Azerbaijan, 1996

I wish to make a statement on behalf of the

Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

At the outset, allow me to congratulate Mr. Razali

Ismail on his election to the high post of President of the

General Assembly at its fifty-first session, which attests

to the recognition of Malaysia’s authority in the

international arena. I am confident that, under his able

guidance, the General Assembly will write another

exemplary chapter in the annals of United Nations history.

I also take this opportunity to extend our deep

gratitude to the President of the last, historic fiftieth

session of the General Assembly, Mr. Diogo Freitas do

Amaral, for the excellent manner in which he led the

work of the Assembly.

The Azerbaijani Republic attaches special

importance to the creation of a new world order, based

primarily on the strict observance by all States of the

fundamental principles of international law and on the

comprehensive system of international security. World

security must take into consideration the interests of all

sovereign States, irrespective of their size or population.

No single State should ensure its own security at the

expense of another.

In a transformed world in the late twentieth century,

the euphoria of post-bloc relations has begun to yield to

the sober realization that mankind is faced today with

acute problems of an increasingly global nature. The

proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, aggressive

separatism, international terrorism, drug trafficking and

environmental pollution are common problems that must

be resolved through joint efforts. In these conditions, the

consolidated action of Member States will permit a

quicker identification of the real mechanisms needed to

address these serious problems.

Azerbaijan welcomes the adoption of the

Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, recently opened

for signature. The objective achieved had been sought for

many decades. It is a major contribution to the non-

proliferation of nuclear weapons, in particular, and

disarmament in general.

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Taking into account the historical experience of the

world community and striving to attain the highest human

values, the Government of Azerbaijan, in the person of

President Heydar Aliyev, having unified the nation, is

heading with determination along the path of democratic

reform, since only a climate of peace and national accord

based on respect for civic rights and human liberties can

ensure the overall development of the individual and society

and create conditions conducive to normal interaction with

the world at large and the country’s achievement of

democratic political, economic and humanitarian standards.

However, every aspect of life in my country has been

seriously affected by the aggression of the Republic of

Armenia. The occupation of about 20 per cent of the

territory of Azerbaijan and the seizure and plunder of towns

and villages, including tens of thousands of objects taken

from households, industry, agriculture, the infrastructure

and the social sector, continue to inflict enormous damage

on the Azerbaijani State. “Ethnic cleansing” has been

carried out in the occupied territories. The country faces an

extremely serious humanitarian situation. The number of

refugees and displaced persons has passed the one million

mark, a figure that is catastrophic for a country with a total

population of 7.5 million.

Still, we continue to consider peaceful negotiations

within the framework of the Organization for Security and

Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Minsk process to be the

only way to settle the conflict. It was for that reason that

Azerbaijan, despite the continuing occupation of its lands

and the presence of enormous numbers of refugees and

displaced persons, consented to the ceasefire which has

lasted for more than two years.

The Republic of Armenia, endeavouring to consolidate

the gains from its past aggression, refuses to recognize

Azerbaijan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and thereby

entirely discredits one of the fundamental principles of

international law as a basis for settlement. That refusal has

become a major obstacle to the achievement of peace.

I would like to reconfirm our clear compromise

position on the settlement, which envisages the assurance

of unconditional and immediate implementation of the

relevant Security Council resolutions and OSCE decisions

regarding the conflict. The package of our proposals to

speed up progress in the Minsk process towards the

achievement of a comprehensive settlement consists of

these elements: the withdrawal of Armenian forces from all

occupied territories of Azerbaijan, including the Shusha and

Lachin districts; the return of the Azerbaijani population to

their previous places of residence, including the Nagorny-

Karabakh region of Azerbaijan; ensuring equal security,

monitored by the OSCE forces, for the Armenian and

Azerbaijani populations who have suffered as a result of

the armed conflict; and guarantees that autonomy will be

granted to the entire population of the region constituting

Azerbaijan.

At their meeting on 22 April 1996 in Luxembourg,

held within the framework of the conclusion of bilateral

agreements on partnership and cooperation between

Azerbaijan, Georgia and Armenia and the European

Union, the Presidents of Azerbaijan and Armenia adopted

a joint communiqué expressing their agreement that the

resolution of the conflict will make a substantial

contribution to regional stability and security as well as to

the socio-economic development of the peoples of the

region.

In reflecting on the establishment of a security

system at the regional and pan-European levels, we would

like to emphasize that in our view the forthcoming OSCE

Summit in Lisbon constitutes a real opportunity for the

elaboration of basic principles for the settlement, not only

for the settlement, not only of the Armenian-Azerbaijani

conflict, but possibly also other conflicts in the OSCE

area. The relevant provisions of the Summit’s final

document, agreed at the highest level, could play a most

important role in the positive development of negotiations

both within the OSCE Minsk process and in all other

current mediatory efforts of the OSCE.

