First of all, I would like to congratulate you, Sir, on your election to the presidency of the General Assembly at its fifty-eighth session and to express gratitude to Mr. Jan Kavan for his work as the President during the fifty-seventh session. This year has been hard for the United Nations. The events surrounding Iraq have revealed weak links in the system of international security. Not for the first time, the Security Council, owing to disagreements among its members, was unable to ensure the implementation of its resolutions and to react adequately to the situation. Those disagreements continue to have a critical influence on the activity of the Security Council with regard to both Iraq and other crises and conflicts. It is clear that existing United Nations mechanisms do not meet the requirements of our time, and it is necessary 28 to reform the United Nations, including the Security Council, which reflects the reality of half a century ago. Azerbaijan supports the well-known reform proposals of Secretary-General Kofi Annan, in particular with regard to the expansion of the membership of the Security Council, and counts on the goodwill of the permanent members of the Council with regard to the revision of its mechanisms, in particular the right of veto. We hope that the international community will now be able to consolidate its efforts to restore and strengthen a united and indivisible Iraq and to establish democracy based on the free will of all of the Iraqi people. Our country, which is ready to take part in this process, has begun to contribute to the strengthening of security and stability in Iraq. The terrorist act against the United Nations Headquarters in Baghdad shocked the entire international community. The death of Sergio Vieira de Mello and his colleagues was a tragic loss for the Organization and all of us. What happened in Baghdad once again showed how vulnerable we are in the face of terror and convinced us that terrorists are capable of committing any crime. The only response should be an uncompromising commitment to fight against anyone who resorts to terrorism, no matter what goals are used as a cover. Selectivity and double standards have no place in this respect. Our country, which has fallen victim to the aggression, occupation and terror unleashed by Armenia, has for years been fighting terrorism on its own. Our appeals to the international community to unite its efforts in combating terrorism went unheeded. The alarm went off only after 11 September 2001. Success in the fight against terrorism cannot be achieved without eradicating the underlying roots and eliminating the factors that create a favourable environment for its dissemination. On the other hand, it is not possible to resolve conflicts throughout the world, including in the southern Caucasus, under conditions of continuing terrorism or of support for it at the State level. We have to keep in mind that terrorist groups, created and developed by separatist and extremist forces, are usually based in illegally controlled territories, in the so-called grey zones that emerge as a result of acts of armed separatism and external aggression. One such uncontrolled grey zone is Nagorny Karabakh and other regions of the Republic of Azerbaijan, occupied by Armenian military forces. While carrying out the comprehensive struggle against terror and resolving conflicts on the basis of principles and norms of international law, the international community should decisively resort to force. That is the only effective way of restoring justice and ensuring the rule of law. The delegation of Azerbaijan has repeatedly drawn the attention of the international community from this high rostrum to the ongoing conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Ten years have elapsed since the Security Council adopted four resolutions demanding the immediate, complete and unconditional withdrawal of the Armenian occupying forces from the Azerbaijani territories. However, Armenia continues to challenge the international community by ignoring those decisions, whereas the Security Council and the Minsk Group of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) do not undertake any adequate measures in that regard. Azerbaijan has on many occasions declared its commitment to the peaceful settlement of the conflict on the basis of norms and principles of international law. We are determined to continue with our efforts in this direction, and we count on the active participation of the international community. Azerbaijan will never accept a settlement on the basis of the so-called existing realities and will not cede a single inch of its land. Azerbaijan's patience is not limitless, and no one should try to take advantage of it. Responsibility for the deadlock in the settlement lies with the aggressor Armenia, and not with the victim of aggression, Azerbaijan. The passive position of an observer taken by the international community can only aggravate that deadlock. Only after Armenia evacuates all the Azerbaijani territories and thus creates a basis for the peaceful settlement of the conflict can Armenia count on normal inter-State relations and cooperation with Azerbaijan. By rejecting our constructive proposals, based on the observance of international law, Armenia is demonstrating its genuine intention to seize and annex Azerbaijani territories. Armenia's authorities continue to profess the ideology of aggressive nationalism, militarism, 29 separatism and terrorism and to doom their people to the deepest crisis. In a society where territorial expansion and the search for external enemies are instilled as a national idea, democracy and pluralism cannot take root. It should be realized in Armenia that the present situation of its conflict with Azerbaijan will not only fail to resolve but will also certainly aggravate its