Azerbaijan, 2012

At the outset, I

would like to congratulate my good friend, Mr. Vuk

Jeremić, on his election to the presidency of the General

Assembly at its sixty-seventh session, and to wish him

every success in fulfilling his highly responsible duties.

We are also grateful to Mr. Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser

for presiding ably over the sixty-sixth session.

This is the fi rst general debate that I have addressed

since Azerbaijan was elected to a non-permanent seat

on the Security Council, and I would like to express

our sincere gratitude and profound appreciation to the Governments of States Members of the United Nations

for their valuable support for our candidacy and for

their solidarity with Azerbaijan during 17 rounds of

elections.

The theme of the this year’s general debate,

“Bringing about adjustment or settlement of international

disputes or situations by peaceful means”, is timely

and topical. It also represents a logical continuation of

discussions we had during the previous session. Indeed,

the peaceful settlement of disputes is one of the key

and core principles of international law enshrined in

the United Nations Charter. Its true value is to be able

to commit States to respecting one another’s territorial

integrity and political independence, refraining in

their international relations from the threat or use of

force and resolving their disputes in conformity with

international law.

At its sixty-fi fth and sixty-sixth sessions, the General

Assembly adopted two resolutions on strengthening the

role of mediation in the peaceful settlement of disputes,

conflict prevention and resolution (resolutions 65/283

and 66/291), and the Secretary-General submitted

a report on the subject that contains a Guidance for

Effective Mediation (A/66/811, annex I). As a sponsor

of those resolutions, Azerbaijan considers the process

begun by their adoption to be an essential effort

towards reinforcing the promotion of mediation in the

peaceful settlement of disputes, conflict prevention

and resolution, as well as providing useful guidance to

existing and future mediation mechanisms. A crucial

factor is that those resolutions, and the Guidance for

Effective Mediation developed by the Secretary-

General, reaffirmed the key importance of the United

Nations Charter and of international law and justice,

in particular the commitment to respect and uphold

the sovereignty, territorial integrity and political

independence of States.

During Azerbaijan’s presidency of the Security

Council this past May, we organized an Arria-formula

meeting of the Council to encourage a frank exchange

of views, within a flexible procedural framework, on

the role of mediation, judicial settlement and justice in

promoting durable peace and reconciliation based on

international law. We look forward to further initiatives

on the topic in the General Assembly and the Security

Council with a view to contributing to the development

and implementation of comprehensive peace strategies

within specific frameworks that provide that dispute settlement and conflict resolution must be based on

respect for the rule of law and for justice.

The world continues to face persistent, grave and

systematic violations of the fundamental norms and

principles of international law. There are still instances

where archaic patterns of the use of force against the

territorial integrity and political independence of

States are used to achieve territorial gains. Hundreds

of thousands of people throughout the world continue

to suffer from aggression, military occupation, ethnic

cleansing and a prevailing culture of impunity for the

most serious crimes of concern to the international

community.

The ongoing armed conflict between Armenia

and Azerbaijan continues to represent a serious threat

and challenge to international and regional peace and

security. The conflict has led to the occupation of

almost 20 per cent of the territory of Azerbaijan and

has turned more than one million people in the country

into internally displaced persons or refugees. The war

has also led to the deaths and wounding of thousands

of Azerbaijanis, including women, the elderly and

children. In addition, the aggression against Azerbaijan

has severely damaged the country in socioeconomic

terms. Not a single Azerbaijani historic or cultural

monument has been left undamaged, and no sacred

site has escaped desecration in either the occupied

territories or in Armenia.

We sincerely believe that there is no alternative

to peace, stability and mutually beneficial regional

cooperation. As a country suffering from the occupation

of its territories and the forcible displacement of

hundreds of thousands of its citizens, Azerbaijan is the

most interested party in the earliest possible negotiated

settlement of the conflict. Without prejudice to its rights

under the United Nations Charter, in particular those

set forth in Article 51, Azerbaijan embarked on and

remains committed to the conflict settlement process,

confident that it will lead to the end of the illegal

Armenian occupation, ensure the return of forcibly

displaced people to their homes and guarantee the

peaceful coexistence of the Armenian and Azerbaijani

communities in the Nagorno Karabakh region within

the Republic of Azerbaijan.

Attempts by the Armenian side to misinterpret

the norms and principles of international law and

its insistence on unrealistic annexationist claims,

which Azerbaijan will never accept, speak to the real

intentions of Armenia’s leadership and represent an

open challenge to the conflict settlement process, as

well as a serious threat to international and regional

peace and security. In f lagrant violation of the United

Nations Charter, Armenia continues to use force to

maintain its occupation of the Nagorno Karabakh

region and seven other districts of Azerbaijan, as well

as to prevent internally displaced Azerbaijani persons

from returning to their homes. It is attempting to alter

the demographic balance in the occupied territories

and to remove any signs of their Azerbaijani cultural

and historical roots. Additionally, regular ceasefire

violations and deliberate attacks by the armed forces of

Armenia against the inhabitants of towns and villages in

Azerbaijan along the front line and the border between

the two States have become more frequent and violent

in recent times, resulting in the killing and injuring of

many Azerbaijani civilians.

