Armenia, 1994

May I begin by warmly congratulating you, Sir,

on your election to the presidency of the forty-ninth session

of the United Nations General Assembly. I would also like

to express my appreciation to your predecessor,

Ambassador Samuel Insanally, and to thank him for his

contribution to accomplishing the tasks of the last session.

Further, I wish to express our gratitude to the

Secretary-General, Mr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali, for the

vision with which he has guided the Organization and for

his tireless efforts to ensure the maintenance of

international peace and security.

The collapse of the old order and the emergence of

new democracies in Central and Eastern Europe and, soon

after, in the former Soviet Union have presented the

world with a major challenge. In a period of tremendous

change, many difficulties and conflicts have arisen. Some

of these difficulties come as immediate by-products of

rapid and haphazard transformations, while others are

surfacing for the first time after decades of inadequate

stop-gap measures. Further, if the reform programmes

have so far failed to yield all the benefits expected, this

is also due to an under-estimation of the differences in the

initial conditions of the countries in transition.

The pace and comprehensiveness of economic

reforms will vary from country to country. However, the

reform process will inevitably be lengthy, as it involves

wholesale changes in price mechanisms, in the concept of

property, in industrial structures and in legal, commercial

and financial institutions, as well as the creation of social

safety nets for the most vulnerable segments of the

population, whose situation will be worsened by the high

cost of the reforms.

As with all the former Soviet Republics, Armenia’s

economy has been badly strained by the changes which

followed the disintegration of the Soviet Union and the

difficult transition to a market economy. It is further

crippled by its over-reliance on trade with the former

Soviet Republics; the blockade of transportation routes

imposed by neighbouring Azerbaijan; an embargo by

Turkey; and the damage inflicted by the disastrous

earthquake in 1988. Other external conditions, such as

the disruption of transport due to the difficulties faced by

Georgia, have exacerbated the situation, contributing to the

decline in Armenia’s industrial productivity. The legacy of

the Soviet period, with its inefficiencies and excessive

horizontal integration, has worsened the effects of the

blockade.

Despite these difficulties, the Armenian Government

has begun implementing significant structural reforms to

create a healthy market economy, beginning with the

privatization process launched soon after the Armenian

National Movement came to power in 1990. Indeed, the

commitment to transform the centrally planned economy

into a market economy stems from the philosophy of the

democratic movement in Armenia and is seen as an integral

part of the transition to a democratic State.

In turn, a free market economy will flourish in a stable

democracy, able to promote and underpin economic

development. Armenia today is a country with more than

30 registered political parties. It has proclaimed freedom

of the press, freedom of conscience and freedom of

religion, and it has laws guaranteeing civil and political

rights. Three free elections have already been held in

Armenia: parliamentary and presidential elections and a

referendum on independence. The upcoming referendum

on the Constitution and the elections of the National

Assembly and the President of the Republic will reaffirm

the establishment of a democratic tradition.

Democracy is fundamental to the process of economic

transformation, which can be divided into three phases,

more or less typical for all countries in transition:

institutional reforms; long-term investments and changes of

technological structures; and integration into international

markets. It is imperative, however, to set priorities and to

identify the most pressing issues of the moment. In my

opinion, Armenia is at the end of the first phase, which

includes the creation of a legal framework for economic

reform, within which private economic activity can take

place, a framework ensuring that contracts are enforced and

that private property is protected; freeing of prices;

privatization; adoption of a national currency; financial and

budgetary stabilization; and improvement in the balance of

payments. We have already accomplished 80 per cent of

this phase.

Armenia has distinguished itself as the first among the

former Soviet Republics to privatize the ownership of

agricultural land and livestock production. The

privatization of small and medium businesses as well as

large enterprises is well under way. In late 1993, with the

collapse of the rouble zone, Armenia faced a monetary

crisis. The uncontrollable flow of old Soviet roubles into

Armenia and Armenia’s subsequent inability to control

monetary policy on its own territory forced the

Government in November 1993 prematurely to introduce

a national currency, the dram. The Government is

currently implementing a programme based on controlling

and lowering the inflation rate, enforcing a strict budget,

controlling fiscal expenditures and targeting assistance to

the most vulnerable groups.

