Azerbaijan, 1993

Allow me first to congratulate Mr. Samuel

Insanally on his election to his responsible post, and to wish

him every success in his work.

Allow me also to express gratitude to the President of

our last session, Mr. Stoyan Ganev, for his able guidance of

our work, and to Mr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali, the Secretary-

General, for his dynamic, tireless work to restructure the

Organization and enhance its effectiveness, given the

qualitative changes occurring in the system of international

relations.

I should like to take this opportunity to congratulate the

new members of the United Nations: the Czech Republic,

the Slovak Republic, The Former Yugoslav Republic of

Macedonia, Eritrea, Monaco and Andorra.

The forty-eighth session of the General Assembly is

taking place at a momentous time. The twentieth century,

which has experienced two of the most destructive wars in

the history of mankind, as well as the cold war and the arms

race, which have depleted natural and financial resources,

the intellectual and moral potential of civilization, is

nevertheless ending on an optimistic note. Totalitarian

regimes have fallen, scores of countries have gained

independence and universal values of democracy and the

market economy are now finding new advocates throughout

the world.

We are proud that our small country, which straddles

Europe and Asia, a country with an ancient culture and a

proud history, has not been left behind in the truly universal

historical process of the triumph of democracy and national

and economic revival. Azerbaijan regained its independence

less than two years ago. The path travelled by our country

over these 22 months has not been without difficulties and

has been marked by contradictions and tragic events.

Nevertheless, we are convinced that the young State of

Azerbaijan is following the only true path leading to genuine

independence.

This has been borne out by the results of the recent

presidential elections held at the beginning of October, when

the overwhelming majority of the people of Azerbaijan voted

for Mr. Heydar Aliyev, an experienced politician and

recognized leader of our country, who is firmly committed

to the idea of building a democratic, secular society with a

market economy.

Unfortunately, the natural historical process of the fall

of empires and the acquisition of independence and

statehood by their peoples is often accompanied by excesses

of extreme nationalism. Many attempt to exploit the

democratization of the social and political life of young

independent States to undermine their internal stability.

22 General Assembly - Forty-eighth session

Nationalist separatist movements are often used as a way to

achieve these ends.

Unfortunately, Azerbaijan has fallen victim to such acts

of provocation. For six years now the Republic of Armenia

has been waging an undeclared war against Azerbaijan to

fulfil its territorial claims. The sad facts of Armenia’s

aggression are as follows: 20 per cent of the territory of

Azerbaijan is now occupied by Armenian troops, and

1 million of our country’s civilians have no homes or means

of survival. The economic infrastructure of the Azerbaijani

Republic’s occupied region has been destroyed. Unique

historical and cultural sites of Azerbaijan have been

destroyed. And all this is occurring under the cover of an

ongoing propaganda campaign and alleged non-involvement

by the Republic of Armenia in the aggression.

Azerbaijan has often proclaimed, and continues to

proclaim, its commitment to the principle of the peaceful

settlement of disputes. We welcome and commend the

efforts of the international community, the United Nations

and the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe

(CSCE) as well as the efforts made by individual States -

Russia, the United States, Turkey, Iran and Kazakhstan - in

recent years to achieve a peaceful settlement of the

Armenia/Azerbaijan conflict.

Azerbaijan welcomed the Security Council’s adoption

of resolutions 822 (1993) and 853 (1993) calling for the

immediate, complete and unconditional withdrawal of the

occupying forces from Azerbaijan territory that had been

seized. Azerbaijan also welcomed the initial timetable -

worked out within the framework of the Minsk Group of the

CSCE - of urgent steps to implement Security Council

resolutions 822 (1993) and 853 (1993), several revised drafts

of which, however, were aborted because of the Armenian

side.

Azerbaijan stresses its commitment to the initial

approach of the CSCE - that is, that the Minsk Conference

should be preceded by the complete liberation of

Azerbaijan’s occupied territories. This was stressed in

particular by the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan,

G. A. Aliyev, yesterday during the reception for CSCE

representatives who are now visiting the region.

We are confident that, despite certain difficulties -

sometimes substantive - in the approach to the terms of the

peaceful settlement of the conflict, the political realism and

the sense of responsibility for the fate of our people shown

by the Azerbaijan side will be appreciated by our negotiating

partners.

Azerbaijan, which is richly endowed with a variety of

natural resources and which has a fairly well-developed

industrial potential, has all the conditions necessary to

overcome our objective difficulties in this transitional period

towards a market economy.However, since one out of every

six inhabitants of our country has been forced to leave his

home and now has no means of survival, as a result of the

hostilities and occupation of one fifth of our territory, the

humanitarian assistance provided by various international

organizations that have enormous experience in this area is

assuming great importance for our country.

