Azerbaijan and Council of Europe - POLITICS - AZERBAIJAN

17-18 March, 1996 - In the session of the European Commission for Democracy through Law of the CoE, Azerbaijan became a member of the commission.
5-6 June, 1996 - The Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan Mr. H.Hasanov visited Strasbourg and participated at the discussions in the meeting of the Committee of Ministers of the CoE concerning historical relations between Europe and Azerbaijan, foreign policy of Azerbaijan and trends of democratic changes in the country. In accordance with the results of the meeting, a Cooperation Program between Azerbaijan and CoE was developed.
28 June, 1996 - The Bureau of the PACE adopted a resolution on granting special guest status to Azerbaijan.
12-14 July, 1996 - Mr. S.Kelas, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Estonia and Chairman of the Committee of Ministers of the CoE, and Mr. D.Tarschys, Secretary General of the CoE, visited Baku and had meetings with the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the Chairman of Milli Majlis and the Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Justice, Internal Affairs. During the meetings they discussed the prospects of participation of Azerbaijan in the CoE.
13 July, 1996 - H.E. H.Aliyev, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, in his letter addressed to the Secretary General of the CoE, expressed desire of Azerbaijan to become a full member of the CoE and be accessed to the European Convention on Human Rights like other member states.
11 September, 1996 - In their 573rd meeting the Ministers' Deputies of the CoE, adopted Resolution 96(32) envisaging intensification of negotiations with the Azerbaijani authorities, provision of assistance within developed cooperation programs with the purpose of facilitation of transition to democracy in Azerbaijan and accession of the country to the CoE.

January 1997 - The delegation led by Mr. M.Alasgarov, Chairman of Milli Majlis, participated in the seminar on Caucasian Problems held in Strasbourg at the invitation of Ms. L.Fisher, Chairman of the PACE.
22 April, 1997 - In the spring session of the PACE there was adopted Resolution 1119 on the conflicts in Southern Caucasus, reflecting the principle of inviolability of borders, ensuring of security in conflict areas by international peace-keeping forces, granting of wide autonomous status for Abkhazia and Nagorno-Karabakh after negotiations between all parties concerned, as well as the right of return of refugees and internally displaced persons to their home.
25 April, 1997 - The Republic of Azerbaijan signed the European Cultural Convention.
10-11 October, 1997 - H.E. H.Aliyev, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, participated at the second Summit of Heads of state and government of CoE Member States in Strasbourg and exchanged views with the high-ranking officials of the CoE on democracy in Azerbaijan, relations of Azerbaijan with European institutions and stated Azerbaijan's attitude on the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh.

20 January, 1998 - The President of the Republic of Azerbaijan issued a decree on "The cooperation of the Republic of Azerbaijan with the Council of Europe and measures for protection of Azerbaijan's interests in Europe".
3 February, 1998 - On the legislative initiative of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Milli Majlis adopted a resolution on the abolition of death penalty. Indeed, the moratorium on the execution of death penalty had been valid since 1993.
August, 1998 - In order to get detailed information on Azerbaijan, the delegation led by the Secretary General of the Council of Europe Mr. D.Tarschys visited Baku and held a number of official meetings.
16 August, 1998 - The censorship on press in Azerbaijan was abolished.
11 September, 1998 - The delegation of the European Commission for Democracy through Law (Venice Commission) of the CoE led by Mr. M.Melshore, President of the Constitutional and Arbitration Courts of Belgium, visited Azerbaijan.
November 1998 - Mr. Kh.Hajiyev, President of the Constitutional Court of Azerbaijan, visited Strasbourg and held meetings with the Secretary General of CoE Mr. D.Tarschys and Deputy Chairman of the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights of the PACE providing information concerning the foundation and functioning of the Constitutional Court of Azerbaijan and declared the readiness of Azerbaijan to become a member of the CoE.

15-18 September, 1999 - Lord Russell-Johnston, Chairman of the PACE, visited Azerbaijan.
21 October, 1999 - The President of the Republic of Azerbaijan issued an order on "Institutional arrangement of representation of the Republic of Azerbaijan at the Council of Europe".

