The Council of Europe, established in 1949, is the leading human rights organization on the continent.

The objectives of the Council of Europe include the protection of human rights, pluralistic democracy, and the rule of law, to develop and promote European cultural identity and diversity, to find common solutions to the problems facing European society, such as xenophobia, intolerance, bioethics and cloning, discrimination against minorities, terrorism, human trafficking, organized crime and corruption, cybercrime and violence against children, and to strengthen democratic stability in Europe by supporting legislative and constitutional reforms.

Comprising 46 member states, the Council of Europe has its headquarters in Strasbourg, France. English and French are the two official languages. The Secretary-General of the Council of Europe is elected for a term of 5 years by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE). The Secretary-General is responsible for the strategic planning, implementation of activity programs, and budgetary matters of the Council of Europe.

The Committee of Ministers is the decision-making body representing the foreign ministers of member countries or their permanent representatives in Strasbourg.

The PACE consists of 612 members (306 principal members, 306 substitutes) representing the parliamentarians of the 46 member states. In addition to the Assembly's Secretary-General, it also elects the Commissioner for Human Rights and judges of the European Court of Human Rights.

The Congress of Local and Regional Authorities, responsible for strengthening local and regional democracy in the 46 member states, consists of 612 elected representatives (306 principal members, 306 substitutes) representing over 200,000 regional and municipal authorities.

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) is a judicial body that ensures the rights outlined in the European Convention on Human Rights for all residents of Europe. Individuals, regardless of their nationality or citizenship, can appeal to this court regarding matters falling under the jurisdiction of member states.

The Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe prepares reports on the human rights situation in countries and thematic issues.

The International Conference of Non-Governmental Organizations unites nearly 400 international NGOs and is established to facilitate the participation of civil society on current issues for the continent.

The history of relations between Azerbaijan and the Council of Europe started in 1992. The Parliament of the Republic of Azerbaijan sent a request to the Council of Europe to obtain the special guest status on 24^th January of 1992. On February 1995, the Bureau of the PACE made a statement with an initiative to take into consideration the request of Azerbaijan to obtain the special guest status, according to Recommendation 1247 (1994) which implies the right of three South Caucasus states to request for membership. Azerbaijan was accepted as a member to the European Commission for Democracy through Law (Venice Commission) at its meeting held on 17-18 March of 1996.

In June 1996, the Bureau of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, recognizing Azerbaijan's endeavors in establishing a democratic state, made the decision to confer upon the country the status of a special guest.

On 11^th September 1996, at the 573^rd meeting of the Committee of Ministers, Resolution (96) 32 was adopted, and it implied the accession of Azerbaijan to the Council of Europe, the intensification of negotiations with government bodies aiming to accelerate the democratization process in Azerbaijan, and providing aid through partnership programs.

On 20^th January 1998, the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan issued a decree “On improving cooperation between the Council of Europe and Azerbaijan and measures for the protection of Azerbaijan’s interests in Europe”.

At the PACE session from June 26-28, 2000, a favorable opinion was expressed regarding the Republic of Azerbaijan's accession to full membership in the Council of Europe. The voting was attended by 126 deputies, with 120 in favor, 1 against, and 5 abstentions. On January 17, 2001, at the meeting of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, a decision was adopted to accept the Republic of Azerbaijan as a full member of the Council of Europe.

On 15^th April 2002, the Republic of Azerbaijan presented documents about ratification of the European Convention on Human Rights and its Protocols to the depositary, and the convention and its protocols entered into force with regard to Azerbaijan.

Azerbaijan's priorities during its presidency of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe from May to November 2014 were as follows:

1. To strengthen the rule of law by improving cooperation in the fight against corruption, including the falsification of sports games;
2. Strengthening culturally diverse societies, based on mutual respect and understanding;
3. Ensuring social unity and sustainability: more careful protection of rights of vulnerable groups;
4. Encouraging youth education in the sphere of human rights and democratic citizenship and forming a responsible and educated young generation and ensuring their opportunities to protect their rights.

In 2014, the Council of Europe’s Action Plan (AP) for Azerbaijan covering 2014-2016 was approved. Many projects and events in various fields have been implemented within the framework of the AP, which is an important document of cooperation between the Council of Europe and Azerbaijan.

The implementation of the AP was positively assessed by both sides, and as a result, it was decided to continue cooperation within this framework, and it was decided to work on the next action plan. As a result of consultations between the Azerbaijani side and the Council of Europe Secretariat, the next AP project covering the years 2018-2021 was approved by the Council of Europe Representatives Committee in October 2018.

