Armenia, 1992

At the

outset, on behalf of the Republic of Armenia and the Armenian people, I wish

to express my gratitude for the support of the General Assembly for our

request to be admitted to membership of the United Nations.

I wish also to congratulate you. Ambassador Ganev, on your election to

the presidency of the General Assembly at its forty-seventh session.

Today is the first anniversary of Armenia's declaration of independence,

so it is a signal honour for me to be addressing the General Assembly. The

past year has been significant both for a newly independent Armenia as well as

for the international community at large. Our Government, which was formed as

a result of free elections, has continued its policy of democratization,

economic liberalization and the creation of a State of law. The Parliament of

Armenia has voted in favour of freedom of conscience, freedom of religion and

freedom of the press. It has instituted a multiparty system and has acceded

to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and all

international conventions on human rights.

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In this relatively short time, Armenia has succeeded in carrying out

agrarian reform by distributing to the people 80 per cent of its agricultural

lands. Moreover, Parliament has already enacted the laws underlying

denationalization, and has begun the privatization of small and medium-sized

enterprises and of certain service industries. In addition, bills relating to

reform of the banking system, credit, finance, the budget and communications

are already before Parliament with a view to creating the legal infrastructure

necessary for a market economy.

The entrenchment of democracy and economic reform are taking place

against the backdrop of blockades, skyrocketing unemployment, free-falling

standards of living and an acute energy crisis. That energy crisis, which is

the main reason for the drop in national production, is the result not only of

regional blockades but also of the closing of our nuclear power plant for

safety and ecological reasons.

In those conditions the Government must still devote a major portion of

its resources to rebuilding the Spitak region, hit hard by the earthquake of

7 December 1988.

Democratization and independence have had a no less fundamental impact on

the new direction of the foreign policy of the Republic of Armenia, which is

based on two principles:

First, the security of the State and the people hinges on normalized

relations with all of our neighbours, on a negotiated solution to conflicts,

and on strengthened regional economic cooperation. All of this should lead to

the establishment of a system of regional collective security.

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Secondly, Armenia is ready to participate in any constructive process

that would guarantee the development of international economic and political

cooperation and the strengthening of regional stability. That is why Armenia

pursues an active policy in the Commonwealth of Independent States, in the

Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE) and in the Black Sea

economic cooperation process. Armenia wishes also to play a role in economic

cooperation and a system of collective security in the Middle East.

On the basis of those two principles, Armenia has already signed

bilateral agreements with two of its neighbours: Georgia and Iran. We have

also begun serious negotiations with Turkey on normalized relations with that

country. In the light of the respective interests of our two countries and

sharing a concern to restore regional stability, Armenia is convinced that it

will be able to achieve that goal on the basis of international law.

With equal persistence, Armenia has been pursuing that policy with

respect to its fourth neighbour, Azerbaijan. Armenia harbours no territorial

claims with respect to Azerbaijan, but we insist that the people of

Nagorno-Karabakh not be relegated to the status of ethnic minority, that they

not be denied their right of self-determination and that this population not

be sacrificed on the altar of the principle of territorial integrity.

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It is indeed high time that the security of the people of

Nagorno-Karabakh should be ensured with sound international guarantees.

Armenia is very pleased to note that the position which we have been

defending since the outset of the conflict is being increasingly taken into

account and even endorsed by other States involved. For us it is clear that

the cease-fire is the necessary initial stage in advancing towards a solution

to this question. Negotiations must follow, first between Azerbaijan and

Nagorno-Karabakh on the status of Nagorno-Karabakh, together with the

necessary international guarantees, and, secondly, between Azerbaijan and

Armenia to resolve questions arising from the conflict.

In order to bring about the required cease-fire, Armenia has welcomed all

proposals made to date and thus Armenia, like the parliament of

Nagorno-Karabakh, has just given an unconditional and favourable response to

the cease-fire appeal made by the President of the Minsk group of the

Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE). Unfortunately,

Azerbaijan did not adopt the same position.

At all events, Armenia is prepared to make a positive contribution in

talks with Azerbaijan in the hope that the attention which we give to the

well-being of all the peoples in the region will lead us to peace and

stability. It is not too early to declare that the United Nations is in a

position to assist in achieving these ends.

As the Armenian people acceded to democracy and independence by

constitutional and non-violent means, independent Armenia is moving towards

peace and justice in the context of strict respect for international law.

Similarly, in accord with the two principles I referred to previously,

Armenia has attempted to transform the burden of history into an historic

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opportunity to lay bare the historic roots that unite it with this region, to

restore the communality of culture which connects it with the peoples of this

region, and to transform ethnic and religious differences into a source of

wealth conducive to resolving all the problems besetting our common house.

This year was equally significant for the United Nations. The Republic

of Armenia would like to congratulate the Secretary-General of the United

Nations on his report entitled "An Agenda for Peace" (A/47/277). The report

contains a number of constructive proposals to which I am sure the United

Nations will give the closest scrutiny.

Whether it be as a Member of the United Nations or as a party involved in

a regional conflict, Armenia is very interested in proposals to create

specific machinery for the implementation of Article 43 of the United Nations

Charter. The creation of peace-keeping and cease-fire forces, binding

arbitration for conflicts, and encouraging active recourse to the

International Court of Justice under the aegis of the United Nations would be

a major success for the international community and the new world order.

Armenia realizes that other proposals to change the structures of the United

Nations also contain constructive ideas which, if they were acted upon, would

make it possible more surely to achieve collective security and the concepts

of the new world order in the United Nations today.

Armenia has acquired some experience in the creation of ,new structures

while the former ones are gradually disintegrating. Accordingly, we are fully

prepared to participate in the creation and implementation of a new world

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order so as to avoid inertia, a lack of will or imagination, or simply a lack

of vigilance and cause a return to the old system which attempted to impose

solutions on peoples by involving them in even more bloody conflicts.

In the new world order States should be able to shoulder the problems of

their neighbours regardless of considerations of race, religion or ideology.