Armenia

Allow me to congratulate you, Sir, on your election to the presidency of this historic fiftieth session of the General Assembly. Given your talent and experience, I am confident that you will guide this session to the successful completion of the noble mission entrusted to it by the Charter of the United Nations. I should also like to express my appreciation and thanks to your predecessor, His Excellency Mr. Amara Essy, for his outstanding leadership in accomplishing the tasks of the last session. I should like to take this opportunity to extend my warm welcome and congratulations to the Republic of Palau on its admission to the United Nations during the past year. Further, I wish to express Armenia’s gratitude to the Secretary-General, His Excellency Mr. Boutros Boutros- Ghali, for the vision with which he has guided the Organization, and for his tireless activity in redefining the role of the United Nations in this changing world. After its declaration of independence in 1991, Armenia began implementing radical economic and political reforms to create a healthy market economy and a truly democratic society. In addition to severe economic and social problems resulting from the extraordinary changes buffeting the country, the transition process in Armenia has been exacerbated by the collapse of traditional economic and trade arrangements, instability in the region, the transport and energy blockade imposed by neighbouring Azerbaijan, the devastation caused by the massive earthquake of 1988, the conflict between Nagorny Karabakh and Azerbaijan and the presence of 360,000 refugees. Despite such serious economic and social circumstances, economic reforms have been continued and even expanded over the last year. From the point of view of current economic trends, 1994 was exceptional. The programme of socio-economic development was aimed at halting economic decline, reducing inflation and creating conditions for the revitalization of the economy. Although the problems specifically related to the transition remain, the measures taken not only have halted the recession but also have provided a measure of economic growth. Indeed, in 1994 Armenia became the first former Soviet Republic to record economic growth. A tight credit policy has forced down the inflation rate from 30 per cent a month last year to 1 per cent in August. The currency, the Dram, is now one of the strongest in the region. Since mid-1994 a macroeconomic stabilization programme has been under way. We have maintained a policy of fiscal and monetary responsibility to encourage the development of the private sector. We are also undertaking a mass privatization programme to transfer nearly all State-owned enterprises to private ownership. We believe that the private sector will be the engine of growth in Armenia and an important source of employment opportunity. We welcome the participation of foreign investors in this process without restriction, and we have a completely open foreign trade policy. 20 Of course implementation of our economic policy has been hampered by the situation in the energy sector, which remains critical. Therefore, the only viable, effective short- term solution to Armenia’s energy crisis is the restarting of the Metsamor Nuclear Power plant, which is under way. Armenia, like other States in transition, is in the process of emerging from economic crisis and of laying the foundations for economic and social development. While States have the primary responsibility to achieve social and economic development, they cannot do so alone. They need the substantial support and encouragement of the international community. Multilateral and bilateral donors should coordinate their financing and planning procedures to improve the impact of their activity toward the achievement of the objectives of social development programmes of countries with economies in transition. Given its universal membership and the unique and comprehensive mandate reflected in its Charter, the United Nations has a vital role to play in the development process, particularly in ensuring the implementation of development commitments in an integrated fashion. Hence, its relationship with the specialized agencies, funds, regional organizations and commissions, the Bretton Woods institutions and the World Trade Organization should be analysed with a view to enhancing effective action and coordination between them in the economic, social and related fields. The commitment to the transformation of the centrally planned economy to a market economy is seen by the Government of Armenia as an integral part of the transition to a democratic State. In turn, a free-market economy will flourish in a stable democracy which promotes and underpins economic development. The success of a democracy requires informed and civil discourse and respect for the rule of law and for the democratic process, including the expression of the public view through free and fair elections. Last July, Armenia held its first democratic parliamentary elections since its declared independence. Simultaneously, Armenians voted in a constitutional referendum on the first democratic institution in the history of Armenia. The Constitution was adopted and the liberal democratic forces gained an overwhelming majority in the new parliament, now renamed the National Assembly. International and local observers reported that the elections ran smoothly and were held in a free atmosphere. I should like to take this opportunity to express my Government’s deep appreciation for the monitoring activities of the United Nations observers in the parliamentary elections and the constitutional referendum. The convincing victory of the liberal democratic forces has guaranteed the continuation of the political and socio-economic policies pursued thus far by the Government, based on a clear programme and an achievable plan of development. The adoption of the Constitution is a decisive factor in the maintenance of the stability of Armenian statehood, as well as the legal guarantee for the development of a civic society and a market economy. 