2-3 March, 2000 - Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Mr. A.Azimov visited Strasbourg and addressed the meeting of the Group of Reporters on Democratic Stability in Europe (GR-EDS) of the Committee of Ministers. He held discussions with high-ranking officials of the CoE and permanent representatives of its member states on accession of Azerbaijan as a full member to the CoE.
18 March, 2000 - The President of the Republic of Azerbaijan issued a decree on "Dissemination of information on CoE's work and cooperation of Azerbaijan and the CoE".
23, 25 March, 2000 - The Political Affairs Committee of the PACE sent a list of obligations to Milli Majlis that Azerbaijan would have to assume following accession as a full member to the CoE. The document was signed by the representatives of all political parties represented in Milli Majlis.
27-28 March, 2000 - The Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan Mr. V.Quliyev visiting Strasbourg submitted to the Secretary General of the CoE the above-mentioned list of obligations as well as ratification documents on joining of Azerbaijan to 8 CoE Conventions.
5-6 May, 2000 - The Chairman of Milli Majlis of the Republic of Azerbaijan Mr. M.Alasgarov visiting Strasbourg participated in the Conference of Chairmen of parliaments of European states, as well as in meetings between parliamentary delegations of three South Caucasian countries and delegation of the French Parliament, parliamentarians of South Caucasian countries and the PACE.
15 May, 2000 - In the meeting of the Political Affairs Committee of the PACE held in Dublin was heard a report of Mr. J.Bomel, reporter on Azerbaijan, and was given positive opinion on accession of Azerbaijan to the CoE as a full member.
22 May, 2000 - In the meeting of the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights held in Limassol, were set some conditions for Azerbaijan to become a full member of the CoE.
1 June, 2000 - In accordance with the results of the meeting in Limassol, there was concluded an agreement between the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the International Committee of Red Cross on granting access to the latter to hold meetings with prison inmates in Azerbaijan.
12-13 June, 2000 - In the meeting of the Political Affairs Committee of the PACE in Rome there was given a positive opinion on accession of Azerbaijan as a full member to the CoE.
13-14 June, 2000 - In the meeting of the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights in Paris, decisions taken in Limassol meeting on the accession of Azerbaijan to the CoE were kept in force.
13-14 June, 2000 - The delegation of Italy, which chaired the Committee of Ministers of the CoE, headed by Mr. U.Ragneri, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, visited Azerbaijan. During the meetings of the delegation, which consisted also of the representatives of the Secretariat and the Committee of Ministers of the CoE, with the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the Chairman of Milli Majlis, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the President of the Constitutional Court, were discussed recent steps taken for the accession of Azerbaijan as a full member to the CoE.
26-28 June, 2000 - There was held the regular session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the CoE. At the voting with the participation of 126 parliamentarians, 120 of them voted for, 1 against with 5 remaining neutral, and consequently there was given positive opinion on the accession of Azerbaijan to the CoE.
6 September, 2000 - On behalf of the Member States of the European Union, the Chairmanship (France) made a statement on the request of Azerbaijan and Armenia for accession to the CoE. The statement expressing hope that existing political situation in these countries will develop within certain time span in accordance with the values and principles of the CoE, said that the Member States of the EU, in view of the financial and political aspects of the process of joining of the two, considered it expedient to send the analysis done by the Secretariat on the issue to the GR-EDS for being examined at its meeting that would be held on 11 September, 2000 and to submit the relevant report of the latter to the Committee of Ministers for consideration.
6 September, 2000 - At their 719th meeting, the Deputies:
1) Invited the GR-EDS to examine the request of Azerbaijan and Armenia for membership to the CoE at their meeting on 15 September, 2000 and to present a report on the issue.
2) Agreed to complete at their 724th meeting on 4 October, 2000 the consideration of the issue on the basis of the report of the GR-EDS.
15 September, 2000 - The GR-EDS discussed the accession of Azerbaijan and Armenia to the CoE and decided to continue these discussions at their meeting on 29 September.
10 October, 2000 - Mr. V.Guliyev, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan, visited Strasbourg and addressed the meeting of the Committee of Ministers. Mr. V.Guliyev in his meetings with the Ambassadors of the Member States, Secretary General of the CoE Mr. W.Schwimmer, Chairman of the PACE Lord Russell-Johnston, Director-General for Political Affairs of the Secretariat of the CoE Mr. Furer, Secretary of the Committee of Ministers Mr. T.Davis, discussed a number of issues of mutual interest.
2-4 November, 2000 - Mr. M.Mammad-Guliyev, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Mr. I.Farzaliyev, Deputy Head of International Relations Department of Milli Majlis, participated in the meeting of the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights and in the Conference of Ministers on Human Rights in Rome on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of signing the European Convention on Human Rights.
7-9 November, 2000 - In their 107th meeting the Committee of Ministers adopted Resolution 14(2000) on the invitation of Azerbaijan to become a member of the CoE. The document reflected the following decisions:
1. Invitation of Azerbaijan to become a member of the CoE and to join its Statute;
2. Determination of the Azerbaijani delegation to the PACE as 6 parliamentarians in number;
3. Determination of the amount of various financial payments of Azerbaijan to the CoE in accordance with the Annex of the Resolution.
In the decision "Armenia and Azerbaijan: Invitation to become members of the CoE" that was adopted in that very meeting, were enshrined the following provisions related to Azerbaijan:
1. To regularly observe democratic development of the country, if necessary by the means of working groups established to this end, in accordance with the correspondence between the Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan in October, 2000;
2. To request the Government of Azerbaijan to submit within a month a reply report to critical points in the statement on the initial comments and conclusions made by the International Election Observation Mission and to correct frauds mentioned therein;
3. To establish a monitoring group of Deputies which will report prior to the 737th (17 January 2001) meeting of the Ministers' Deputies to be held before the next session of the PACE;
4. To invite the Venice Commission to assist the Azerbaijani authorities with the purpose of reforming the Constitution, electoral law and law on media in conformity with the CoE standards;
5. To request the Azerbaijani Government to strengthen joint efforts with the Armenian Government for achievement of the peaceful resolution of the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh in accordance with the obligations taken before the Committee of Ministers and the Parliamentary Assembly.
20 November, 2000 - In their 730th meeting the Ministers' Deputies made the following decisions concerning Azerbaijan:
1. To invite the GR-EDS to include the item titled "The observation of democratic development of Armenia and Azerbaijan" into the agenda of all its meetings prior to the next session of the PACE to be held in January, 2001;
2. To establish the Monitoring Group (GT-SUIVI.AGO) comprising the Permanent Representatives of Austria, France, Georgia, Greece, Italy, Latvia, the Netherlands, Romania, the Russian Federation, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and Germany (in the capacity of the chairman of the GR-EDS) under the chairmanship of the Permanent Representative of Italy.

