Armenia, 1995

Allow me to congratulate

you, Sir, on your election to the presidency of this historic

fiftieth session of the General Assembly. Given your talent

and experience, I am confident that you will guide this

session to the successful completion of the noble mission

entrusted to it by the Charter of the United Nations.

I should also like to express my appreciation and

thanks to your predecessor, His Excellency Mr. Amara

Essy, for his outstanding leadership in accomplishing the

tasks of the last session.

I should like to take this opportunity to extend my

warm welcome and congratulations to the Republic of Palau

on its admission to the United Nations during the past year.

Further, I wish to express Armenia’s gratitude to the

Secretary-General, His Excellency Mr. Boutros Boutros-

Ghali, for the vision with which he has guided the

Organization, and for his tireless activity in redefining the

role of the United Nations in this changing world.

After its declaration of independence in 1991,

Armenia began implementing radical economic and

political reforms to create a healthy market economy and

a truly democratic society. In addition to severe economic

and social problems resulting from the extraordinary

changes buffeting the country, the transition process in

Armenia has been exacerbated by the collapse of

traditional economic and trade arrangements, instability in

the region, the transport and energy blockade imposed by

neighbouring Azerbaijan, the devastation caused by the

massive earthquake of 1988, the conflict between

Nagorny Karabakh and Azerbaijan and the presence of

360,000 refugees.

Despite such serious economic and social

circumstances, economic reforms have been continued

and even expanded over the last year. From the point of

view of current economic trends, 1994 was exceptional.

The programme of socio-economic development was

aimed at halting economic decline, reducing inflation and

creating conditions for the revitalization of the economy.

Although the problems specifically related to the

transition remain, the measures taken not only have halted

the recession but also have provided a measure of

economic growth.

Indeed, in 1994 Armenia became the first former

Soviet Republic to record economic growth. A tight credit

policy has forced down the inflation rate from 30 per cent

a month last year to 1 per cent in August. The currency,

the Dram, is now one of the strongest in the region. Since

mid-1994 a macroeconomic stabilization programme has

been under way.

We have maintained a policy of fiscal and monetary

responsibility to encourage the development of the private

sector. We are also undertaking a mass privatization

programme to transfer nearly all State-owned enterprises

to private ownership. We believe that the private sector

will be the engine of growth in Armenia and an important

source of employment opportunity. We welcome the

participation of foreign investors in this process without

restriction, and we have a completely open foreign trade

policy.

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Of course implementation of our economic policy has

been hampered by the situation in the energy sector, which

remains critical. Therefore, the only viable, effective short-

term solution to Armenia’s energy crisis is the restarting of

the Metsamor Nuclear Power plant, which is under way.

Armenia, like other States in transition, is in the

process of emerging from economic crisis and of laying the

foundations for economic and social development. While

States have the primary responsibility to achieve social and

economic development, they cannot do so alone. They need

the substantial support and encouragement of the

international community. Multilateral and bilateral donors

should coordinate their financing and planning procedures

to improve the impact of their activity toward the

achievement of the objectives of social development

programmes of countries with economies in transition.

Given its universal membership and the unique and

comprehensive mandate reflected in its Charter, the United

Nations has a vital role to play in the development process,

particularly in ensuring the implementation of development

commitments in an integrated fashion. Hence, its

relationship with the specialized agencies, funds, regional

organizations and commissions, the Bretton Woods

institutions and the World Trade Organization should be

analysed with a view to enhancing effective action and

coordination between them in the economic, social and

related fields.

The commitment to the transformation of the centrally

planned economy to a market economy is seen by the

Government of Armenia as an integral part of the transition

to a democratic State. In turn, a free-market economy will

flourish in a stable democracy which promotes and

underpins economic development. The success of a

democracy requires informed and civil discourse and

respect for the rule of law and for the democratic process,

including the expression of the public view through free

and fair elections.

Last July, Armenia held its first democratic

parliamentary elections since its declared independence.

Simultaneously, Armenians voted in a constitutional

referendum on the first democratic institution in the history

of Armenia. The Constitution was adopted and the liberal

democratic forces gained an overwhelming majority in the

new parliament, now renamed the National Assembly.

International and local observers reported that the elections

ran smoothly and were held in a free atmosphere. I should

like to take this opportunity to express my Government’s

deep appreciation for the monitoring activities of the United

Nations observers in the parliamentary elections and the

constitutional referendum.

The convincing victory of the liberal democratic

forces has guaranteed the continuation of the political and

socio-economic policies pursued thus far by the

Government, based on a clear programme and an

achievable plan of development. The adoption of the

Constitution is a decisive factor in the maintenance of the

stability of Armenian statehood, as well as the legal

guarantee for the development of a civic society and a

market economy.

Development and human rights are interrelated and

mutually reinforcing. There can be no genuine long-term

development without respect for the full spectrum of the

rights of individuals. Armenia strongly supports the

efforts of the United Nations High Commissioner for

Human Rights, Mr. Ayala Lasso. Member States must

continue working toward better coordination within the

Human Rights Centre and consolidation of human rights

functions within the United Nations system. The United

Nations should give priority to monitoring and prevention.

