Armenia

At the outset, I would like to congratulate the President on his election to the presidency of the General Assembly at its fifty-first session. Given his talent and experience, I am confident that he will guide this session to a successful completion of the noble mission entrusted to it by the Charter of the United Nations. I would also like to express my appreciation and thanks to his predecessor, Mr. Diogo Freitas Do Amaral, for his outstanding leadership in accomplishing the tasks of the last session. The end of the cold war has given a decisive impetus to globalization by offering former socialist economies the opportunity to assume their rightful place in the world economy. The challenges posed by extremely rapid transformation are nowhere more graphically depicted than in the current transition of the countries of Eastern and Central Europe and in the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. 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 transport and energy blockade by neighbouring Azerbaijan, the devastation caused by the massive earthquake of 1988, the conflict between Nagorny-Karabakh and Azerbaijan and the presence of more than 300,000 refugees. Despite such serious circumstances, economic reforms begun after the declaration of independence in 1991 have been continued and expanded over the past year. Having achieved a fair degree of economic stability, the Government of Armenia has designed a medium-term economic programme for 1996-1998. Armenia’s medium- term policy objectives are to maintain financial stability and establish the institutions and mechanisms of a market economy by the end of the programme period in order to lay the foundation for sustainable growth and a viable balance of payments. Consistent with this strategy, the main macroeconomic objectives of the programme are to raise the economic growth rate from 5 per cent in 1995 to 7 per cent in 1998; to lower inflation to 8 per cent by the end of 1998; and to narrow the current account deficit from 26 per cent of the gross domestic product in 1995 to 12 per cent in 1998. To cope with the social pressures involved in the transition process, the reorientation of social expenditures towards the most vulnerable remains a high-priority task. The programme lays emphasis on improving the targeting of the social safety net and intensifying efforts to rationalize social expenditures. While each country is responsible for its own economic policies for development, in accordance with its specific situation and conditions, the reactivation of economic growth and development in all countries requires a concerted effort of the international community. Here, particular attention should be given to the needs of the countries with economies in transition, without this affecting development assistance to the developing countries. 5 The completion of the transition process, the integration of these countries into the world economy and their effective involvement in the multilateral institutions will have a positive impact not only on these countries themselves, but also on the global economy. As we approach the twenty-first century, it is the collective responsibility of the international community to ensure that, within the multidimensional and integrated character of its mandate, the United Nations system is equipped to show leadership in the fulfilment of the commitments made to international cooperation for development. In this context, the United Nations System-wide Special Initiative for Africa exemplifies the system’s commitment to collaborative action and its renewed commitment to supporting Africa’s development. Launched last March by the Secretary-General, this Initiative is the largest coordinated action in the history of the United Nations. While it is clear that the implementation of the Initiative will be led at the country level by Governments, the United Nations agencies will hold themselves mutually accountable for achieving this Initiative’s goals. The United Nations, in cooperation with the Bretton Woods institutions, other bodies of the United Nations system, including its specialized agencies, and the World Trade Organization, has a key role in fostering greater coherence, complementarity and coordination in global economic policy-making. The General Assembly should exert greater policy leadership on development issues inasmuch as the Charter of the United Nations provides the Assembly with broad mandates concerning these issues. In accordance with relevant provisions of the Charter, the Economic and Social Council must continue to strengthen its role as the central mechanism for coordinating the policies and activities of the United Nations, its specialized agencies and funds in the economic, social and related fields. It should provide overall guidance and coordination to the United Nations development system. The Council must also promote a coordinated follow-up to the outcomes of major international conferences. Recommendations adopted by the Economic and Social Council at its 1996 substantive session on strengthening collaboration between the United Nations and Bretton Woods institutions and on new arrangements for consultations with non-governmental organizations represented a great step forward. Modern democracy is the political counterpart of the market economic system, and the two go hand in hand. The success of a democracy requires informed and civil discourse and respect for the rule of law and the democratic process, including the expression of the public will through free and fair elections. The recent, vigorously contested presidential election signalled the vitality of the democratic process in Armenia. President Levon Ter-Petrossian’s re-election demonstrates the will of the people in support of the policies pursued thus far by the Government, based on a clear programme and an achievable plan of development. Development cannot be attained in the absence of respect for all human rights and fundamental freedoms. Armenia strongly supports the High Commissioner for Human Rights in his efforts to restructure the Centre for Human Rights. The Member States must continue working towards better coordination within the Centre and consolidation of human-rights functions within the United Nations system. Armenia considers self-determination in its multitude of manifestations to be an inalienable human right. In this light, the Nagorny Karabakh conflict continues to concern the Government of Armenia and its peaceful resolution remains Armenia’s top foreign-policy priority. A few months ago, on 12 May, we marked the second anniversary of the cease-fire in the Nagorny Karabakh conflict. At the same time, the parties to the conflict released all prisoners of war and hostages identified by the International Committee of the Red Cross. We consider these developments encouraging and conducive to the overall peace process and to the establishment of a favourable atmosphere for negotiations. Negotiations among the parties within the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Minsk Group on a political agreement continued during the past year. We believe that the signing of the agreement provides the best hope for consolidating the cease-fire and making the peace process irreversible. The elements of the political agreement, and most importantly the security provisions for Nagorny Karabakh, will eventually comprise an inseparable part of any settlement, regardless of the ultimate status of Nagorny Karabakh. Also this year, the parties took an extra step to establish a second negotiating track through immediate and direct contacts, as mandated by the December 1995 meeting of the OSCE Council of Ministers in Budapest. 6 Thus far, several rounds of talks have taken place between Armenia and Azerbaijan in which general aspects of key issues have been discussed. We are hopeful that the representative of Nagorny Karabakh will join in upcoming rounds, for we strongly believe that no final solution can be achieved without Karabakh’s direct participation in the deliberations. The peaceful resolution of the Karabakh conflict remains Armenia’s first priority. Armenia is committed to the talks on both tracks and will remain constructively engaged in both processes. We believe that these two tracks compliment each other and that any progress we make on either can only positively impact the other, ultimately leading to a breakthrough. During the past five years, Armenia has experienced first hand how war, armed conflict and regional instability in general can hamper economic progress and development. Thus, I would like to reiterate Armenia’s commitment to maintaining the existing cease-fire, while eagerly searching for a solution based on good will, mutual compromise and understanding. The proliferation of weapons of mass destruction poses a serious threat to both global and regional security and stability. The adoption last month by the General Assembly of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty represented the international community’s determination to bring to a completion one of the most sought after non- proliferation and disarmament measures in the history of this Organization. It gave me much satisfaction to sign the Treaty earlier today on behalf of the Government and people of Armenia. Virtually all States Members 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, during the discussions in the Open-ended Working Group, wide support has been expressed for the view that, if there is no agreement on other categories of membership, expansion should take place, for the time being, in the non-permanent category alone. Armenia favours an increase in the non-permanent membership of the Council that would incorporate the interests of all the regional Groups and correspond to the principle of equitable geographic distribution. In order to carry out its activities, the United Nations needs financial means. The financing of the Organization is the collective responsibility of all Member States and Armenia is not indifferent to the financial situation of the United Nations. I would like to assure the Assembly that Armenia will do its best to fulfil its financial obligations. However, there is an urgent need to adopt a global package of measures to solve the grave financial situation of the United Nations. These measures should contemplate, inter alia, review of the scale of assessments so that it would reflect as accurately as possible the principle of capacity to pay. Allow me to 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 effective cooperation with the delegations of other States.