In this difficult period for my country, Azerbaijan - and

primarily the people of Azerbaijan, who have suffered most -

has been given all round support and assistance by the

Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for

Refugees, the International Committee of the Red Cross, the

United Nations Children’s Fund, the World Health

Organization and the International Federation of Red Cross

and Red Crescent Societies. On behalf of my people and

Government, I take this opportunity to express profound

gratitude to all international organizations, humanitarian

institutions and specialized agencies and the peoples and

Governments of many States that have responded to the

suffering of the Azerbaijan people who have fallen victim to

aggression.

The Government of the Republic of Azerbaijan also

expresses profound gratitude to the Secretary-General,

Mr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali, for having established a United

Nations - United Nations Development Programme Interim

Office in Azerbaijan. We are deeply convinced that the

activities of this Office will help to strengthen and expand

the comprehensive relations between our Republic and the

United Nations system. We are convinced, also, that this

cooperation will be mutually advantageous in view of the

initial results of interaction between the Republic of

Azerbaijan and the system of specialized agencies of the

United Nations, the majority of which our country joined in

1992 and 1993.

We attach overriding importance to international

cooperation in the field of the environment and sustainable

development and also to the comprehensive expansion of

world trade and the elimination of all barriers that restrict

that process.

Azerbaijan welcomed the decision to convene a World

Summit for Social Development and is prepared to take an

active part in preparing for that Summit, the successful

convening of which we believe will lay the basis for an

Forty-eighth session - 12 October l993 23

effective global development strategy for the twenty-first

century.

Our country is taking an active part in the preparations

for the United Nations Conference on Human Settlements

(Habitat II), which will take place in 1996 in Istanbul.

Thus despite the objective and subjective difficulties

encountered by my country, Azerbaijan, during the past year

has been taking decisive action to integrate itself fully into

the world community. We are convinced that integration

into the world’s political, economic and humanitarian

process is possible only by increasing cooperation between

States at the bilateral and multilateral levels.

Our country shares the general conviction regarding the

need to reduce the threat of the use of weapons of mass

destruction and subsequently to destroy them, has acceded to

the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and

is taking an active part in the preparatory work for the

Review Conference that will take place in 1995. Azerbaijan

supports the indefinite extension of that Treaty and believes

that it should be made universal. We are convinced that the

non-proliferation Treaty is an instrument that strengthens all

international efforts and regional initiatives that seek to

prevent any proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and

to eliminate obstacles that threaten international and regional

peace and security.

In this connection we welcome the positive steps taken

recently in the area of disarmament, including the adoption

of the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development,

Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and

on Their Destruction, which was signed by Azerbaijan and

the majority of countries of the world.

One outstanding example of our progress towards

building a democratic, lawful State was Azerbaijan’s

accession to the basic instruments of international law in the

area of human rights, such as the International Covenant on

Civil and Political Rights, the International Covenant on

Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the Convention on the

Rights of the Child, the Convention relating to the Status of

Refugees (1951) and the 1967 Protocol relating to the Status

of Refugees, and some others. Our country is very

interested in the various initiatives being taken in the area of

protecting human rights. The idea of establishing, within the

United Nations system, a new post of high commissioner for

human rights, reflects an intention to enhance international

cooperation in this area. We are prepared actively to

participate in the discussions on this question.

Another pressing issue, one that requires urgent and

constant attention, is that of refugees and displaced persons.

It is time for the international community to draw up proper

rules and standards to govern massive, forced migrations

which could help overcome their main causes and

consequences.

Desirous of making a worthy contribution to the various

areas of the activities of the United Nations, Azerbaijan

submitted its candidacy for, and was elected to, the

Commission on Human Settlements and the

Intergovernmental Committee on Science and Technology

for Development. We are convinced that the great scientific

potential and practical experience of our specialists will help

these commissions to do effective work.

In 1995 the United Nations will celebrate its fiftieth

anniversary. In the almost five decades that have elapsed

since the United Nations was created, its historic meaning

and universality have become strikingly clear. Today it is

time for serious, meaningful changes, changes commensurate

with the needs of our rapidly changing world. We believe

that, given the new context of international relations, the

restructuring of the United Nations, and particularly of the

Security Council, must meet the great expectations of

Member States. Expansion of the membership of the

Security Council, the need for which is the subject of serious

discussion, should help the Council continue effectively to

discharge its primary task, that of the maintenance of

international peace and security.Of course the role and

responsibility of the Secretary-General will shift towards

enhanced peacemaking and diplomatic activity.

In conclusion, we look to the future with optimism, to

a future where peace and cooperation will prosper. We call

upon States Members of the United Nations to make every

effort to promote the establishment of a safe, secure,

common home. We are sure that constructive discussions

and debates at this session will make an important

contribution to the building of a better world in the coming

century.