Azerbaijan, 2001

This session of the

General Assembly is being held at a very difficult time

for all of us. I congratulate you, Sir, on your unanimous

election to the position of President of the fifty-sixth

session of the General Assembly and I sincerely wish

you all success in guiding the work of the session and

would like to assure you of our full support.

Under the current circumstances, enhancement of

the United Nations effectiveness becomes increasingly

important, and in this regard, I would like to express

our special gratitude to Mr. Harri Holkeri, whose

activity as President of the fifty-fifth session of the

General Assembly was an example of the commitment

to the revitalization process of the Organization.

We regard the Nobel Peace Prize awarded to the

United Nations and Mr. Kofi Annan as evidence of the

international community’s recognition of the special

role played by the Organization and of the great service

of its Secretary-General. Congratulating our Secretary-

General, I would like to stress that we place special

hope in him and to reiterate our support for his

activities aimed at achieving those very objectives for

the sake of which the United Nations was created.

The Millennium Summit identified challenges in

the context of global development that can be

addressed only through coordinated efforts by the

entire international community within the United

Nations system.

One year ago, nobody could have foreseen the

tragedy that would befall all of us, a tragedy that has

shown the depth of the abyss before which the world

finds itself today. The dramatic events that struck the

United States make it imperative for us to take a new

look at the aspects of global development in the

twenty-first century.

Threats and risks in the context of globalization

acquire new scale and character, and the international

community must change its approaches accordingly.

Today, an attack against one of us is considered as an

attack against all of us. Will this approach become

universal?

Azerbaijan suffered from a series of horrific

terrorist attacks that were part and parcel of the conflict

imposed on Azerbaijan by neighbouring Armenia.

Unfortunately, our warnings about the terrorist threat,

as well as our appeals to the international community

to join efforts in the fight against this evil, made from

this very podium, went unheeded.

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Terrorism is closely linked to aggressive

separatism and other forms of extremism, as well as to

organized crime, drug and arms trafficking and other

illegal activities that literally flourish in conflict zones

and that provide terrorist and separatist groups with

financial resources. Terrorism and separatism get large-

scale outside support from States and private structures

alike. Response to these threats must not be selective.

They can be eliminated only through adequate and

comprehensive countermeasures undertaken on the

basis of the principles and norms of international law

against all those who use terror to achieve their goals,

leaving them no hope of escaping unpunished. Nothing

can justify terrorism. There should be no room for

double standards, palliatives or narrow national

interests.

We all have witnessed many manifestations of

terrorism that have taken place in different regions of

the world, under different slogans and covers. This fact

by itself clearly shows that the phenomenon of

terrorism is not associated with any particular religion.

Hence, the fight against terrorism should not be a fight

against a religion. We must take effective measures to

reverse a dangerous trend of imprudent instigation to

hostility between Islam and Christianity.

The legal, political, military and other actions

taken today by the international coalition are not the

only prerequisites for a successful fight against

terrorism. It is necessary to redouble the efforts aimed

at assisting and enabling the least developed countries

in the process of their social and economic

development to use the opportunities provided by

globalization.

Unfortunately, in many regions of the world we

still see violent conflicts that claim tens of thousands

of lives and undermine the sovereignty, territorial

integrity and security of States. One such example is

the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Masking

its claims to the Azerbaijani territory under the banner

of the struggle for the self-determination of the

Armenian population of the Nagorny-Karabakh region

of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the Republic of Armenia

has occupied this Azerbaijani territory, as well as seven

adjacent regions of Azerbaijan, and has conducted

ethnic cleansing on the occupied territory, which has

resulted in the expulsion of 1 million Azerbaijanis from

their homes.

My country has been waiting for eight years for

the Security Council to take practical steps to

implement the following four resolutions concerning

the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict: 822 (1993), 853

(1993), 874 (1993) and 884 (1993). The Council

adopted these resolutions back in 1993 in order to take

enforcement measures against the aggressor, in

accordance with Chapter VII of the Charter.

Until now, mediation activities of the

Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe

(OSCE) Minsk Group, which is co-chaired by the

United States, France and Russia, and which will be 10

years old next year, have not produced any results, so

the tenth anniversary may turn out to be a sad one.

Armenia continues to violate the principles and

norms of international law enshrined in the United

Nations Charter and the OSCE Helsinki Final Act, and

it ignores the provisions of the relevant Security

Council resolutions and OSCE decisions. Rejecting this

international legal basis for the settlement of the

conflict, Armenia negotiates from the position of

power and on the basis of fait accompli, trying to

consolidate the results of its armed aggression and to

annex a part of Azerbaijan territory.

Armenia states that there is a conflict between

certain principles of international law, but there is not a

conflict between those principles. The right of self-

determination cannot be regarded as a right to forcible

separation of a part of a State’s territory and must not

justify the violation of the principle of territorial

integrity of States, in our case, that of the Republic of

Azerbaijan. Indeed, the real conflict is between

Armenia and international law, which prevents

Armenia from realizing its claims to the territory of

neighbouring States.

The international community should not choose

the easiest course of action and should not recognize

the right of the powerful. Instead, it must act in

accordance with the established principles and norms

of international law and the decisions of international

organizations.

It is unacceptable to blame both sides for the

deadlock in the negotiations, ignoring the differences

between the compromises and concessions demanded

of Azerbaijan, on the one hand, and those demanded of

Armenia, on the other. The aggressor and the victim

cannot be held equally responsible.

