Azerbaijan, 2010

I have the honour to join

previous speakers in congratulating you, Sir, on your

election to the post of President of the General

Assembly at its sixty-fifth session; I wish you every

success in that highly responsible post. I would like as

well to thank your predecessor, Mr. Ali Abdussalam

Treki, for his productive work. I also express my

profound respect and gratitude to the Secretary-

General, His Excellency Mr. Ban Ki-moon, for his

leadership and dedication in reviving the Organization.

Azerbaijan recognizes the central role of the

United Nations in maintaining international peace and

security, promoting sustainable development and

advocating fundamental freedoms for the people of the

world. Azerbaijan believes that the United Nations has

to be stronger and more capable in engaging in a range

of global issues in every part of the world, as well as in

addressing the aspirations and concerns of each

Member State.

As a country suffering from the devastation of

war and occupation, Azerbaijan strongly believes that

faithful observance of universally accepted norms and

principles of international law concerning good-

neighbourliness, friendly relations, cooperation among

States and the fulfilment in good faith of the

obligations assumed by States are of the greatest

importance for the maintenance of international peace

and security. The ongoing armed conflict between

Armenia and Azerbaijan still represents a major threat

to international and regional peace and security. The

conflict has resulted in the occupation of one fifth of

the territory of Azerbaijan and has made approximately

one out of every nine people in my country an

internally displaced person or a refugee.

It has been internationally recognized that the

Republic of Armenia bears the primary responsibility

for occupying Azerbaijan’s territories, committing the

most serious international crimes during the conflict,

carrying out ethnic cleansing and trying to create a

mono-ethnic culture in the captured Azerbaijani

territories. The Security Council has adopted four

resolutions and has expressed its full support for the

sovereignty and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan and

the inadmissibility of the use of force for the

acquisition of territories. It has also recognized that

Nagorny Karabakh is part of Azerbaijan and has called

for the immediate, full and unconditional withdrawal

of the occupying forces from all occupied territories of

Azerbaijan. The General Assembly and other

international organizations, including the Organization

for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the

Council of Europe, the European Parliament and the

Organization of the Islamic Conference, have adopted

similar positions. Unfortunately, despite the

consolidated position of the international community,

Azerbaijani territories continue to remain under

occupation.

Armenia so far, instead of negotiating in good

faith with a view to finding a durable solution to the

conflict as soon as possible, has preferred escalation,

with unpredictable consequences. Despite ongoing

political efforts towards the earliest possible resolution

of the conflict, activities in the occupied areas of

Azerbaijan are in gross violation of international law

and serve to further consolidate the current status quo

of the occupation, securing the results of ethnic

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cleansing and colonization of the captured territories,

and causing serious obstruction to the peaceful

resolution of the conflict.

Thus, over the period since the beginning of the

conflict, significant numbers of settlers have been

encouraged to move into the occupied areas

depopulated of their Azerbaijani inhabitants. In 2005

OSCE dispatched a fact-finding mission to the

occupied territories of Azerbaijan, which found

evidence of the presence of settlers there and made a

call to discourage any further settlement of the

occupied territory of Azerbaijan. Measures are also

being consistently undertaken by Armenia with the

purpose of altering the historical and cultural features

of the occupied areas in an attempt to remove any signs

testifying to their original Azerbaijani cultural and

historical roots. As a result, not a single Azerbaijani

historic or cultural monument has been left undamaged

and no sacred site has escaped vandalism in the

occupied territories. Implantation of settlers as well as

destruction and appropriation of the historical and

cultural heritage in the occupied areas, along with

various other forms of illegal activity there, directly

affect the property rights of internally displaced

persons.

The lack of agreement on political issues, the

protracted nature of the conflict and prolonged

negotiations should not be used as pretexts for not

addressing other problems deriving from continued and

deliberate disrespect for international humanitarian law

and international human rights law in connection with

the conflict.

