Azerbaijan, 2005

At the outset I

would like to congratulate you, Mr. President, on your

election to the presidency of the sixtieth session of the

General Assembly. I have known you personally for a

long time as a very skilful and highly professional

diplomat and I wish you every success in making new

achievements in that highly responsible post. I would

also like to express our appreciation to your

predecessor, Mr. Jean Ping, for the competence and

dedication with which he guided the work of the fifty-

ninth session of the General Assembly.

While it is too early to assess the impact of the

2005 World Summit Outcome (resolution 60/1)

adopted at the High-level Plenary Meeting, I will

venture to say that the path leading up to it was thorny,

if not challenging, at times.

Azerbaijan has always been and will remain

committed to the purposes, principles and values

enshrined in the United Nations Charter and other

landmark documents. Respect for the norms and

principles of international law and diligent observance

of international obligations by Member States serve as

indicators of their adherence to those values and

principles.

Azerbaijan fully supports a collective approach to

security. We are committed to taking concerted action,

in conformity with the United Nations Charter, to

remove threats to peace and security, foster sustainable

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economic development and support democracy-

building and protection of human rights.

We reaffirm our determination to continue the

reforms that will eventually improve the functional

capacity of the United Nations and its decision-making

processes, especially with regard to crisis and conflict

management.

Since our accession to the United Nations, the

Organization has been closely associated in our society

with our hopes for the liberation of the territories of

Azerbaijan occupied by Armenia. Although the

Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe

(OSCE) is deeply involved in the settlement process,

the prompt response of the Security Council to the

occupation of the territories of Azerbaijan and the

adoption of four Security Council resolutions — 822

(1993), 853 (1993), 874 (1993) and 884 (1993) — still

gives us hope for the peaceful settlement of the conflict

in and around the Nagorny Karabakh region of the

Republic of Azerbaijan. The principles unanimously

adopted by the Security Council in those resolutions

continue to be the basis for the settlement of the

conflict.

Last year the General Assembly’s consideration

of the agenda item entitled “The situation in the

occupied territories of Azerbaijan” played a crucial

role in attracting attention to the dangerous practices

carried out by Armenia in the occupied territories of

Azerbaijan.

As for the negotiation process itself, I must admit

that we are now at a critical juncture where the chances

for resolution of the conflict are cautiously optimistic.

The Government of Azerbaijan remains committed to

the peaceful settlement of this protracted conflict,

based on respect for the norms and principles of

international law, the implementation of the relevant

Security Council resolutions and related OSCE

documents and decisions. We expect that the Armenian

side will take a similarly constructive approach and

will not miss this window of opportunity.

There is no room for illusions. Azerbaijan will

never compromise its territorial integrity. Only the

return of all the occupied territories to Azerbaijan will

help restore our trust and confidence in Armenia and

its declared intention of establishing good-neighbourly

relations with Azerbaijan. Such a step would remove

the label of aggressor from the Government of

Armenia — a label it inherited after it occupied the

territories of Azerbaijan — and allow both parties to

benefit from the opportunities the settlement of the

conflict will bring.

We are ready to provide security assurances for

the Armenian population of the Nagorny Karabakh

region of Azerbaijan. As for the status of the region, it

is necessary to create favourable conditions for the

secure and dignified return of the expelled Azerbaijani

population to the Nagorny Karabakh region and to

other occupied territories, to establish normal living

conditions there and to provide opportunities for

economic development for both communities.

Once the agreement is achieved, for both political

and legal guarantees of its implementation we will

need the international community’s support for the

deployment of multinational peacekeeping forces,

demining, the restoration of communications, the

rehabilitation of lands and the provision of security

guarantees for the population in the Nagorny Karabakh

region of Azerbaijan, including the creation of local

police forces in the region for both Armenian and

Azerbaijani communities.

Last but not least, I should like to make a point

on conflict resolution. It concerns the issue of the

communication of Armenians living in the Nagorny

Karabakh region of Azerbaijan with Armenia and that

of Azerbaijanis living in the Nakhchivan region of

Azerbaijan with the rest of the country. We suggest that

the so-called Lachin corridor — which should be called

a road of peace — be used by both sides in both

directions, provided that security on the road is ensured

by the multinational peacekeeping force in the initial

stage.

The road’s importance extends beyond the

practical benefits of direct transport communications

between Armenia and Azerbaijan; the road should be

considered, first and foremost, as the path leading to

peace and cooperation in the South Caucasus region.