Basic reforms have been undertaken in the banking

sector, the first of which was to break down the mono-

bank system of central planning into a two-tiered system

comprising a central bank and a group of commercial

banks.

In Armenia, as in all the emerging democracies,

there is no historical precedent for the economic

transition. It requires lasting commitment and patience as

well as the substantial support of the international

community. Of course neither short- and medium-term

adjustment programmes nor long-term development

strategies can hope to succeed fully without sustained

growth in the world economy and favourable external

conditions.

We recognize that there is no single model of

transition to be prescribed for all countries or, even more

narrowly, for all post-communist societies as a whole. To

ensure success for United Nations efforts in the countries

in transition the Organization must tailor its involvement

to each country’s resources and procedures, giving

priority to programmes rather than to projects. That

approach essentially boils down to the definition of key

objectives for each programme that will reflect the

priorities of the national Government and the organization

of assistance around the achievement of those goals,

which can be accomplished by strengthening the role of

the Resident Coordinator system.

Armenia appreciates the Secretary-General’s Agenda

for Development as an important and necessary

complement to "An Agenda for Peace". It is a

comprehensive and thoughtful reflection upon the various

dimensions of development and the role of the United

Nations in that connection. At the recently held world

gatherings on development there was broad agreement

that the Agenda should be sustained by an action-oriented

framework and practical proposals aimed at resolving

existing imbalances in the various development areas.

We look forward to the further elaboration of the Agenda

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for Development by the Secretary-General through a

number of concrete proposals with regard to the reform of

both the United Nations system and the intergovernmental

consultative machinery for development, as well as specific

recommendations for greater coordination within the United

Nations as a whole, including the Bretton Woods

institutions and the proposed World Trade Organization.

Such an elaboration is needed if the Agenda is to lead to a

global partnership for development.

Armenia looks forward to participating in and

contributing to the World Summit for Social Development

in Copenhagen. The World Summit, to be held in the

United Nations fiftieth anniversary year, is a landmark

event and will build upon the commitments of a series of

United Nations global gatherings, including the 1990 World

Summit for Children, the 1992 United Nations Conference

on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro and the

1994 International Conference on Population and

Development in Cairo, and it will be followed by the

Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995.

These are all key events in the process of international

consensus-building.

Development and human rights are interrelated and

mutually reinforcing. There can be no genuine long-term

development without respect for the full spectrum of the

rights of individuals. The Vienna Conference on Human

Rights held last year deepened the understanding of the

significance of human rights for stability, freedom, peace,

progress and justice. The establishment of the post of

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights was

vital to a more effective implementation of the principles of

human rights. Member States must continue to work to

increase the effectiveness of existing United Nations

human-rights mechanisms and to support the High

Commissioner in the fulfilment of his mandate.

Armenia considers self-determination in its multitude

of manifestations to be an inalienable human right.

Armenia’s position on the Nagorny Karabakh conflict has

been clear and consistent from the start. Armenia has no

territorial claims against Azerbaijan. The conflict is

between the people of Nagorny Karabakh, who are striving

for self-determination, and the Azerbaijani Government,

which is refusing to address the rights of the people of

Nagorny Karabakh. Armenia provides moral, diplomatic

and humanitarian assistance to the people of Nagorny

Karabakh, and it cannot accept a military solution which

can only mean the genocide or deportation of the

population of Nagorny Karabakh.

While the Nagorny Karabakh conflict has gone

through periods of both intense fighting and relative calm

since I spoke here two years ago, there has never before

been a period in the five-year history of the conflict when

a cease-fire has taken hold for so long. I am pleased to

inform the Assembly today that the cease-fire of

12 May 1994, which was mediated by the Russian

Federation, is in general being maintained. But what is

more gratifying and encouraging is that, through direct

and immediate contacts between the parties to the

conflict, the de facto 12 May cease-fire was formalized

on 27 July 1994, and on 28 August 1994 the parties

reaffirmed their commitment to the cease-fire until such

time as a political document has been signed.