3-4 January, 2001 - The delegation led by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Latvia Mr. I.Berzinsh, Chairman of the Committee of Ministers of the CoE, including the Ambassadors of Latvia, Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden in the said organization visited Baku. The delegation had meetings with the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the Chairman of Milli Majlis, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the President of the Constitutional Court and other officials.
6-9 January, 2001 - The GT-SUIVI.AGO headed by Mr. P.E.Ago, Permanent Representative of Italy at the CoE, and consisted of the ambassadors of the Netherlands, Sweden, Turkey and Greece visited Baku and had meetings with the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the Chairman of Milli Majlis, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the President of the Constitutional Court, the Chairman of the Central Election Commission and other officials.
17 January, 2001 - At their meeting the Ministers' Deputies adopted a decision to admit the Republic of Azerbaijan as a full member to the CoE.
25 January, 2001 - There was held an official ceremony in Strasbourg devoted to the accession of the Republic of Azerbaijan as a full member to the CoE. A broad delegation under the leadership of H.E. H.Aliyev, the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, attended the ceremony.
24-27 April, 2001 - There was held the plenary session of the PACE. For the first time, the Azerbaijani delegation to the PACE participated in the session as a full member. During the session, the written statement titled "The recognition of genocide committed by Armenians to the Azerbaijani population" signed by 29 representatives of 9 countries represented in 5 political groups of the PACE, and proposals for the recommendation titled "The prisoners and hostages of war kept in Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh" signed by 20 representatives of 14 countries were disseminated as the official documents of the PACE. In the mentioned documents were particularly emphasized such issues as the massacre of Khodjaly inhabitants by Armenians, the occupation of 20 percent of Azerbaijan's territory by Armenia, the fact of holding 783 Azerbaijanis, including children, women and elderly as hostages in Armenia and occupied territories of Azerbaijan.
10-11 May, 2001 - There was held the 108th session of the Committee of Ministers of the CoE in Strasbourg. For the first time, Azerbaijan was represented there in the capacity of the Minister of Foreign Affairs by Mr. V.Guliyev.
4-7 July, 2001 - The Council of Europe Committee of Ministers Monitoring Group for Azerbaijan and Armenia ("Ago" group) visited Azerbaijan.
7-8 November, 2001 - 109th session of the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers was held in Strasbourg. The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan Mr. V. Guliyev attended the session.

