Armenia, 1993

Allow me to congratulate

His Excellency Mr. Insanally on his election to the

presidency of the forty-eighth session of the United Nations

General Assembly. Given his talent and experience, I am

confident that he will guide this session to the successful

completion of the noble mission entrusted to it by the

Charter of the United Nations. I would also like to express

my appreciation and thanks to his predecessor, Mr. Ganev,

for the contribution he made to accomplishing the tasks of

the last session.

I wish to take this opportunity to extend my warm

welcome and congratulations to the six States that have been

admitted to membership of the United Nations over the past

year.

I stand before the Assembly as the Foreign Minister of

a small, land-locked, newly independent country of 3.5

million under complete blockade, with no energy resources,

still not recovered from the devastating earthquake of 1988,

flooded by hundred of thousands of refugees fleeing the

conflict between Nagorny-Karabakh and Azerbaijan, and

under constant provocation by Azerbaijan to be drawn into

that conflict.

I am also the Foreign Minister of the only democracy

in the region, an island of stability in a sea of political chaos

and turmoil, a country with close to 30 registered political

parties, a free press and freedom of conscience and religion,

and with laws guaranteeing civil and political rights and

freedoms. The Government of Armenia has also made

headway towards establishing a market economy and has

taken several significant steps to integrate its economy into

the global economy. Armenia has moved swiftly in many

areas of reform. Most agricultural land and homes and

many small enterprises have already been privatized, and a

tax programme, a pricing policy and legislative reform to

create the legal framework for a free-market economy are

effectively under way. Nevertheless, substantial work will

need to be done if these advances are to contribute

effectively to a successful transition.

It is encouraging to see that the United Nations has

recognized that full integration of the economies in transition

into the world economy will not only help those economies

but also have a positive impact on world trade, economic

growth and development, and is prepared to support the

process of bringing about economic reform and restructuring

through its special bodies and specialized agencies.

I wish to take this opportunity to convey my

Government’s deep gratitude to the Secretary-General for

establishing the United Nations - United Nations

Development Programme (UNDP) interim office in Armenia.

As a result of adverse natural and geopolitical circumstances,

Armenia is currently in a state of economic and social crisis.

We see the importance of short-term assistance in these

times of great need, but at the same time are fully aware that

it is the pursuit of long-term goals that will bring Armenia

to function at full capacity as a member of the international

community. We are convinced that the presence of United

Forty-eighth session - 11 October l993 7

Nations specialized agencies in Armenia such as the United

Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the Office of the United

Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the

World Food Programme (WFP), the United Nations

Environment Programme (UNEP), and the United Nations

Fund for Population Activities (UNFPA), providing technical

and advisory assistance and coordination would enhance the

durability of the transition that is well under way.

As we and other nations grapple with problems unique

to each, the collapse of regimes and empires continues to

fuel violent conflicts throughout the world. But there is an

apparent change in the pattern of international conflicts.

Very few wars are fought between nation States any more.

The rest are struggles for self-determination turned into

bloody conflict and civil war in one and the same nation

State. These movements need a forum in which to lodge

their claims, identify and understand their rights, negotiate

with government authorities, establish just administration of

their affairs, and peacefully work out realistic political and

territorial arrangements for the future.

Now more than ever, it is incumbent upon the United

Nations to revisit its provision of non-intervention in matters

which are essentially within the domestic jurisdiction of

Member States, and to define more stringently the extent of

the impact of a conflict on the peace and security of other

nations. Having in clear view the essential role the United

Nations can play in enhancing peacemaking efforts

throughout the world, we concur with recent proposals in

academic circles that the United Nations transform the

near-moribund Trusteeship Council into a modern clearing-

house for self-determination.

Under the proposed system, a "trust territory" would be

that part of a Member State voluntarily placed into

trusteeship by the Government of that State for the purpose

of resolving a self-determination claim under United Nations

supervision without prejudicing the final status of the

territory. We believe that the trusteeship system could save

lives and prevent the escalation of a self-determination

struggle to a devastating civil war, or worse, to a regional

conflict involving other countries.

The conflict over Nagorny-Karabakh has claimed the

lives of more than 10,000 people and has caused close to a

million innocent people to be uprooted from their homes

during the past five years. This conflict continues to

threaten the security and stability of the whole region. The

international community has yet to come to grips with the

root cause of the conflict and devise appropriate measures to

find a peaceful solution.

Armenia’s position on the Nagorny-Karabakh conflict

has been clear and consistent since day one. The conflict is

between the people of Nagorny-Karabakh, who are striving

for their self-determination, and the Azerbaijani Government,

which is refusing to address the rights and security concerns

of the people of Nagorny-Karabakh.

As an interested party, Armenia has advocated an

unconditional cease-fire and has fully supported all the

Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE)

initiatives. The Government of Armenia sees no alternative

to the peaceful settlement of the Karabakh conflict, than that

which can be reached within the framework of the CSCE

Minsk Conference.

The recent developments of the peace process are

promising. Nagorny-Karabakh has at long last been

recognized as a party to the conflict and direct talks between

the leadership of Nagorny-Karabakh and Azerbaijani

authorities, mediated by the Russian Federation, have

brought about a cease-fire, which has continued to hold for

more than a month now and is unprecedented in the

five-year history of this bloody conflict. On 28 September

during its meeting in Paris, the Minsk Group produced the

"Adjusted timetable of urgent steps to implement Security

Council resolutions 822 (1993) and 853 (1993)", to which

Armenia has given its agreement, and is hopeful that a

similar position will be adopted by the main parties to the

conflict, Azerbaijan and Nagorny-Karabakh.

