Azerbaijan Minister of Justice Fikrat Mammadov and the Secretary General of the Council of Europe (CoE) Thorbjorn Jagland launched the Action Plan for Azerbaijan 2014-2016 Tuesday in Baku.

The action plan, which was adopted by the Committee of Ministers on April 16, is aimed at helping Azerbaijan to bring its laws, institutions and policy in line with European standards, Today.AZ reports.

It will support programs that improve human rights, including freedom of expression and the press, the right to assemble and the fight against corruption.

The CoE is the leading human rights organization on the continent, with 47 member states, all of whom have signed up to the European Convention on Human Rights, which was designed to defend human rights, democracy and the rule of law. The European Court of Human Rights oversees the implementation of the Convention in the member states. Twenty-eight CoE member states are members of the European Union, according to Today.AZ.