Today, from this rostrum, after the recent meeting of

the Presidents of Azerbaijan and Armenia, held in

Kazan on 26 August 2005, I urge the Armenian side

not to miss this opportunity to move the negotiation

process forward with the assistance of the

Co-Chairmen of the OSCE Minsk Group, in

accordance with the key understandings reached in the

Prague process.

Azerbaijan believes that development reinforces

democratic transformation, the rule of law and respect

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for human rights. We agree that it is urgent and

important to achieve the international development

agenda. The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)

remain an indispensable part of that agenda and

represent measures of States’ contributions to and

impacts on global efforts in their quest for a better

existence.

Cooperation in the areas of debt, assistance and

trade can open up new opportunities for development

financing and can reinforce national efforts to mobilize

needed resources. Here, the special development needs

of Africa deserve serious attention. Azerbaijan

therefore welcomes the recent decision by the Group of

Eight Governments to cancel the debt of heavily

indebted poor countries.

We also consider official development assistance

to be an important investment in self-sustaining

development. We firmly believe that, if aid is to be

effective, greater interagency coordination is required

at all levels. The United Nations Development Group

and the United Nations Resident Coordinator have a

critical role to play in this field. We fully support the

strengthening of both structures.

Yet another area requiring increased cooperation

is international trade. Addressing issues related to

improving market access and terms of trade as well as

overcoming supply side constraints can revive the

Doha round. Azerbaijan believes that the 2005 world

summit will renew the sense of urgency to build strong

political will and a coherent policy approach aimed at

creating a more favourable multilateral trade system

during the forthcoming ministerial meeting of the

World Trade Organization, to be held in Hong Kong. In

the meantime, we believe that the development

challenges of landlocked developing countries should

be effectively addressed, bearing in mind the recently

adopted Asunción Platform for the Doha Development

Round.

We recognize the crucial role of regional

organizations, including United Nations regional

commissions, in enhancing regional cooperation to

promote sustainable development. Azerbaijan places

emphasis on the development of transregional transport

and communication lines and makes its contribution

through the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline and the

Baku-Tbilisi-Erzerum natural gas pipeline. We also

look forward to the building of a new Baku-

Akhalkalaki-Tbilisi-Kars railroad.

Azerbaijan is committed to poverty eradication

and has identified it as an overarching goal in its

development strategies. Although we are encouraged

by the implementation perspectives presented in the

report of the Millennium Project, we highlight the need

for assistance to complement the efforts of national

leadership, especially in the areas of capacity-building,

science and technology and environmental protection.

The achievement of the Millennium Development

Goals requires not only public investment in

infrastructure and human capital, but also investment

in improving governance, which includes an efficient,

properly resourced and adequately staffed institutional

system as well as political accountability, transparency

and participation. Azerbaijan attaches particular

importance to progress in this area. In recognition of

the central role of good governance in poverty

reduction and development, we have formulated

additional national MDGs to address governance

issues. Specific targets in that area include, inter alia,

reform of the overall State system of public

administration, legislation and policy by the year 2015.

Recognizing the destructive effects of natural

disasters on the sustainable development of countries

and communities, Azerbaijan, as a disaster-prone

country, believes that efforts aimed at disaster

mitigation should place particular emphasis on

awareness-raising programmes and on the development

of early warning capacities.

It is clear that national ownership of the design,

implementation and coordination of humanitarian

response and transition programmes in both post-

disaster and post-conflict situations is essential to

ensure the desired impact and the sustainability of such

programmes. However, there is a need for the efficient

sharing of responsibilities between national authorities

and international humanitarian and development actors,

particularly in protracted humanitarian situations with

mass displacement and limited national capacities to

tackle all existing problems. Humanitarian assistance

and funding should not be limited to providing

immediate responses to crises; they must take into

account long-term needs in the transition phase.

Promoting human rights and the rule of law has

been an integral part of our national development

strategy as a result of our conviction that the full

enjoyment of human rights, while a goal in itself,

serves as a foundation for sustainable development. We

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need to increase our ability to deal with human rights

challenges and to adequately respond to them,

particularly in times of conflict and crisis.

In conclusion, I would like to assure the

Assembly that Azerbaijan will remain committed to the

ideals that are the foundation of the Organization, and

to express my confidence that at this critical juncture

for multilateralism, the international community will

spare no effort to make the United Nations more

efficient and more relevant to the needs of its Member

States.