Since regaining its independence in 1991, the Government of the Republic of Azerbaijan has been developing a democratic society based on such fundamental principles as the respect for political and civil rights and liberties; the protection of interests of every citizen irrespective of her/his ethnic, religious or any other affiliation; the division of power; and the rule of law.
Achievements in the field of democratic state-building include political pluralism, more than 600 functioning mass media outlets, abolition of media censorship in 1998, development of civil society with approximately 1400 non-governmental organizations, and the establishment of a modern judiciary system.
Four parliamentary and three presidential elections were held in the country after the adoption of Azerbaijan’s Constitution in 1995.
Azerbaijan is a party to a number of international legal instruments in the promotion and protection of human rights and civil liberties, rule of law and democratization, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights which are the cornerstone documents in the protection and promotion of human rights.
Azerbaijan has also joined more than 40 Conventions of the Council of Europe, which ensure human rights and democracy. Ratification of the European Convention on Human Rights and its relevant protocols allows Azerbaijani citizens to appeal directly to the European Court of Human rights.
As a moderate Muslim country, Azerbaijan has a multi-ethnic society with various religious denominations. Azerbaijanis have always been tolerant of religious diversity. To date 330 religious communities (of which 28 are non-Muslim) have been registered at the State Committee on Religious Associations.
A major step in advancing human rights was the establishment of an independent Office of the Ombudsman (Human Rights Commissioner) in 2002.
In April 2005, Azerbaijan was elected a member of UN Commission for Human Rights.
On May 10, the United Nations elected 44 of the initial 47 members of its new Human Rights Council in a first round of voting. After the second round of voting, Azerbaijan also took a seat in the new Council.