The earliest possible resolution of the armed

conflict in and around the Nagorny Karabakh region of

Azerbaijan remains a primary task for us. The OSCE

Minsk Group Co-Chair countries are engaged in efforts

to bring peace and stability to the region. Resolution of

the conflict envisages the withdrawal of Armenian

forces from the occupied Azerbaijani territories within

a fixed time framework, restoration of all

communications, return of all refugees and internally

displaced persons to their places of origin, international

security guarantees, including peacekeeping forces, and

interim status for Nagorny Karabakh. We are ready to

continue the talks in good faith for finalizing the status

of Nagorny Karabakh within the Republic of

Azerbaijan.

The step-by-step approach introduced to Armenia

and Azerbaijan in December 2009 by the OSCE Minsk

Group Co-Chairs is accepted by Azerbaijan in principle

as a basis for achieving a lasting resolution of the

Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorny Karabakh conflict.

Unfortunately, Armenia is still delaying a definite

answer to the Co-Chairs’ proposal.

Azerbaijan highly appreciates the principled

stand of Member States on issues of vital importance

for Azerbaijan pertaining to its sovereignty and

territorial integrity. We rely on the continued solidarity

of the international community with the just position of

Azerbaijan and on valuable support for our initiatives

within the United Nations, aimed at addressing the

existing challenges in an impartial, open and

comprehensive manner.

Despite the unresolved conflict over Nagorny

Karabakh and occupied territories, the Government of

Azerbaijan has succeeded in guaranteeing political

stability, democratic development, economic prosperity

and social welfare in the country. Today, Azerbaijan is

one of the most rapidly developing economies in the

world. Within the last five years alone, Azerbaijan has

nearly tripled its gross domestic product. The strategic

geographic location of Azerbaijan at the intersection of

major trade routes along the emerging East-West and

North-South transport and energy corridors provides an

important asset to turn the country into an energy and

infrastructure hub.

Azerbaijan possesses considerable proven oil and

natural gas reserves and has good prospects for new

discoveries. Modern infrastructure for transporting

hydrocarbons to international markets has already been

created in Azerbaijan and has been used for exporting

oil and natural gas, which can diversify supply sources

and strengthen international energy security. This is

particularly crucial for gas supplies. With proven

reserves of 2 trillion cubic metres of natural gas and a

potential of up to 5 trillion cubic metres or, and

perhaps even more, Azerbaijan is ready to provide its

own contribution to ensure the stable development of

the world natural gas market.

Another globally important project, on which

Azerbaijan is working very intensively with its

neighbours is building and enhancing the regional

railroad infrastructure. This railroad connection will

open an enormous opportunity for transporting all

kinds of cargo between Asia and Europe.

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As a very active member of the Extractive

Industries Transparency Initiative, Azerbaijan, in an

open and transparent manner, uses its energy revenues

for the development of the country, particularly in

building human capital and working to eradicate

reducing poverty. Thus, we were able to achieve a

dramatic poverty reduction, from 49 per cent in 2003

to 11 per cent in 2009. And I strongly believe that

through sustainable development Azerbaijan will attain

even more in this field in upcoming years.

Azerbaijan has always been a place of

coexistence and tolerance among different faiths,

ethnic groups and philosophies. As an active member

of the Group of Friends of the Alliance of

Civilizations, Azerbaijan contributes to the promotion

of inter-religious and intercultural dialogue based on

mutual respect and understanding. Azerbaijan hosted

the World Summit of Religious Leaders, with

participants from 32 States, in the spring of this year

and has put forward an initiative to host a world forum

for intercultural dialogue in April 2011.

One of the most serious and long-term challenges

that can affect every part of the globe is climate

change. We in Azerbaijan proclaimed 2010 a year of

ecology and adopted various special programmes in the

field of environmental protection.

Azerbaijan demonstrates full support and

undertakes ceaseless efforts for the promotion of

sustainable development and global prosperity for all,

paying particular attention to addressing the special

needs and vulnerabilities of the developing and least

developed countries, as well as of those who are

recovering from natural disasters. Azerbaijan will

continue to contribute to the realization of the

Millennium development goals and objectives agreed

within the United Nations.