On August 17, the Open Government Partnership (OGP) permanently suspended Azerbaijan's membership in the organization for not fulfilling its obligations.

The OGP stated in its announcement that the government of Azerbaijan did not follow the recommendations addressed by the organization in 2018 and did not implement the necessary reforms to ensure the free activity of civil society. "We are very disappointed to see that Azerbaijan has not been able to fulfill the conditions for staying in the Partnership, and the conditions for civil society are still difficult. Even if Azerbaijan is no longer a member of the Partnership, we are ready to support reformers in government and civil society who are committed to the principles of open government," Sanjay Pradhan, CEO of the Open Government Partnership, said.

Fazil Mustafa, a member of the Human Rights Committee of the Azerbaijani Parliament, said that the suspension of Azerbaijan from such organizations is not a good thing: "We should try not to break our ties with international organizations. It will not have any effect because we as a state often face such pressures. But the presence of NGOs is necessary for our own internal policy." He added, "We should determine whether we want to move away from the European space or integrate there and change all approaches related to Azerbaijan there?"

The Open Government Partnership is a global association of more than 70 countries and more than 100 local governments working with thousands of civil society organizations to build more transparent, inclusive, and accountable governments. Azerbaijan voluntarily joined the Open Government Partnership in 2011.