Azerbaijan, 2003

First of all, I would like

to congratulate you, Sir, on your election to the

presidency of the General Assembly at its fifty-eighth

session and to express gratitude to Mr. Jan Kavan for

his work as the President during the fifty-seventh

session.

This year has been hard for the United Nations.

The events surrounding Iraq have revealed weak links

in the system of international security. Not for the first

time, the Security Council, owing to disagreements

among its members, was unable to ensure the

implementation of its resolutions and to react

adequately to the situation.

Those disagreements continue to have a critical

influence on the activity of the Security Council with

regard to both Iraq and other crises and conflicts. It is

clear that existing United Nations mechanisms do not

meet the requirements of our time, and it is necessary

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to reform the United Nations, including the Security

Council, which reflects the reality of half a century

ago.

Azerbaijan supports the well-known reform

proposals of Secretary-General Kofi Annan, in

particular with regard to the expansion of the

membership of the Security Council, and counts on the

goodwill of the permanent members of the Council

with regard to the revision of its mechanisms, in

particular the right of veto.

We hope that the international community will

now be able to consolidate its efforts to restore and

strengthen a united and indivisible Iraq and to establish

democracy based on the free will of all of the Iraqi

people. Our country, which is ready to take part in this

process, has begun to contribute to the strengthening of

security and stability in Iraq.

The terrorist act against the United Nations

Headquarters in Baghdad shocked the entire

international community. The death of Sergio Vieira de

Mello and his colleagues was a tragic loss for the

Organization and all of us. What happened in Baghdad

once again showed how vulnerable we are in the face

of terror and convinced us that terrorists are capable of

committing any crime. The only response should be an

uncompromising commitment to fight against anyone

who resorts to terrorism, no matter what goals are used

as a cover. Selectivity and double standards have no

place in this respect.

Our country, which has fallen victim to the

aggression, occupation and terror unleashed by

Armenia, has for years been fighting terrorism on its

own. Our appeals to the international community to

unite its efforts in combating terrorism went unheeded.

The alarm went off only after 11 September 2001.

Success in the fight against terrorism cannot be

achieved without eradicating the underlying roots and

eliminating the factors that create a favourable

environment for its dissemination. On the other hand, it

is not possible to resolve conflicts throughout the

world, including in the southern Caucasus, under

conditions of continuing terrorism or of support for it

at the State level.

We have to keep in mind that terrorist groups,

created and developed by separatist and extremist

forces, are usually based in illegally controlled

territories, in the so-called grey zones that emerge as a

result of acts of armed separatism and external

aggression. One such uncontrolled grey zone is

Nagorny Karabakh and other regions of the Republic of

Azerbaijan, occupied by Armenian military forces.

While carrying out the comprehensive struggle

against terror and resolving conflicts on the basis of

principles and norms of international law, the

international community should decisively resort to

force. That is the only effective way of restoring justice

and ensuring the rule of law.

The delegation of Azerbaijan has repeatedly

drawn the attention of the international community

from this high rostrum to the ongoing conflict between

Armenia and Azerbaijan. Ten years have elapsed since

the Security Council adopted four resolutions

demanding the immediate, complete and unconditional

withdrawal of the Armenian occupying forces from the

Azerbaijani territories. However, Armenia continues to

challenge the international community by ignoring

those decisions, whereas the Security Council and the

Minsk Group of the Organization for Security and

Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) do not undertake any

adequate measures in that regard.

Azerbaijan has on many occasions declared its

commitment to the peaceful settlement of the conflict

on the basis of norms and principles of international

law. We are determined to continue with our efforts in

this direction, and we count on the active participation

of the international community. Azerbaijan will never

accept a settlement on the basis of the so-called

existing realities and will not cede a single inch of its

land. Azerbaijan's patience is not limitless, and no one

should try to take advantage of it. Responsibility for

the deadlock in the settlement lies with the aggressor

Armenia, and not with the victim of aggression,

Azerbaijan. The passive position of an observer taken

by the international community can only aggravate that

deadlock.

Only after Armenia evacuates all the Azerbaijani

territories and thus creates a basis for the peaceful

settlement of the conflict can Armenia count on normal

inter-State relations and cooperation with Azerbaijan.

By rejecting our constructive proposals, based on the

observance of international law, Armenia is

demonstrating its genuine intention to seize and annex

Azerbaijani territories.

Armenia's authorities continue to profess the

ideology of aggressive nationalism, militarism,

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separatism and terrorism and to doom their people to

the deepest crisis. In a society where territorial

expansion and the search for external enemies are

instilled as a national idea, democracy and pluralism

cannot take root. It should be realized in Armenia that

the present situation of its conflict with Azerbaijan will

not only fail to resolve but will also certainly aggravate

its own serious internal social and economic problems.