There is now a genuine opportunity for peace.

Therefore, the convening of the Minsk Conference must not

be delayed. Once peace is established, legal questions, first

and foremost among which is the issue of the status of

Nagorny-Karabakh, can be negotiated. The clear position of

the Government of Armenia is to accept and be gratified by

any solution agreed upon between Nagorny-Karabakh and

Azerbaijan at the Minsk Conference.

The CSCE has an explicit security role in the new

world order, consistent with the provisions of Chapter VIII

of the United Nations Charter. Last May, the

Secretary-General of the United Nations and the Chairman

of the CSCE Council agreed on a framework for cooperation

and coordination between the United Nations Secretariat and

the CSCE, namely through the regular exchange of

information in the fields of early warning, conflict

prevention and the promotion of democratic values and

human rights. The CSCE is also striving to obtain United

Nations observer status, an initiative which Armenia fully

supports.

8 General Assembly - Forty-eighth session

The successful cooperation between the United Nations

and the CSCE over the Nagorny-Karabakh conflict can serve

as a case study in how to reconcile, practically, the

conflicting claims of regionalism and universalism. Such

cooperation will enhance the role of regional organizations

in conflict prevention, peace-keeping and the peaceful

settlement of disputes.

Armenia appreciates the Secretary-General’s report "An

Agenda for Peace" which embodies the notions of

peace-keeping, peacemaking and post-conflict peace--

building. History has taught us, however, that development

is intrinsic to peace, and that the two can no longer be

thought of as separate processes. Starvation, poverty and

poor living conditions in many parts of the world loom as

serious threats to stability and peace. The United Nations in

its commitment to secure peace for all the Earth’s

inhabitants must place development high among its priorities.

Indeed, it must establish economic and social development

as guiding principles for the Organization’s activities.

Armenia fully supports the Secretary-General’s initiative for

an agenda for development and looks forward to contributing

to this important milestone towards world peace. Armenia

also gives its full support to the convocation of the 1995

World Summit for Social Development in Copenhagen.

Today, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction

poses another grave threat to both global and regional

security and stability. Armenia supports the indefinite

extension of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT)

beyond 1995. The United Nations should work to ensure

universality and strict compliance with the Convention on

the prohibition of chemical weapons.

Development and human rights are also mutually

inclusive values. There can be no genuine development

unless systems of thought and government are based on

respect for the full spectrum of the rights of individuals. It

is auspicious that this year coincides with the forty-fifth

anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

The spirit of the Declaration and the Vienna World

Conference on Human Rights held last June will

undoubtedly deepen the understanding of the significance of

human rights for stability, freedom, peace, progress and

justice.

It is my Government’s strong conviction that the

adoption and implementation of all human rights principles

by nation States will create solid ground for unity and

harmony throughout a world which is being transformed and

is searching for new constants.

For more effective implementation of the principles of

human rights we feel it is imperative to establish the post of

high commissioner for human rights and a permanent

international criminal court where cases of gross violations

of human rights and other crimes against humanity are

submitted and prosecuted.

In 1995, the United Nations will celebrate its fiftieth

anniversary. In the past 50 years, the Organization has

grown and has witnessed historic events, in many of which

it has played a considerable role. As the Organization has

entered a period in which it is being called upon to take an

increasingly active guiding role in a changing world, it too

must be prepared to respond effectively to these changes.

Armenia supports the call for restructuring the Security

Council that has been placed before the United Nations by

its Member States. Because the international community is

looking to the Security Council to take a more dynamic role

in the maintenance of international peace, it is necessary that

the Security Council increase its membership in order that it

may be able to address the issues before it in a more

balanced and equitable way.

Improving the United Nations administrative

performance must also become a top priority at this time.

We welcome the current initiatives of the Secretary-General

to streamline the Organization’s administrative and

management structures and procedures to meet the demands

that are now being placed upon the Organization.

As the world seems to have grown accustomed to the

dreadful routine of tragic news coming from various regional

hotbeds, it is inspiring to reflect on some of the more

positive reverberations of the end of the cold war, which can

be epitomized by the historic accord between the Palestine

Liberation Organization (PLO) and Israel signed recently.

It is my privilege to salute the leaders of Israel and the PLO

for taking this courageous step.

No less significant are the processes currently in motion

in South Africa. Armenia joins the other Member States in

supporting the negotiating process there, and believes that

lifting economic sanctions at this time could encourage the

people of South Africa to take up the task of building a truly

free and democratic country.

In the United Nations, the end of the cold war

continues to translate into ever closer cooperation between

its Members. In 1992, as in 1991, despite the large volume

and the diversified nature of the issues examined in the

Security Council, none of the members of the Council

exercised its right to veto. There is a growing harmony of

Forty-eighth session - 11 October l993 9

interests among nations that is creating an atmosphere of

trust and cooperation, which are the prerequisites for the

realization of the goals envisioned by the founders of the

United Nations 48 years ago in San Francisco.

Indeed, for the first time since its inception, the United

Nations has been given the opportunity to become what it

was intended to be: a collective security system, with a

Charter providing for special forms of cooperation between

sovereign States, designed to ensure peace and prosperity

throughout the world.