own serious internal social and economic problems. It is with a sense of regret that one has to acknowledge that inaction by the international community leads to the strengthened self-confidence of Armenia in pursuing its destructive policy. Both the OSCE Minsk Group and the Security Council have backed off in the face of illegitimate force, thus calling into question the seriousness of their intentions and continuity of their actions. Appeasement of the aggressor seriously undermines the whole system of international security, which is based on the inviolability of principles and norms of international law. That attitude has on many occasions taken a heavy toll on the international community. We appeal to the Security Council to carry out the necessary measures in order to ensure the implementation of the above-mentioned four resolutions, and we expect that decisive steps will be taken to stop criminal and aggressive actions in the occupied territories and on the line of engagement, as well as to push the occupying forces to unconditionally, immediately and completely evacuate the seized Azerbaijani territories. The conflict has deprived almost one million Azerbaijanis of roofs over their heads. It is clear that the forthcoming winter will again become another hard test for the refugees and the internally displaced persons, hundreds of thousand of whom continue to live in tent camps. The Government of Azerbaijan, using its limited resources, spares no effort to mitigate their suffering. Recently, the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan by decree allocated more than $70 million to the construction of housing for refugees. While we highly appreciate the assistance of the international community, we nevertheless are worried by its decreasing scale. We urge the relevant United Nations agencies and donor countries, as well as non- governmental organizations, to boost their attention to the problems of the forcefully displaced Azerbaijani population and to respond adequately to their needs. As for the long-term resolution of this problem, it lies, of course, in the settlement of the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan and in the return of the refugees and internally displaced persons to their homes. The conflict has also severely damaged the economy of Azerbaijan. However, having mobilized our domestic resources, we managed to overcome serious social-economic crises and to move towards stabilization and development. Economic reform policies and the oil strategy elaborated and being implemented under the leadership of the President of Azerbaijan, His Excellency Mr. Heydar Aliyev, have already yielded concrete results. These reforms have led to macroeconomic stability and high economic growth rates. The promotion of the market economy and entrepreneurship increased the share of the private sector of the economy to 73 per cent. Figures on foreign direct investment per capita show that Azerbaijan is one of the leaders among the countries with economies in transition. On average, the annual economic growth rate is between 8 per cent and 10 per cent. The implementation of large-scale transregional projects on development and transportation of hydrocarbon resources of the Caspian Sea to the world market and the diversification of transport corridors, initiated by Azerbaijan, have opened new prospects for the social and economic development of countries along the East-West corridor, aimed at the restoration of the historic Silk Road. This progress would be impossible without internal political stability, which has created the prerequisites and conditions for implementing radical political reforms and the development of democratic society. Today, Azerbaijani democracy stands at the edge of its next test of maturity and firmness. On October 15, the elections for President of the Republic will be held in Azerbaijan. The legislative basis for conducting genuinely free and fair elections has been established in the country. The recently adopted Election Code was widely discussed at the local and international levels, and it meets the highest international standards. Numerous international observers of the OSCE, the Council of Europe and other international organizations, as well as local observers, will follow the presidential elections. 30 The triumph of democracy, social progress and sustainable development on a global scale are impossible unless the problems of poverty and sharp disproportion in economic performance across different countries and regions are resolved. In that regard, the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals is extremely important. Combating poverty presupposes close interaction between developed and developing countries. Regrettably, there is still no breakthrough in that regard. Developed States should pay more attention to the problems of the countries with economies in transition. Experience proves that narrow-minded interests frequently prevail, and thus deadlocks emerge in the negotiation process. Azerbaijan believes that enlargement of parties to the multilateral trade system, as well as granting the provisions of special and differential treatment in the World Trade Organization (WTO) to both developing countries and countries with economies in transition, will contribute to the successful global integration of the latter. We are firmly convinced of the need to develop a dialogue among civilizations and cultures. Only through dialogue and good will shall we defeat mistrust and confrontation, and unify our forces in addressing common threats and challenges. In conclusion, allow me once again to reiterate Azerbaijan's strong adherence to its political course, aimed at building a strong democratic State with a market economy, and our genuine willingness and desire to effectively contribute to peace and international security.