Armenia considers self-determination in its multitude

of manifestations to be an inalienable human right. The

conflict between the people of Nagorno Karabakh, who

are striving for self-determination, and the Azerbaijani

Government, which refuses to address the rights of the

people of Nagorno Karabakh, continues to concern the

Government of Armenia. The peaceful resolution of the

conflict remains Armenia’s top foreign policy priority.

Despite the maintenance of the cease-fire since

May 1994, the conflict continues to threaten peace,

stability and security in our region. The lack of any

serious breakthrough in negotiations during this respite,

the uncertainties surrounding the political process and the

reluctance of the international community to seize the

opportunity to act firmly and decisively make the 15-

month-long cease-fire highly fragile. Indeed, the longer

the cease-fire exists without any major developments, the

more likely the resumption of military activity in the near

future will become.

Since the last session of the General Assembly,

important developments have taken place in the political

process. Visible progress was made at the Summit

meeting of the Organization for Security and Cooperation

in Europe (OSCE) held in Budapest in December 1994,

when an agreement was reached at the highest levels to

combine the mediation efforts of the OSCE and Russia,

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and create a co-chairmanship to guide the peace process.

The Summit also expressed readiness to establish a

multinational OSCE peace-keeping operation to consolidate

the existing cease-fire, make the peace process irreversible

and open the way for the Minsk Conference.

Today, under Russian and Finn co-chairmanship, and

with the participation of nine Minsk Group member States,

the OSCE is actively pursuing the peace process through

intensive negotiations. While these efforts have certainly

yielded results, a demonstration of political will by the

parties to the conflict and an added commitment by the

international community are needed if a serious

breakthrough is to be achieved.

As part of the step-by-step approach to the resolution

of the conflict, the signing of the political agreement is

critical for the consolidation of the cease-fire and for the

overall settlement of the conflict. This political agreement,

which is currently, during the Minsk Group negotiations,

being discussed by the parties to the conflict, stipulates the

deployment of the OSCE peace-keeping forces, the return

of the occupied territories, the lifting of all blockades and

the return of refugees.

The successful conclusion of this agreement depends

mainly on a provision that provides local, regional and

international security guarantees that will ensure the

physical existence of the people of Nagorno Karabakh, and

eliminate the possibility of the resumption of military

activities. Such guarantees, along with standard security

measures — deployment of OSCE peace-keepers,

demilitarization of all evacuated territory, and so on —

must also address Nagorno Karabakh’s legitimate need, as

an indispensable security element, of a corridor linking the

enclave with the outside world.

The proliferation of weapons of mass destruction

poses a grave threat to both global and regional security

and stability. At the 1995 Review and Extension

Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-

Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, the States parties

undertook an in-depth and earnest review of the

implementation of the Treaty and reached a decision for the

Treaty to continue in force indefinitely. My delegation

would like to take this opportunity to reiterate its

satisfaction with this historic outcome. Armenia attaches

great importance to the early conclusion of a

comprehensive nuclear test-ban treaty — and no later than

1996.

In recent years the United Nations has convened a

series of global conferences. The important process of

international gatherings has continued this year. The

World Summit for Social Development brought together

many strands that had previously been pursued separately.

For the first time in history there was a political

acknowledgment that the eradication of poverty must be

the first priority of any society.

Within each of the United Nations global

conferences, the advancement of women has been a major

concern, and we have witnessed a number of considerable

gains on women’s issues. The Fourth Conference on

Women, which has just concluded in Beijing, both

reaffirms the commitments toward the advancement of

women made in the previous conferences and builds upon

their achievements.

The Platform of Action agreed upon at the Beijing

Conference will lead to the creation of new machinery

that will help countries integrate women’s issues into

national policy-making.

Virtually all Member States of the United Nations

favour an increase in the membership of the Security

Council reflecting the radical changes in the world and

the increase in the Organization’s overall membership.

However, an increase in membership should not diminish

the Council’s efficiency. Meanwhile, the Security Council

must continue working to improve its openness,

transparency and communication with non-members. The

Council should also be able to respond to emerging

threats and disputes before their escalation into armed

conflict.

There is a direct link between peace and security, on

the one hand, and economic and social development, on

the other. Therefore, radical reform of the Economic and

Social Council is imperative. As a first step, strengthening

of the Council’s policy-setting role and coordination

capability in operational activities for development is

required. Together with improved coordination of United

Nations organizations and agencies devoted to economic

and social progress, a strengthened Economic and Social

Council could better assist the Security Council and

advise it of potential emergencies arising out of economic

and social conditions.

The issue of financial resources is fundamental. If

Member States wish to have an effective world

Organization to meet global challenges, they must pay

their assessments, as they are legally committed to do.

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We are not indifferent to the financial situation of the

United Nations, and I would like to assure the Assembly

that my country will do its best to fulfil its obligations.

However, the current assessment formulas no longer fully

reflect global economic and political realities. The High-

level Open-ended Working Group on the Financial Situation

of the United Nations was established by the Assembly in

part in response to the necessity for revision of the

assessment structure. The aim of a comprehensive financial

reform must be to establish a transparent and reliable scale,

reflective of Members’ real capacity to pay, automatically

adaptable to changed national circumstances and giving

consideration to the needs of countries with low per capita

incomes.

Let me conclude by wishing the General Assembly

every success in the demanding work it faces during this

session, and by pledging Armenia’s most active and

efficient cooperation with the delegations of other States as

you, Sir, preside over our deliberations.