For several years since the end of the cold war

active discussions have been taking place in the world on

the transformation of international relations. These

discussions are held at different levels and touch upon

almost all aspects of life of the world community. The

United Nations, as the leading international organization,

is the main forum for gathering and testing a majority of

ideas related to a vision and understanding of processes

taking place in the world in recent years, and the

possibilities for their implementation in the name of

human progress.

In recent years these have been wide discussions on

an increase in the membership of the Security Council or,

in a broader context, on its reform in the light of the

substantial increase in the membership of the United

Nations and the major changes in international relations.

In this regard, it is important to take into account the

need to maintain and even strengthen the ability of the

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Security Council to respond adequately to threats of

international peace and security.

Azerbaijan supports the candidatures of Germany and

Japan as potential permanent members of the Security

Council. At the same time, the question of equitable

representation of all regions among the permanent members

should not disappear from the agenda. In this context, it

should be noted that many other ideas and proposals have

been put forward, in particular by Italy and a number of

other States, which must be thoroughly studies.

Azerbaijan fully supports the efforts undertaken by the

international community in response to the alarming

increase in terrorist acts in recent years. We unequivocally

condemn, as criminal and unjustifiable, all acts, methods

and practices of terrorism, wherever and by whomever they

are committed, including those that jeopardize friendly

relations among States and peoples and threaten the

territorial integrity and security of States. Azerbaijan

supports the establishment of a specialized international

organization to combat terrorism.

Azerbaijan attaches crucial importance to the process

of integration into the global economic system, and

considers it one of the main requisites for the formation of

a multidimensional, dynamic market economy and an open

democratic society. For this purpose legislation has been

adopted to strengthen market economy principles, notably

through laws on private property, free enterprise, banking

activities, foreign investment protection, and so on.

Economic reform in Azerbaijan and the implementation of

economic projects are being carried out in active

collaboration with the Bretton Woods institutions. Concrete

measures have been worked out and are being implemented

to shape State economic policy for the transitional period.

They include the reform of the monetary and credit system

and the development of pricing and tax policies. A three-

year programme to privatize State enterprises has been

launched. To achieve this goal Azerbaijan actively

encourages foreign investment, and has embarked on a

consistent course of liberalization of foreign economic

activity, the gradual elimination of non-tariff restrictions,

and encouragement of national exports.

The Azerbaijan Republic agrees on the need for the

structural reform and financial normalization of the United

Nations. In this regard, I would like once again to draw the

General Assembly’s attention to the problem of the

assessment of fair contributions to the United Nations

budget that will reflect the real capacity of States to pay.

While we welcome the decision of principle to abolish the

system of limits, we nevertheless consider that the long-

windedness of this process is resulting in the deterioration

of the financial situation of the newly independent States,

including Azerbaijan, which is obliged, in order to clear

its debts to the United Nations budget, to cut down on the

already very meagre programmes of social support for the

population, particularly refugees and displaced persons.

The Government of Azerbaijan would also like to

draw particular attention to the need for fair

representation of the new independent States within the

staff of the United Nations. While we are aware of the

difficulties the Organization is now experiencing, we

cannot accept a situation in which Azerbaijan is still not

represented in the secretariats of the United Nations and

its specialized agencies.

The economic reforms carried out in Azerbaijan are

aimed largely at improving the social situation of the

population. However, the monthly income of a

considerable portion of the population is below the

subsistence level, given the persisting economic

difficulties in a country with an economy in transition,

which have been aggravated by the burden of providing

the necessary assistance to the refugees and displaced

persons.

In such a situation, great importance attaches to

special humanitarian and other forms of assistance from

the United Nations, its specialized agencies and donor

countries, including assistance for the rehabilitation and

reconstruction of a number of regions of Azerbaijan that

have suffered as a result of military action. While

expressing the deep gratitude of the people of Azerbaijan

for the assistance provided, we appeal to donor countries

not to reduce its scale.

I am confident that the United Nations will continue

to do its best to act as a catalyst in the achievement of

peaceful coexistence among States, and to reinforce the

notion of the interdependence of national aspirations and

the common welfare of humanity, thus creating conditions

conducive to the political stability and sustainable

economic development of States.

The potential exists to reinforce and strengthen the

work of the United Nations. We are increasingly

witnessing the expansion of the Organization’s sphere of

activity, when it goes beyond the bounds of the traditional

concept of maintenance of international peace and

security and tackles more diversified tasks. Activities such

as electoral assistance, the provision of special

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humanitarian assistance, human rights monitoring,

assistance in nation-building and the creation of conditions

for the sustainable development of States have begun to be

associated around the world with the United Nations today.

In concluding, I should like to recall the well-known

maxim: “The best world is a world that belongs to all, and

it becomes possible only through the efforts of all.” So let

us unite our efforts for the sake of building such a world.