Azerbaijan, 2014

At the outset,

I would like to congratulate my good friend Mr. Sam

Kutesa on his assumption of the presidency of the

General Assembly at its sixty-ninth session. I wish him

every success in fulfilling that highly responsible duty.

We are also grateful to Mr. John Ashe for all his hard

work in presiding over the sixty-eighth session.

Azerbaijan reaffirms its commitment to the

implementation of the global sustainable development

agenda and to reaching an agreement on the post-2015

development agenda. My country’s record in attaining

the Millennium Development Goals is truly unique.

Over the past 10 years, the gross domestic product

of Azerbaijan has increased by 3.4 times. Now the

economy of Azerbaijan accounts for more than 80 per

cent of that of the South Caucasus.

The unrivalled high rate of economic growth has

been achieved thanks to the prudent use of available

resources and the rapid transition to a socially oriented

market economy. The poverty rate was reduced from

49 per cent in 2004 to 5.3 per cent in 2014. Over the

same period, the unemployment rate has decreased

from 10.6 per cent to 5 per cent. The Government

has been implementing large-scale programmes on

improving good governance, strengthening the rule of

law, ensuring respect for human rights and providing

facilitated access to public services. Such programmes

also cover inclusive and equitable education, gender

equality, the empowerment of women, better access to

affordable energy and the protection of the environment.

The rapid development at the national level has

enabled Azerbaijan to embark on a new road of official

development assistance as an emerging donor. Over

the past years, Azerbaijan has continued to respond

to the humanitarian and socioeconomic challenges

faced by developing countries through the Azerbaijan

International Development Agency and other channels.

The commitment to contributing to international

development is widely shared with our people. The

leading non-governmental organization in Azerbaijan,

the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, has implemented

numerous social, humanitarian and development

projects in a number of countries.

Azerbaijan has established itself as a reliable

supplier of energy in the global market. Just recently,

a groundbreaking ceremony to launch the southern gas

corridor was held in Azerbaijan. That $50 billion project,

which envisages the construction of pipeline systems

such as the trans-Anatolian and the trans-Adriatic

pipelines, will enable Europe to obtain gas supplies

from a completely new resource base in Azerbaijan.

The Trans-Eurasian Information Superhighway

project, which was initiated by Azerbaijan, will

provide the countries of the region with information

technology services, thereby facilitating access to the

Internet, telecommunications systems and electronic

information resources for 20 countries throughout the

region. Acknowledging the value of transport as an

important mechanism for sustainable development,

Azerbaijan has successfully launched several regional

infrastructure projects. The Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway

is an important link that connects Europe and Asia.

Against the background of the various threats and

challenges facing the world nowadays, it is critical

to persistently stress the importance of promoting

key values of different cultures, enhancing better

understanding among diverse communities and

encouraging mutual respect. Located between the

two great continents of Asia and Europe, Azerbaijan

is a unique place, where the East and the West meet,

where the world’s main religions peacefully coexist and

where the values and traditions of different cultures

harmoniously complement each other. It is not a

coincidence that in recent years, Azerbaijan has hosted

numerous international events aimed at promoting

the dialogue among civilizations and enhancing

understanding among different religions, faiths and

cultures.

Violence and fragility remain the greatest

obstacles to development. The world community still

faces serious breaches of the fundamental norms and

principles of international law. Peoples throughout

the world continue to suffer from devastating wars,

aggression, military occupation and ethnic cleansing.

For more than 20 years, Armenia has used force

against the territorial integrity and sovereignty of

Azerbaijan. It has occupied approximately 20 per cent

of the territories of Azerbaijan and conducted ethnic

cleansing against almost 1 million Azerbaijanis, as a

result of which no single Azerbaijani is left in Armenia

or in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan. No single

Azerbaijani historical or cultural monument has

escaped destruction in the occupied territories or in

Armenia.

In 1993, the Security Council adopted four

resolutions that reaffirm the sovereignty and territorial

integrity of Azerbaijan and the inadmissibility of the

use of force for the acquisition of territory. Resolutions

822 (1993), 853 (1993), 874 (1993) and 884 (1993)

demand the immediate, complete and unconditional

withdrawal of the Armenian occupying forces from all

occupied territories of Azerbaijan. Furthermore, the

General Assembly, the Non-Aligned Movement, the

Organization of Islamic Cooperation and numerous

other regional organizations adopted various decisions

in support of the sovereignty, political independence

and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan and demanded

the settlement of the conflict on the basis of those

principles.

Unfortunately, Armenia disregards all of those

resolutions and the generally accepted norms and

principles of international law and continues its

military occupation of Azerbaijani lands. Armenia

regularly violates the ceasefire and deliberately

attacks Azerbaijani civilians, which results in the

killing and wounding of inhabitants residing near the

front line. Just recently, several Azerbaijani civilians

who were visiting the tombs of their relatives in the

occupied territories were taken hostage and tortured.

Some of them were even killed by Armenian forces.

It is therefore critical that the international community

play a more proactive role in ending impunity for the

crimes committed against the civilian population of

Azerbaijan. Combating impunity is important in order

to ensure sustainable peace and reconciliation.

Two days ago, the President of Armenia delivered

a statement here during the general debate and tried

to mislead the General Assembly by distorting the

facts and the situation with regard to the peace

process, misinterpreting the norms and principles of

international law and the relevant documents adopted

within that framework (see A/69/PV.6). The President

of Armenia misuses the noble principle of self-

determination to cover up his country’s attempts to

annex territories of the neighbouring State, Azerbaijan,

through the use of force. The situation, which he tries

to present as the self-determination of the Armenians

living in Azerbaijan, has nothing in common with the

principle of self-determination contained in the Charter

of the United Nations and the Helsinki Final Act. In

fact, the principle of self-determination requires the

return of the displaced Azerbaijanis to the Nagorny

Karabakh region, where they will live together with the

Armenian community in peace, dignity and prosperity

within Azerbaijan. We believe in achieving that goal by

political means.

Azerbaijan stands for a negotiated settlement of the

conflict without prejudice to its rights under the Charter

of the United Nations, in particular those set forth in

Article 51. The Government of Armenia must realize

that the military occupation of the territory of another

State does not represent a solution and that its reliance

on the status quo is a grave miscalculation. Azerbaijan

will never allow its territorial integrity, or the rights

and freedoms of its citizens that have been violated as a

result of aggression, to be compromised.

The international community’s unequivocal and

consistent support for the territorial integrity and

sovereignty of Azerbaijan has been a crucial factor.

It makes clear to Armenia that the current status quo,

which was achieved as a result of aggression, will never

be accepted. I would like to thank Member States for

upholding the letter and spirit of the Charter of the

United Nations by supporting the territorial integrity

of Azerbaijan. The international community does not,

and will not, accept attempts to change internationally

recognized borders through the use of force. Nor should

the world accept double standards. To do so would take

us back to the dark chapters of the past century. In

that regard, the time is ripe to bring to justice those

in Armenia who perpetrated acts of aggression against

Azerbaijan and crimes against humanity and to impose

sanctions on them.