Armenia, 2012

I

would like to join previous speakers in congratulating

Mr. Vuk Jeremić on his election as President of the

General Assembly at its sixty-seventh session. I would

also like to extend our thanks to the outgoing President,

Mr. Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser.

This session of the General Assembly is an

invaluable opportunity to bring together Member States

in order to examine the challenges facing humanity and

to join efforts in effectively addressing those challenges

and in achieving internationally agreed goals. We

all know that when decisions are based on common

understanding and agreement, their implementation

and success are more likely.

Armenia continues to be committed to strengthening

the institutional capacities of the Organization. We

support the United Nations reform processes and are

ready to contribute to them. We believe that the reforms

are an opportunity to strengthen the role of the United

Nations in solving the major issues facing our world

and to achieve both the Millennium Development Goals

and the sustainable development goals.

We welcome the fact that the agenda of the sixty-

seventh session, which encompasses the most pressing

issues of our joint responsibility for the maintenance

of international peace and security, proposes that

the session focus on the settlement of disputes by

peaceful means. In that context, we view the goals of

disarmament and arms control as major elements of

global and regional security systems. We must also

shoulder the responsibility to work together to counter

militaristic threats.

A few days ago, on 14 September, within the

framework of the United Nations, the first ever High-

Level Forum on the Culture of Peace took place, calling

for tolerance and seeking to build mutual understanding

and respect. Unfortunately, today, hate and intolerance

continue to spread in some parts of the world, and we

have yet to dig into the root causes of such situations,

to have the courage to openly ask difficult questions as

to the reasons for them, and to face sometimes painful

responses.

Regrettably, we have witnessed intolerance and

hatred in our part of the world, too. Year after year,

Armenia has, from this rostrum, raised concerns

about the militaristic rhetoric, blatant violation of

international commitments and anti-Armenian hysteria

being instilled into Azerbaijani society from the

highest levels of its leadership. Many international

organizations on human rights have been alerted to

f lagrant cases of xenophobia, racism, intolerance and

violations of human rights in Azerbaijan, as well as

about the policy of hatred against Armenians.

What has been the Azerbaijani response? It not

only ignores the expectations of the international

community, but it constantly takes new steps that go

against the values of the civilized world. The latest

such case is the Azeri Government’s release and

glorification of the murderer Mr. Ramil Safarov, who

had slaughtered an Armenian officer in his sleep with

an axe, during a NATO programme in Budapest, simply

because he was Armenian. The Azerbaijani leadership

made him a symbol of national pride and an example

for young people to follow.

The world’s reaction was unanimous and very

clear in condemning what was done by Baku, the

capital of Azerbaijan, in granting him clemency.

Azerbaijan continues to express bewilderment at the

stance of the international community. What did they

expect — that the international community would

applaud the glorification of a heinous murderer? The

Azerbaijani leadership continues to pretend that the

act was in accordance not only with the Azerbaijani

Constitution and legislation, but also with the norms

and principles of international law and the relevant

European conventions. The leadership of the country

claims that what was done was very good. It is very sad

indeed that the constitution and legislation of a country

would permit making a hero of a murderer and paying

such a brutal criminal a salary for the years he spent in

prison.

The Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council

of Europe warned that “to glorify and reward such a

person f lies in the face of all accepted standards for

human rights protection and rule of law”. The President

of the European Parliament and the President of the

Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe

expressed concern about the abuse of the European

legal instrument in question. The United Nations High

Commissioner for Human Rights said on 7 September:

“ethnically motivated hate crimes of this gravity should

be deplored and properly punished — not publicly

glorified by leaders and politicians”.

It is very clear that there are different perceptions

about international legal principles and laws, different

perceptions in Azerbaijan and the rest of the world

about what is good and what is bad. That is deeply

irresponsible and shameful behaviour, not only for a

non-permanent member of the Security Council, but

also a Member State of the United Nations.

It is clear that the international community cannot

tolerate the attempts of the Azerbaijani leadership to adjust international law to their own racist ideology.