We have no doubt that the Azerbaijani and

Armenian communities of Nagorno Karabakh will

one day live side by side in peace and dignity in that

region of Azerbaijan. It is therefore essential and vital

to continue efforts for peace and coexistence between

the two communities. Azerbaijan considers that an

important part of the whole reconciliation process

and has therefore accepted invitations from a number

of European non-governmental organizations to hold

intercommunal meetings. However, those proposals

have so far been blocked by the authorities in Yerevan.

Moreover, the aggressive rhetoric of Armenia’s

leadership and its blatant promotion of odious ideas of

racial superiority, ethnic and religious incompatibility

and hatred towards Azerbaijan and other neighbouring

nations only deepen mistrust and make more elusive

the prospect of a speedy negotiated settlement.

The situation is further complicated by Armenia’s

irresponsible and unacceptable behaviour in the highly

sensitive domain of justice and reconciliation. The

perpetrators of war crimes and crimes against humanity,

including acts of genocide against the Azerbaijani

people, not only remain unpunished in Armenia but

are even promoted, venerated and officially rewarded

with the title of hero. Schools, universities and streets

are named after them and monuments are erected in

their honour. War criminals who proudly avow their

role in the mass killing of Azerbaijani civilians are

reincarnated as highly placed politicians, military

commanders and public figures.

Armenia must finally realize that the irresponsible

and provocative policy of territorial claims, animosity

and hatred towards neighbouring countries and nations

based on historical, cultural, racial and religious

prejudices has no chance of success. The earlier it

grasps that fact, the sooner our countries will be able to

reach mutual understanding and enjoy peace, stability

and cooperation.

It is clear that both the conflict-settlement process

and its outcome must be consistent with international

law. The achievement of peace, security, stability and

confidence therefore depends first and foremost on the

removal of the consequences of Armenia’s illegal use

of force. That will ensure that the occupation of the

territories of Azerbaijan is at an end and that the right

of internally displaced Azerbaijani persons to return to

their homes and recover their property and possessions

will be implemented. That is what international

law and the relevant Security Council and General

Assembly resolutions require, which means that this

condition cannot be subject to compromise or used as

a bargaining chip in the conflict settlement process.

Armenia’s implementation of its obligation to withdraw

its armed forces from the territory of Azerbaijan and

to resolve outstanding issues of State responsibility for

acts deemed wrongful under international law cannot

be made contingent on addressing the aggressor’s

unlawful and unacceptable claims.

The fact that the situation has remained unresolved

for so long does not speak well for the strength and

efficiency of the international organizations that are

deaing with the issue. It is obvious that the primary

role in the resolution of the conflict lies with the

States concerned. At the same time, when it comes to

principles, it is everyone’s duty to defend them. In that

regard, Azerbaijan highly appreciates the principled

stance of Member States, as expressed in various

forums, including the most recent summits of NATO,

the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and the

Non-Aligned Movement, on issues of vital importance

to our country and pertaining to its sovereignty and

territorial integrity. We count on the continued resolve

of the international community to defend the purposes

and principles of the United Nations Charter, and on its

strong solidarity with the just position of Azerbaijan.

We would like to express our concern over the

situation with regard to the Middle East peace process,

which has been at a standstill with no substantive

progress towards the resumption of direct talks between the parties. We call upon the parties to

create the conditions conducive to the resumption of

negotiations. In that regard, we share the concerns of

the international community over settlement activity

in the occupied Palestinian territories, which places

a tremendous burden on civilians, seriously obstructs

the peace process and, what is even more dangerous,

threatens the two-State solution and the emergence of

a viable Palestinian State. We reiterate our support for

Palestine’s application for admission to membership in

the United Nations and look forward to a solution to

that issuebased on international law.

Azerbaijan also remains deeply concerned

about the escalation of violence and the worsening

socioeconomic and humanitarian situation in Syria. We

believe that the solution to the crisis lies in the hands

of the Syrian people and in their desire for mutual

reconciliation and an all-inclusive political process. We

welcome the appointment of Mr. Lakhdar Brahimi as

the Joint Special Representative of the United Nations

and the League of Arab States for Syria, and express

our firm support for his efforts.

We must once again express our deep concern

over the recent escalation provoked by the blasphemy

against Islam. We strongly condemn all assaults against

religions. At the same time, attacks on civilians, in

particular on diplomatic personnel, are unjustifiable

under any circumstances. It is critical to foster global

dialogue and cooperation to promote tolerance, peace

and better understanding across countries, cultures and

civilizations.

We are confident that during the sixty-seventh

session of the General Assembly, Member States will

be able to take successful steps towards a stronger

and more effective United Nations. With its active

participation in the work of the organs of the United

Nations, most notably the General Assembly and

Security Council, Azerbaijan will continue to be in the

forefront of international efforts to that end.