Armenia congratulates the main parties to the

conflict for their commitment to maintain the cease-fire

and to engage in direct dialogue. Armenia views this as

an important confidence-building measure, as a major step

towards the consolidation of the cease-fire and as a sign

of a strong commitment to the successful conclusion of

the current negotiations, which in turn will make possible

the solution of the problem at the Minsk Conference of

the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe.

Clearly, the conflict has entered a new phase, in

which the parties have demonstrated their desire for

peace.

Our new challenge, and the priority for Armenia, is

the consolidation of the cease-fire and the establishment

of peace. There is a historic opportunity today to end the

conflict. But the cause of peace requires the active,

unified support of the international community to

consolidate the cease-fire. The cumulative impact of the

distrust of the past five years, on the one hand, and the

lack of international measures to support consolidation,

on the other hand, may increase the current uncertainty

and threaten the fragile cease-fire.

There is no doubt that, beyond the cessation of

hostilities, a lasting peace will mostly depend on the

ability of the main parties to the conflict and of the

international community to develop innovative and

internationally approved mechanisms for its establishment

and maintenance.

The primary concern for Armenia has been, and

remains, the security of the people of Nagorny Karabakh.

Both Armenia and Nagorny Karabakh have repeatedly

expressed their readiness to comply with the relevant

Security Council resolutions. A lasting peace can be

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achieved only by ensuring the irreversibility of the peace

process through the deployment of international security

forces between Azerbaijan and Nagorny Karabakh until

such time as a negotiated solution to the problem of

Nagorny Karabakh has been reached, with the full

participation of Nagorny Karabakh at the CSCE Minsk

Conference.

The proliferation of weapons of mass destruction is in

direct contradiction of the peacemaking efforts of the

United Nations. Armenia considers that only the

unconditional and indefinite extension of the Nuclear

Non-Proliferation Treaty will ensure that the Treaty serves

its purpose. It is encouraging that negotiations on a

comprehensive nuclear-test-ban treaty have made important

progress over the past year, and we hope that a text

satisfactory to all can be agreed on soon.

We support the integration of multilateral disarmament

with United Nations activities relat to preventive diplomacy,

peacemaking, peace-keeping and post-conflict

peace-building.

The debate in the General Assembly Working Group

on the Question of Equitable Representation on and

Increase in the Membership of the Security Council has

been very useful. Virtually all States Members of the

United Nations favour an increase in the membership of the

Security Council to reflect the radical changes in the world

and the increase in the Organization’s overall membership.

However, an increase in membership should not diminish

the Council’s efficiency. It is necessary here to note that

the Council has taken a number of constructive steps to

improve its transparency and its communication with

non-members. The Security Council should also be better

able to respond to emerging threats and disputes before

they escalate into armed conflict. With improved

coordination of United Nations organizations and agencies

devoted to economic and social progress, the Economic and

Social Council could better assist the Security Council and

advise it of potential emergencies arising out of economic

and social conditions. Therefore, Armenia fully supports

the call for restructuring of the Economic and Social

Council and for the possible establishment of an economic

security council.

Improving the administrative performance of the

United Nations is another priority. Armenia welcomes the

current initiatives to streamline the Organization’s

administrative and management structures and procedures

to meet the demands now being made of the United

Nations. In particular, we supported the United States

initiative, and we are pleased that the General Assembly

has created the Office of Internal Oversight Services.

Let me return for a moment to the theme I began

with. In this period of unprecedented change, many

hardships - both expected and unforeseen - have arisen.

The present era, full of challenge and hope, gives us new

faith in the United Nations as the best and most

appropriate forum for integrating all the interests of the

various peoples of the world, which are too fragmented

today. Universal harmony can be established only when

discords are peacefully resolved and full cooperation

between nations is achieved. The United Nations,

strengthened by the noble principles and objectives

enshrined in its Charter, and facing new responsibilities

and tasks, can and must lead the way to a better

organized and more harmonious world.

Let me conclude by wishing the General Assembly

every success in the demanding work it faces during this

session.