On February 16, 2022, during the 1425th meeting of the Committee of Ministers on Azerbaijan, the new Action Plan for Azerbaijan for the years 2022-2025 was adopted. On April 5, 2022, in Baku, an official launching ceremony of the Action Plan took place with the participation of Secretary-General Marija Pejčinović Burić and the Minister of Justice of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Fikrat Mammadov. This collaborative document, taking into account the majority of proposed changes by Azerbaijan, plays a crucial role in deepening the country's relations with the Council of Europe. The document addresses various areas, including supporting reforms in the justice and court system, combating corruption, promoting human rights, and more. In addition to these, it encompasses new areas such as gender equality, children's rights, youth development, social rights, and other issues.

In April 2014, an agreement was reached between the European Union (EU) and the Council of Europe (CoE) on cooperation projects in the areas of human rights, democracy, and the rule of law with the Eastern Partnership countries (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine). Initially, under the Programmatic Cooperation Framework, and later, starting from 2017, within the initiative called Partnership for Good Governance (PGG), several regional and bilateral projects were implemented. The first phase of PGG (PGG I) concluded in 2018. During this phase, a variety of regional and bilateral projects were carried out in areas such as judicial reforms, anti-corruption efforts, cybersecurity, human rights education, local self-governance, freedom of expression and media, penitentiary system reforms, gender equality, and more.

In 2018, within the framework of the second phase of Partnership for Good Governance (PGG II) covering the years 2019-2021, three national and four regional projects were implemented in Azerbaijan. These projects covered various areas, including strengthening the fight against money laundering and enhancing the recovery of assets, improving the efficiency and quality of the judicial system, combating economic crime and enhancing related activities, addressing discrimination, crimes committed on hate grounds, and strengthening access to justice through mechanisms outside the courtroom for victims of hate speech and crimes, and so on.

From April 2023 onwards, within the framework of the Partnership Program for Good Governance III (PGG III) between the Council of Europe and the European Union (EU) for the years 2023-2027, the implementation of projects has commenced in Azerbaijan. The projects include "Promotion of Mediation in Azerbaijan," "Combatting Economic Crimes in Azerbaijan," "Combatting Violence against Women and Domestic Violence in Azerbaijan and Taking Action against It," and "Promotion of Legal Equality in Azerbaijan."

On March 29, 2023, within the framework of the 6th monitoring cycle by the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) of the Council of Europe, relevant report on Azerbaijan has been adopted. The document highlights positive developments in relevant areas in the country since the previous report prepared in 2016. The report notes that ECRI recognizes the challenges faced by Azerbaijan's population, including numerous internally displaced persons, during the prolonged conflict and tensions. The document emphasizes that multiculturalism and tolerance are integral parts of Azerbaijani society.

Additionally, it has been reported that human rights issues in the field of inclusive education were incorporated into the curriculum since 2020, and legislative changes were made with regard to combatting online racist hate speech. Thanks to efforts by official authorities regarding the legal status of migrants, a 10% decrease in the number of individuals with irregular status was observed in 2021. The facilitation of migrants' access to state services, as well as the expedited issuance of work and residence permits for migrants, had been noted in the report.

From October 23 to 27, the Advisory Committee on the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities of the Council of Europe visited our country. The visit was conducted with the aim of preparing an opinion on Azerbaijan, as a continuation of the 5th cycle report submitted by Azerbaijan in 2022.

The delegation of the Milli Majlis of the Republic of Azerbaijan to PACE consists of 12 members, including 6 full and 6 substitute members. The head of our delegation is Mr Samad Seyidov, a member of the Milli Majlis, Chairman of the Committee on International Relations and Inter-Parliamentary Relations. According to the agenda of the session, the delegation puts forward initiatives in accordance with the interests of Azerbaijan and actively participates in discussions on relevant documents. The PACE Monitoring Committee’s co-rapporteurs on Azerbaijan regularly visit Azerbaijan to review the implementation of Azerbaijan’s commitments. During the visits, the co-rapporteurs hold meetings with various government agencies and exchange views on the existing commitments of our country to the Council of Europe.

At the PACE spring session on the 22^nd of April 1997, Resolution 1119 (1997) was adopted, which reflected the principles of the inviolability of borders in connection with the conflicts in the South Caucasus, the provision of security in conflict zones through international peacekeeping forces, broad autonomy status for Abkhazia and Nagorno-Karabakh after negotiations between all parties involved, the right of refugees and internally displaced persons to return to their places of residence.