It is with a sense of regret that one has to

acknowledge that inaction by the international

community leads to the strengthened self-confidence of

Armenia in pursuing its destructive policy. Both the

OSCE Minsk Group and the Security Council have

backed off in the face of illegitimate force, thus calling

into question the seriousness of their intentions and

continuity of their actions.

Appeasement of the aggressor seriously

undermines the whole system of international security,

which is based on the inviolability of principles and

norms of international law. That attitude has on many

occasions taken a heavy toll on the international

community.

We appeal to the Security Council to carry out the

necessary measures in order to ensure the

implementation of the above-mentioned four

resolutions, and we expect that decisive steps will be

taken to stop criminal and aggressive actions in the

occupied territories and on the line of engagement, as

well as to push the occupying forces to unconditionally,

immediately and completely evacuate the seized

Azerbaijani territories.

The conflict has deprived almost one million

Azerbaijanis of roofs over their heads. It is clear that

the forthcoming winter will again become another hard

test for the refugees and the internally displaced

persons, hundreds of thousand of whom continue to

live in tent camps. The Government of Azerbaijan,

using its limited resources, spares no effort to mitigate

their suffering. Recently, the President of the Republic

of Azerbaijan by decree allocated more than $70

million to the construction of housing for refugees.

While we highly appreciate the assistance of the

international community, we nevertheless are worried

by its decreasing scale. We urge the relevant United

Nations agencies and donor countries, as well as non-

governmental organizations, to boost their attention to

the problems of the forcefully displaced Azerbaijani

population and to respond adequately to their needs. As

for the long-term resolution of this problem, it lies, of

course, in the settlement of the conflict between

Armenia and Azerbaijan and in the return of the

refugees and internally displaced persons to their

homes.

The conflict has also severely damaged the

economy of Azerbaijan. However, having mobilized

our domestic resources, we managed to overcome

serious social-economic crises and to move towards

stabilization and development. Economic reform

policies and the oil strategy elaborated and being

implemented under the leadership of the President of

Azerbaijan, His Excellency Mr. Heydar Aliyev, have

already yielded concrete results. These reforms have

led to macroeconomic stability and high economic

growth rates.

The promotion of the market economy and

entrepreneurship increased the share of the private

sector of the economy to 73 per cent. Figures on

foreign direct investment per capita show that

Azerbaijan is one of the leaders among the countries

with economies in transition. On average, the annual

economic growth rate is between 8 per cent and 10 per

cent.

The implementation of large-scale transregional

projects on development and transportation of

hydrocarbon resources of the Caspian Sea to the world

market and the diversification of transport corridors,

initiated by Azerbaijan, have opened new prospects for

the social and economic development of countries

along the East-West corridor, aimed at the restoration

of the historic Silk Road.

This progress would be impossible without

internal political stability, which has created the

prerequisites and conditions for implementing radical

political reforms and the development of democratic

society. Today, Azerbaijani democracy stands at the

edge of its next test of maturity and firmness. On

October 15, the elections for President of the Republic

will be held in Azerbaijan. The legislative basis for

conducting genuinely free and fair elections has been

established in the country. The recently adopted

Election Code was widely discussed at the local and

international levels, and it meets the highest

international standards. Numerous international

observers of the OSCE, the Council of Europe and

other international organizations, as well as local

observers, will follow the presidential elections.

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The triumph of democracy, social progress and

sustainable development on a global scale are

impossible unless the problems of poverty and sharp

disproportion in economic performance across different

countries and regions are resolved. In that regard, the

implementation of the Millennium Development Goals

is extremely important. Combating poverty

presupposes close interaction between developed and

developing countries.

Regrettably, there is still no breakthrough in that

regard. Developed States should pay more attention to

the problems of the countries with economies in

transition. Experience proves that narrow-minded

interests frequently prevail, and thus deadlocks emerge

in the negotiation process. Azerbaijan believes that

enlargement of parties to the multilateral trade system,

as well as granting the provisions of special and

differential treatment in the World Trade Organization

(WTO) to both developing countries and countries with

economies in transition, will contribute to the

successful global integration of the latter.

We are firmly convinced of the need to develop a

dialogue among civilizations and cultures. Only

through dialogue and good will shall we defeat mistrust

and confrontation, and unify our forces in addressing

common threats and challenges.

In conclusion, allow me once again to reiterate

Azerbaijan's strong adherence to its political course,

aimed at building a strong democratic State with a

market economy, and our genuine willingness and

desire to effectively contribute to peace and

international security.