Talysh was an UNPO member from 2014. 

The Talysh were represented at UNPO by the National Talysh Movement (NTM). Their participation focused on drawing international attention to restrictions on cultural expression, erosion of linguistic rights, and political pressure faced by Talysh activists in Azerbaijan. UNPO reports repeatedly noted that the Talysh lack formal minority status under Azerbaijani law, resulting in no state-supported Talysh-language schooling, no public broadcasting, and minimal institutional frameworks for cultural preservation. Independent assessments by Minority Rights Group International confirm that Talysh-language education in Azerbaijan is limited to a very small number of primary schools and that no secondary or higher education exists in Talysh.

UNPO and other human-rights monitors have documented intimidation, harassment, and arrest of Talysh journalists and intellectuals, especially those involved in cultural activism. The cases of Novruzali Mammadov, editor of the Talysh newspaper Tolishi Sado who died in custody in 2009, and the repeated targeting of other community leaders, are emblematic examples of politically motivated prosecution. UNPO statements also raised concerns about the closure of Talysh cultural organisations, obstacles to registering NGOs, limitations on the publication of Talysh-language materials, and pressure on community-run media outlets.

Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Talysh organisations reported increased assimilation pressures and a general climate in which public expression of Talysh identity is treated as politically sensitive. UNPO highlighted how the absence of guaranteed cultural autonomy, together with limited political representation in national institutions, restricts meaningful participation in decision-making affecting Talysh communities in southern Azerbaijan.

The Talysh are an Indigenous people of the Northwest Iranian linguistic group whose traditional homeland stretches across the southern regions of present-day Azerbaijan and the northern Caspian provinces of Iran. Their language, Talysh, is closely related to Persian and Gilaki, forming part of the wider Caspian linguistic zone; although widely spoken in rural areas, it has become increasingly endangered in Azerbaijan due to the dominance of Azeri in administration, education and public media. Talysh cultural identity is strongly shaped by the mountainous and coastal geography of the region, with enduring traditions of small-scale agriculture, pastoralism, tea cultivation, weaving, woodwork, and rich oral literature. Storytelling, proverbs, folk songs and epic poetry remain central expressions of communal memory, while village-based social structures and extended family networks retain significant importance in daily life. Religiously, most Talysh are Shia Muslims, though many communities preserve syncretic beliefs and pre-Islamic customs embedded in seasonal rituals, marriage practices, and rites of passage. Cultural festivals such as seasonal agrarian celebrations, wedding gatherings accompanied by distinctive Talysh music, and practices of communal hospitality reinforce a strong sense of belonging. 

The Talysh trace their origins to ancient Iranian-speaking communities that inhabited the Caspian littoral for millennia; classical geographers such as Strabo and medieval Persian chroniclers reference peoples inhabiting the mountainous zone historically known as Talish, Lankaran, and the surrounding highlands. Throughout the medieval period, Talysh society consisted of autonomous or semi-autonomous principalities and khanates—most notably the Talysh Khanate centred in Lankaran—which maintained local governance structures, land-based economies, and distinct cultural practices while interacting with Persian, Caucasian and Turkic polities.

The 19th century brought fundamental transformations as the Russo-Persian Wars resulted in the cession of northern Talysh territories to the Russian Empire under the Treaty of Gulistan and later the Treaty of Turkmenchay. The incorporation of the Talysh region into imperial administrative units altered traditional power structures and initiated new land-tenure systems, economic integration, and demographic changes. During the Soviet period, Talysh lands were divided between the Azerbaijan SSR and the Iranian north, with the internal Soviet border limiting traditional cross-Caspian interactions. Soviet nationality policies designated the Talysh as a distinct ethnos in the 1920s, but later assimilationist trends led to the suppression of Talysh-language education and the categorisation of Talysh as “Azerbaijani” in official records for decades.

In 1993, amid post-Soviet instability, local leaders briefly proclaimed the Talysh-Mughan Autonomous Republic, an episode that lasted only several months before being forcefully dismantled by Azerbaijani authorities. The event marked a turning point that shaped subsequent Talysh political engagement: many leaders were later imprisoned or exiled, and the episode became a central reference point for discussions of minority autonomy, political repression and the limits of cultural expression. Since independence, Talysh activists have continued to advocate for linguistic rights, cultural institutions and greater regional self-administration, while facing significant constraints. Their participation in UNPO provided an important venue for raising these historical and ongoing issues within an international human-rights framework.