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.