27-28 March, 2002 - The delegation of the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance made a visit to Azerbaijan.
8-9 April, 2002 - Mr. A. Valionis, Chairman of the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania, paid a visit to Azerbaijan.
2-3 May, 2002 - 110th session of the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers was held in Strasbourg. The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan Mr. V. Guliyev attended the session.
15-16 July, 2002 - Ms. L. Polfer, Chairman of the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers and Deputy Premier and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Luxemburg, paid a visit to Azerbaijan.
14-20 September, 2002 - The Council of Europe Human Rights Commissioner Mr. A. G. Robles visited Azerbaijan.
6-7 November, 2002 - 111th session of the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers was held in Strasbourg. The Republic of Azerbaijan was represented there by the Permanent Representation.
24 November-6 December, 2002 - The delegation of the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) made its first circular visit to Azerbaijan.

22-23 January, 2003 - The 5th Ministerial Conference of Gender Equality was held in Skopje. The Republic of Azerbaijan was represented there by the Chairwoman of the State Committee on Women's Issues Ms. Z. Guliyeva.
23 January, 2003 - The meeting of the Committee of Ministers Enlarged Bureau on the fulfilment of the obligation on settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno Karabakh conflict was held. Azerbaijan was represented there by the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Mr. A. Azimov.
27 January, 2003 - The meeting of the Bureau of the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly was held. The head of the Azerbaijani delegation to PACE Mr. Ilham Aliyev was elected as a member of the Bureau who, in accordance with the rules of procedure of PACE, holds the post of PACE's vice-president at the same time.
16-19 February, 2003 - The President of the European Court of Human Rights Mr. L. Wildhaber made a visit to Azerbaijan.
17-18 February, 2003 - The Azerbaijani delegation led by Mr. P. Byulbyulogly, Minister of Culture, took part at the conference of the European Ministers of Culture on "New roles and tasks of ministers of culture in having intercultural dialogue" held in Strasbourg.
2 April, 2003 - The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe elected the judge of the European Court of Human Rights from the list of candidates nominated by Azerbaijan for the first time ever. Thus, Mr. Kh.Hajiyev was elected to the post by 83 votes.
14-15 April, 2003 - The Minister of Education of Azerbaijan Mr. M. Mardanov made a visit to the Council of Europe at the invitation of Mr. W. Schwimmer, Secretary General of the Council of Europe.
14-15 May, 2003 - 112th session of the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers was held in Strasbourg. The Republic of Azerbaijan was represented there by the Permanent Representation.
9-12 July 2003 - The Council of Europe Committee of Ministers Monitoring Group for Azerbaijan and Armenia ("Ago" group) visited Azerbaijan.
20-22 October, 2003 - The Azerbaijani delegation led by Mr. P. Byulbyulogly, Minister of Culture, took part at the conference of the European Ministers of Culture in Opatija, Croatia.
5-6 November, 2003 - 113th session of the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers was held in Chisinau. The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan Mr. V. Guliyev attended the session.
6-7 November, 2003 - The Minister of Education of Azerbaijan Mr. M. Mardanov took part at the 21st session of the Standing Committee of European Ministers of Education held in Athens.
24-26 November, 2003 - The Minister of Justice of Azerbaijan Mr. F. Mammadov attended the autumn session of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of Europe at the invitation of presidency of the Congress. In the framework of the visit Mr. Mammadov had meetings with Mr. E. Logia, Italian Minister for Regional Affairs, Mr. W. Schwimmer, Secretary General of the Council of Europe and other high ranking officials of the Council.

