,887,000
2002 ERF	$0	$0	$0	$0	$0
2002 SUP	$0	$0	$0	$0	$0
2003 (request)	$750,000	$3,000,000	$46,000,000	$0	$49,750,000
2004 (request)	$900,000	$2,500,000	$41,500,000	$0	$44,900,000
Total	$2,027,000	$9,500,000	$131,010,000	$0	$142,537,000