With a rich domestic experience in corruption, Baku is

attempting to transfer that vice to inter-State relations,

exploiting it as a tool in order to impose its own false

perceptions on others. The international community

cannot tolerate the attempts of Azerbaijan to replace

the rule of law with the rule of oil.

The scandalous situation regarding Safarov

has seriously undermined the Nagorno Karabakh

negotiation process and endangered the already fragile

regional security and stability. Azerbaijan poses a threat

to the security and stability in the region by constantly

threatening to use force against Nagorno Karabakh

and Armenia, along with the daily unprovoked

warmongering by its leadership. It has not only

rejected the proposals of the three co-Chair countries

of the Organization for Security and Cooperation

in Europe (OSCE) group on the consolidation of the

ceasefire agreement and on the creation of a mechanism

of investigation of incidents along the line of contact

but also systematically commits ceasefire violations,

not only on the contact line between Nagorno Karabakh

and Azerbaijan but also through provocations along the

border with Armenia and ceaseless acts of vandalism

against the Armenian historical and cultural heritage.

While Armenia and the international mediators

have been working hard around the negotiation table,

Azerbaijan has increased its military budget more than

twenty-fold during the past few years, and boasts about

it. While Armenia and the international community

have been calling for the withdrawal of snipers from the

line of contact, Azerbaijani leaders have been rejecting

those calls and have opened sniper schools for young

people. While Armenia has been calling for regional

economic cooperation, which could become a tool for

increasing confidence between the parties, Azerbaijani

authorities have declared that, together with Turkey,

they will continue the blockade until there are no more

Armenians in Armenia.

Armenia and the international community are

speaking in one language regarding the Nagorno

Karabakh issue. The documents on the settlement of

the Nagorno Karabakh conflict adopted within the

framework of the OSCE Astana Summit in 2010; the

OSCE Ministerial Conferences of Helsinki in 2008,

Athens in 2009, Ahnaty in 2010 and Vilnius in 2011;

the statements of Presidents of the Co-Chair countries

within the framework of the Group of Eight Summits in

l’Aquila in 2009, in Muskoka in 2010, and in Deauville

in 2011; and during the Group of 20 Summit in 2012

in Los Cabos serve as proof of that. The position of

Armenia is in line with those documents, and it is in

line with the position of the international community,

namely, to accept the settlement on that basis.

Despite the intensive efforts of the three Co-Chair

countries of the OSCE, it has been impossible to reach a

breakthrough, because the Azerbaijani side has rejected,

one after another, all of the proposals presented by the

mediators. Despite Azerbaijan’s destructive stance,

Armenia will continue to work towards the settlement

of the Karabakh issue exclusively through peaceful

means and on the basis of the purposes, principles and

norms reflected in the Charter and international law.

Like many other speakers, I wish to express our

concerns about the developments and worsening of the

humanitarian situation in Syria, which also directly

affects the large Armenian community in that country.

That community was formed mainly by the survivors

of the Armenian genocide in the Ottoman Empire at

the beginning of the twentieth century. Today, they

are struggling for life, as are many Syrian citizens.

Armenia continues to receive refugees from Syria;

those refugees are full of worries about the escalation

of violence in that country. It is impossible to reach a

durable settlement without the cessation of hostilities

by all parties and without an inclusive political dialogue

that takes into account the interests of all Syrians.

Next year, the United Nations will mark the sixty-

fifth anniversary of the Convention on the Prevention

and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. That

anniversary will become an important landmark

and occasion on which to create a more effective

instrument for combatting the crimes of genocide.

The denial of genocide and impunity pave the way

for the repetition of new crimes against humanity. As

descendants of the nation that survived the horrors

of the first genocide of the twentieth century, we

are convinced that the international community

must stand together — independent of any kind

of considerations — in the recognition and strong

condemnation of genocide, so as to be able to prevent

it from occurring. In the absence of such unanimity,

humankind will witness new attempts at crimes against

humanity. Our strong conviction is that we should

keep the issue high on our common agenda. We should

recommit to a world where the crime of genocide can

never occur again.

Armenia gladly assumes its share of our common

responsibility to support the United Nations as a

platform for dialogue, multilateralism and collective

action in addressing the multiple challenges of today’s

world.