The Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, the first democratic and secular republic in the Muslim world,^[6][7][8] was established in 1918, but was incorporated into the Soviet Union in 1920.^[9][10] Azerbaijan regained independence in 1991. Shortly thereafter, during the Nagorno-Karabakh War, Azerbaijan lost control of the majority-Armenian populated Nagorno-Karabakh, its surrounding territories and the enclaves of Karki,Yukhary Askipara, Barkhudarly and Sofulu. The Nagorno-Karabakh Republic continues to be not diplomatically recognized by any nation and is still considered a de jure part of Azerbaijan, but has been de facto independent since the end of the war.^{[11][12][13][14]}

Azerbaijan, a nation with a majority Turkic^[15][16] and Shia^[17] population, is a secular and a unitary republic with an ancient and historiccultural heritage. Azerbaijan is one of the six independent Turkic states as well as the active members of the Turkic Council and theTÜRKSOY community. Azerbaijan has diplomatic relations with 158 countries and holds membership in 38 international organizations.^[18] It is one of the founding members of GUAM and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, and in December 1991 the country became a founding member of the Commonwealth of Independent States.^[19] On 9 May 2006 Azerbaijan was elected to membership in the newly established Human Rights Council by the United Nations General Assembly. The term of office began on 19 June 2006.^[20] A Special Envoy of the European Commission is present in the country, which is also a member of the United Nations, the OSCE, the Council of Europe, and the NATO Partnership for Peace (PfP) program. Azerbaijan is a correspondent at the International Telecommunication Unionand member of the Non-Aligned Movement and holds observer status in World Trade Organization.^[18][21]