The delegation of the Republic of Azerbaijan headed by Mr Ilham Aliyev participated in the PACE plenary session on the 24^th-27^th April 2001 for the first time as a full member. As a result of the consistent efforts of Mr Ilham Aliyev, our delegation, starting from the very first session, brought the results of Armenia’s policy of aggression to the attention of Europe. Thus, during the session, the written statement “Recognition of the genocide committed by Armenians against the Azerbaijani population”, signed by 29 representatives from 9 countries and 5 political groups in PACE, and the statement “Detained in Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh. Prisoners of War and Hostages”, signed by 20 delegates from 14 countries, were circulated as official PACE documents. The documents highlight the massacre of the Khojaly population by Armenians, the occupation of 20 percent of Azerbaijan’s territory by Armenia, the detention of 783 Azerbaijani hostages in Armenia, including children, women, and the elderly in the occupied Azerbaijani lands, and other important issues.

In addition, documents such as “On the destruction of cultural monuments in Nagorno-Karabakh, the occupied territories”, “On the education of refugee and IDP children”, “On the situation of IDPs in Azerbaijan” and others were distributed at the PACE.

As a result of the continuous efforts of the Azerbaijani side, on the 25^th of January 2005, the PACE winter session adopted Resolution 1416 (2005) and Recommendation 1690 (2005) entitled “Conflict over the Nagorno-Karabakh region occupied by the OSCE Minsk Conference”. The Assembly recalled that the occupation of a foreign territory by a Member State was a serious breach of that State’s obligations as a member of the Council of Europe and reaffirmed the right of IDPs to return home safely and with dignity. The Assembly also recalled the United Nations Security Council Resolutions 822 (1993), 853 (1993), 874 (1993), and 884 (1993) and calling on the parties to adhere to them by refraining from hostilities and withdrawing forces from any occupied territories, asked the PACE Bureau to establish an ad-hoc committee, including the heads of national delegations of the OSCE Minsk Conference countries.

As a continuation of this process, the report prepared by the late Lord Russell Johnston at the subsequent meeting of the PACE Subcommittee on Nagorno-Karabakh on the 9^th of January 2006 in Strasbourg, reflected on the facts of the occupation of Azerbaijani territories, the separatist regime in Nagorno-Karabakh, the expulsion of one million Azerbaijanis and so on. However, the subcommittee on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, established by Resolution 1416 of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, in fact suspended its activities due to the unconstructive position of the Armenian delegation.

At the meeting of the PACE Bureau held on the 28^th of January 2011, a decision was made to restore the activities of the PACE Ad-Hoc Committee on Nagorno-Karabakh. Despite the efforts of the Armenian delegation to PACE against the continuation of the activities of the Committee, the decision to establish the body was made unanimously by the PACE Bureau (excluding the Armenian delegation).

On the 26^th of January 2016, two reports on the occupied territories of Azerbaijan were discussed at the PACE plenary session:

1. “Increasing violence in Nagorno-Karabakh and other occupied territories of Azerbaijan” prepared by the British Parliamentarian Robert Walter by the PACE Committee on Political Affairs;
2. “Deliberate deprivation of drinking water to residents of the frontline regions of Azerbaijan” prepared by parliamentarian Milica Marković from Bosnia and Herzegovina on behalf of the Committee on Social Affairs.

The first document was not adopted with 66 in favor, 70 against, and 45 abstentions, while the second document was adopted with 98 in favour, 71 against, and 40 abstentions.

The main point of the report entitled “Deliberate Deprivation of Drinking Water to the Residents of the Frontline Regions of Azerbaijan” is that the Assembly unequivocally condemned the occupation of Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding areas of Azerbaijan by the Republic of Armenia. The report also reflected the results of research, stating that the occupation of the Sarsang Reservoir made life impossible for about 400,000 people, destroyed farms, worsened the social situation, and the population suffered from thirst in the summer.

Following the conclusion of the Patriotic War, the PACE prepared a report titled "Humanitarian consequences of the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan," which was adopted on September 27, 2021. The document drew attention to the demands of our compatriots who have suffered losses since the First Karabakh War. The report called for the disclosure of mine maps by Armenia, condemned the damages caused by Armenia and demanded the investigation of war crimes committed by Armenia. In addition, the report did not interfere in political matters and emphasized the need for peace and reconciliation between the two countries.

In the sessions of the PACE during the years 2021-2023, our delegation issued written statements on the topics of "Disclosure of all information by Armenia on the location of minefields is urgently needed to avoid further loss of human life ", “30^th anniversary of Khojaly massacre” and "Protection of the right of expelled Azerbaijanis to return and ensuring justice."