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. Armenia strongly supports the efforts of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mr. Ayala Lasso. Member States must continue working toward better coordination within the Human Rights Centre and consolidation of human rights functions within the United Nations system. The United Nations should give priority to monitoring and prevention. Armenia considers self-determination in its multitude of manifestations to be an inalienable human right. The conflict between the people of Nagorno Karabakh, who are striving for self-determination, and the Azerbaijani Government, which refuses to address the rights of the people of Nagorno Karabakh, continues to concern the Government of Armenia. The peaceful resolution of the conflict remains Armenia’s top foreign policy priority. Despite the maintenance of the cease-fire since May 1994, the conflict continues to threaten peace, stability and security in our region. The lack of any serious breakthrough in negotiations during this respite, the uncertainties surrounding the political process and the reluctance of the international community to seize the opportunity to act firmly and decisively make the 15- month-long cease-fire highly fragile. Indeed, the longer the cease-fire exists without any major developments, the more likely the resumption of military activity in the near future will become. Since the last session of the General Assembly, important developments have taken place in the political process. Visible progress was made at the Summit meeting of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) held in Budapest in December 1994, when an agreement was reached at the highest levels to combine the mediation efforts of the OSCE and Russia, 21 and create a co-chairmanship to guide the peace process. The Summit also expressed readiness to establish a multinational OSCE peace-keeping operation to consolidate the existing cease-fire, make the peace process irreversible and open the way for the Minsk Conference. Today, under Russian and Finn co-chairmanship, and with the participation of nine Minsk Group member States, the OSCE is actively pursuing the peace process through intensive negotiations. While these efforts have certainly yielded results, a demonstration of political will by the parties to the conflict and an added commitment by the international community are needed if a serious breakthrough is to be achieved. As part of the step-by-step approach to the resolution of the conflict, the signing of the political agreement is critical for the consolidation of the cease-fire and for the overall settlement of the conflict. This political agreement, which is currently, during the Minsk Group negotiations, being discussed by the parties to the conflict, stipulates the deployment of the OSCE peace-keeping forces, the return of the occupied territories, the lifting of all blockades and the return of refugees. The successful conclusion of this agreement depends mainly on a provision that provides local, regional and international security guarantees that will ensure the physical existence of the people of Nagorno Karabakh, and eliminate the possibility of the resumption of military activities. Such guarantees, along with standard security measures — deployment of OSCE peace-keepers, demilitarization of all evacuated territory, and so on — must also address Nagorno Karabakh’s legitimate need, as an indispensable security element, of a corridor linking the enclave with the outside world. The proliferation of weapons of mass destruction poses a grave threat to both global and regional security and stability. At the 1995 Review and Extension Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non- Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, the States parties undertook an in-depth and earnest review of the implementation of the Treaty and reached a decision for the Treaty to continue in force indefinitely. My delegation would like to take this opportunity to reiterate its satisfaction with this historic outcome. Armenia attaches great importance to the early conclusion of a comprehensive nuclear test-ban treaty — and no later than 1996. In recent years the United Nations has convened a series of global conferences. The important process of international gatherings has continued this year. The World Summit for Social Development brought together many strands that had previously been pursued separately. For the first time in history there was a political acknowledgment that the eradication of poverty must be the first priority of any society. Within each of the United Nations global conferences, the advancement of women has been a major concern, and we have witnessed a number of considerable gains on women’s issues. The Fourth Conference on Women, which has just concluded in Beijing, both reaffirms the commitments toward the advancement of women made in the previous conferences and builds upon their achievements. The Platform of Action agreed upon at the Beijing Conference will lead to the creation of new machinery that will help countries integrate women’s issues into national policy-making. Virtually all Member States of the United Nations favour an increase in the membership of the Security Council reflecting 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. Meanwhile, the Security Council must continue working to improve its openness, transparency and communication with non-members. The Council should also be able to respond to emerging threats and disputes before their escalation into armed conflict. There is a direct link between peace and security, on the one hand, and economic and social development, on the other. Therefore, radical reform of the Economic and Social Council is imperative. As a first step, strengthening of the Council’s policy-setting role and coordination capability in operational activities for development is required. Together with improved coordination of United Nations organizations and agencies devoted to economic and social progress, a strengthened Economic and Social Council could better assist the Security Council and advise it of potential emergencies arising out of economic and social conditions. The issue of financial resources is fundamental. If Member States wish to have an effective world Organization to meet global challenges, they must pay their assessments, as they are legally committed to do. 22 We are not indifferent to the financial situation of the United Nations, and I would like to assure the Assembly that my country will do its best to fulfil its obligations. However, the current assessment formulas no longer fully reflect global economic and political realities. The High- level Open-ended Working Group on the Financial Situation of the United Nations was established by the Assembly in part in response to the necessity for revision of the assessment structure. The aim of a comprehensive financial reform must be to establish a transparent and reliable scale, reflective of Members’ real capacity to pay, automatically adaptable to changed national circumstances and giving consideration to the needs of countries with low per capita incomes. Let me conclude by wishing the General Assembly every success in the demanding work it faces during this session, and by pledging Armenia’s most active and efficient cooperation with the delegations of other States as you, Sir, preside over our deliberations.