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The Republic of Azerbaijan stands ready for a

resolution of the conflict based on the principles of

sovereignty, territorial integrity and the granting of

self-governance to all the people of the Nagorny-

Karabakh region within the Azerbaijani State. The

Republic of Azerbaijan is prepared to provide safety

and security for this region’s population.

Azerbaijan is interested in a just and peaceful

resolution of the conflict more than anybody else, and

we will continue to undertake all the necessary steps to

achieve tangible results. But our efforts alone are not

enough. Expeditious settlement of the conflict should

become one of the main priorities for the international

community. There is no room for stop-gap measures

and “wait-and-see” positions. The situation demands

fundamental approaches and actions on everyone’s

part. We expect a very significant contribution from the

co-Chairmen of the Minsk Conference at the highest

level.

Azerbaijan, which for eight years has been

hosting 1 million refugees and internally displaced

persons, continues to face an acute humanitarian

problem that will only be resolved completely by

creating the conditions necessary for them to return to

their homes as soon as possible. Crises in the

neighbouring regions have created another problem for

my country, which now has to deal with a significant

number of refugees from other countries. Taking all

these difficulties into consideration, we deem it

necessary for the Office of the United Nations High

Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Baku to

continue its functions. Currently, Azerbaijan needs

even greater UNHCR assistance, as well as assistance

from other United Nations humanitarian agencies and

donor countries. I would like to take this opportunity to

express our sincere gratitude and appreciation to all of

the aforementioned who have given their support and

assistance.

We believe that in order to enhance the

effectiveness and efficiency of United Nations

activities in the area of the prevention of armed

conflict, it is necessary to better monitor the

implementation of Security Council decisions. To this

end, we propose, for general consideration, that the

Security Council adopt the practice of submitting to the

General Assembly periodic reports on the

implementation of the Council’s decisions.

We deem it necessary to strengthen the capability

of United Nations rapid deployment forces. The faster

the international community can react to the outbreak

or resumption of a conflict, the easier peace and justice

will be restored.

Globalization should enable us to promote

sustainable development and the integrity and stability

of public administration systems, eliminate

discrimination in economic activity and ensure

prosperity for all peoples. Azerbaijan is contributing to

moving this process forward. We are sparing no effort

to restore the Great Silk Route, to create a Europe-

Caucasus-Asia transport corridor and to develop

deposits of hydrocarbons in the Caspian Sea basin and

transport them to world markets. These projects are of

paramount importance in terms of the free and

sustainable development of States in several regions of

the world. Furthermore, they will give impetus to

transregional cooperation and will serve as a factor that

determines global development.

The free exploitation of natural resources and

their transportation to world markets is the inalienable

right of a sovereign State. Azerbaijan calls upon all the

Caspian Sea States to refrain from the use or threat of

force in the Caspian Sea basin. The Caspian Sea must

be a sea of peace and cooperation. Azerbaijan supports

early agreement on the delimitation of the Caspian Sea

on the basis of principles and norms of international

law and established practice in the use of the Caspian

Sea.

As a member of the group of landlocked

countries, Azerbaijan needs assistance from the

international community to develop its transport

infrastructure in order to integrate it effectively into the

global economy.

In its efforts to implement the concepts

underlying transregional cooperation, Azerbaijan is

taking a multi-track approach and working within the

framework of a number of structures. One of them is

GUUAM (Georgia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan

and Moldova), an organization consisting of five newly

independent States whose names form the acronym and

whose economies are in transition. The States members

of GUUAM, which celebrate the tenth anniversary of

their independence this year, have confronted

numerous challenges and threats during the difficult

period of the formation and development of their

statehood. Such threats have manifested themselves

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most clearly during the periods of armed conflict which

broke out in three of those five member States.

GUUAM stands for the speedy, peaceful settlement of

conflict based on the norms and principles of

international law enshrined in the United Nations

Charter, the Helsinki Final Act of the Organization for

Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and other

relevant documents and decisions of the United

Nations and OSCE.

Currently, the GUUAM member States, located in

Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia, are trying to

achieve greater integration into the world economy

and, to this end, are actively cooperating in creating

multidirectional transport corridors and in ensuring

their safety and security.

Within the framework of humanitarian

cooperation, we regard as very promising a GUUAM

initiative aimed at creating a Europe-Caucasus-Asia

cultural corridor, which would promote cooperation in

such areas as culture, science and education. Joint

projects in the area of tourism will also have a

significant role to play.

The United Nations Development Programme

(UNDP) has actively assisted Azerbaijan in addressing

the development issues it faces. At the same time, the

Government of Azerbaijan is deeply concerned by the

continuing decrease in the core resources of UNDP.

Developing countries and economies in transition need

a strong UNDP that is able to provide effective

assistance in the most complex spheres of

development. The Government of Azerbaijan calls

upon donor countries to increase the financial base of

official development assistance, both multilaterally and

unilaterally. In distributing official development

assistance special attention should be paid to the needs

of African countries, the least developed countries, the

small island States and the landlocked States.

Azerbaijan places a great deal of hope in the

International Conference on Financing for

Development and the World Summit on Sustainable

Development, to be held in 2002. As a member of the

Commission on Sustainable Development, Azerbaijan

intends to make a constructive contribution to ensure

the success of these important events and to promote

the sustainable development of weak economies.

In conclusion, I would like to stress that we all

bear a tremendous responsibility. Today as never

before, we must act wisely and use our power and

resources not to escalate hatred and violence, but to

promote peace and justice, stability and the

development of our fragile planet.