12-14 January, 2004 - The delegation of the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) made a two-day ad hoc visit to Azerbaijan.
1-4 February, 2004 - The Council of Europe Committee of Ministers Monitoring Group for Azerbaijan and Armenia ("Ago" group) visited Azerbaijan.
24 March, 2004 - The Director General for Legal Affairs of the Council of Europe Mr. G. De Vel visited Azerbaijan.
7-9 April, 2004 - The Secretary General of the Council of Europe Mr. W. Schwimmer paid a visit to Azerbaijan.
28-29 April, 2004 - The President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Mr. I. Aliyev visited Strasbourg, addressed the session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and had meetings with a number of high ranking officials of the Council. The President of PACE presented the diploma and the medal of the honorary member of PACE to the Azerbaijani President.
12-13 May, 2004 - 114th session of the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers was held in Strasbourg. The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan Mr. E. Mammadyarov attended the session.
17-18 May, 2004 - The Minster of Education of Azerbaijan Mr. M. Mardanov took part at the Conference of Ministers of Education of the South Caucasus countries held in Strasbourg under the auspices of the Council of Europe.
17-20 May, 2004 - The Chairman of the Parliament of Azerbaijan Mr. M. Alasgarov attended the Conference of the Chairpersons of European Parliaments on "Civil Europe - involvement of parliaments and citizens" held in Strasbourg.
29 June-2 July, 2004 - The Secretary General of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe Mr. B. Haller visited Azerbaijan.
20 July, 2004 - The meeting of the Steering Committee of the CoE-EC Joint Programme was held in Tbilisi. The Azerbaijani delegation at the meeting was led by the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Mr. M. Mammad-Guliyev.
27 September-1 October, 2004 - The Ombudsperson of Azerbaijan Mrs. E. Suleymanova visited Strasbourg to hold meetings at the Council of Europe.
30 September-1 October, 2004 - The Minister of Justice of Azerbaijan Mr. F. Mammadov paid a visit to the Council of Europe at the invitation of presidency of the Council's leadership.
6-13 October, 2004 - Mr. J. Petersen, Chairman of the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Norway, paid a visit to Azerbaijan in the framework of his tour to the South Caucasus countries.
18-21 November, 2004 - The Council of Europe Committee of Ministers Monitoring Group for Azerbaijan and Armenia ("Ago" group) visited Azerbaijan.
8-9 December, 2004 - The Azerbaijani delegation led by the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Mr. M. Mammad-Guliyev participated at the stakeholders' meeting for discussion and adoption of the evaluation report of the CoE-EC Joint Programme on Promotion and strengthening democratic stability and prevention of conflicts in the South Caucasus region.
9-10 December, 2004 - A conference dedicated to the 50th anniversary of the European Cultural Convention was held in Vrotslav. Azerbaijan was represented there by the Deputy Minister of Culture Mrs. S. Mammadaliyeva.

25 January, 2005 - The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe at its January part-session adopted Resolution 1416(2005) and Recommendation 1690(2005) on the conflict over the Nagorno-Karabakh region dealt with by the OSCE Minsk Conference.
3-4 February, 2005 - At the invitation of the Council of Europe's leadership the Minister of Communications and Information Technologies Mr. A. Abbasov visited Strasbourg to take part at the first meeting of the Multilateral Experts Committee on Information Society. In the framework of the visit he had several meetings with the Council's officials.
16-17 May, 2005 - The third Summit of Heads of state and government of the Council of Europe Member states was held in Warsaw. Azerbaijan was represented there by the delegation led by the President of Azerbaijan Mr. I. Aliyev.
16-20 May, 2005 - The delegation of the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) made an ad hoc visit to Azerbaijan.
13-18 June, 2005 - The delegation of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of Europe led by the Vice-President Mr. H. Skard visited Azerbaijan.
15-16 June, 2005 - The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan Mr. E. Mammadyarov made a visit to Strasbourg during which he had meetings with Mr. T. Davis, Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Mr. B. Haller, Secretary General of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, and other officials.
30 June-1 July, 2005 - The Council of Europe Committee of Ministers Monitoring Group for Azerbaijan and Armenia ("Ago" group) visited Azerbaijan.
22-23 August, 2005 - The President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe Mr. R. Linden visited Azerbaijan.
4-6 September, 2005 - The Secretary General of the Council of Europe Mr. T. Davis visited Azerbaijan.
15-16 September, 2005 - The 5th Colloquium of Ministers of Culture in the framework of the STAGE Programme of the Council of Europe was held in Kyiv. Azerbaijan was represented there by the Minister of Culture Mr. P. Byulbyulogly.
27-28 October, 2005 - The Deputy Minister of Culture of Azerbaijan Mrs. S. Mammadaliyeva attended the Conference of the European Ministers of Culture held in Faro (Portugal).
17 November, 2005 - 115th session of the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers was held in Strasbourg. The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan Mr. E. Mammadyarov attended the session.

12-14 February, 2006 - The delegation of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of Europe led by the President Mr. G. Di Stazi visited Azerbaijan.
4-6 May, 2006 - The Council of Europe Human Rights Commissioner Mr. T. Hammerberg visited Azerbaijan.
18-19 May, 2006 - 116th session of the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers was held in Strasbourg. The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan Mr. E. Mammadyarov attended the session.
13-14 June, 2006 - The Council of Europe Committee of Ministers Monitoring Group for Azerbaijan and Armenia ("Ago" group) visited Azerbaijan.
25-29 June, 2006 - The delegation of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of Europe led by the President Mr. H. Skard visited Azerbaijan.
6-7 September, 2006 - The delegation of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of Europe led by the Vice-President Mr. I. Micallef visited Azerbaijan.
20-30 November, 2006 - The delegation of the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) made the second circular visit to Azerbaijan.