Azerbaijan

At the outset, I would like to congratulate Ms. Haya Rashed Al-Khalifa on her election to the presidency of the sixty-first session of the General Assembly and wish her every success during her tenure. I would like also to extend my sincere thanks to her predecessor, my good friend Mr. Jan Eliasson, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Sweden, for his efforts and active work with the delegations throughout the last session. The 2005 High-level Plenary Meeting of the Assembly became an important milestone in the history of the United Nations. It reaffirmed our faith in the Organization and our unwavering interest to make it stronger and effective. I am pleased to emphasize the positive moves that we have made since last September on issues such as development, the environment, HIV/AIDS, Secretariat reform, establishment of the Central Emergency Response Fund and the Peacebuilding Fund. The founding of the Peacebuilding Commission and the Human Rights Council are remarkable moments in the history of the United Nations. Yet more remains to be done to realize our common vision of solidarity and collective security, which is premised on the shared values and principles of the Charter. As we move towards such ambitious goals, it is increasingly apparent that multilateralism with a strong United Nations at its core remains the only reliable instrument for maintaining international peace and security, achieving sustainable development and promoting respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. Strengthening the deliberative and decision- making authority of the General Assembly, which represents the views of all Member States, is key to the successful implementation and effectiveness of the reforms. Azerbaijan believes that reform of the Security Council should not be confined to enlargement of its membership. We stand for the rationalization of the Council’s working methods, greater transparency in decision-making, accountability in performance and full implementation of its resolutions. The election of the new Secretary-General is an event of the utmost importance for the Organization. It has already been revealed to suffer from a number of deficiencies and requires greater transparency and inclusion of the wider membership. Azerbaijan believes that the new head of the United Nations should clearly recognize the trends and challenges faced by the international community at the beginning of the twenty-first century. Azerbaijan regrets that the late response of the Security Council to the evolving crisis in the Middle East allowed the humanitarian tragedy to unfold. In that regard, implementation of the measures contained in Security Council resolution 1701 (2006), including those related to the Lebanese Government’s seven- point peace plan, is very important for bringing durable peace to the Middle East. Azerbaijan will continue its efforts to contribute to the peaceful resolution of the conflict and alleviate the sufferings of civilians in Lebanon. I would like to express profound support for the States that have fallen victim to terrorist attacks. While strongly condemning terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and reaffirming our commitment to jointly fight that global scourge, we register our serious concern over attempts to link terrorism to the Islamic religion, culture or people. There is a dire need to stop and reverse a growing tendency towards Islamophobia in the world. Azerbaijan, in its capacity as Chairman of the Ministerial Council of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) calls upon Member States to undertake concrete measures to enhance dialogue and 21 06-53341 broaden understanding among nations, cultures and religions by promoting tolerance and respect for freedom of religion and belief. It is of vital importance to raise public awareness about the tenets and values of Islam worldwide, including in the Muslim societies. To that end, we plan to host in Baku in 2007, under the aegis of the OIC, an international conference on the role of the mass media in developing tolerance and mutual understanding. The situation in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan has recently become a subject of urgent consideration by the General Assembly, due to the massive fires occurring in those territories. The Assembly adopted without a vote a resolution stressing the necessity to conduct an urgent environmental operation with a view to suppressing the fires, overcoming their detrimental impact and rehabilitating the affected territories. The resolution has a two-fold purpose. On the one hand, it envisages a number of practical steps, including an assessment of the short- and long-term impact of the fires on the environment as a step in preparation for the environmental operation, counteracting the environmental degradation of the region, and the rehabilitation of the fire-affected part of the occupied territories of Azerbaijan. On the other, it serves as an unprecedented example of engaging the parties to the conflict, particularly Armenia and Azerbaijan, in a joint environmental operation to be carried out directly in the fire-affected zone. The implementation of the resolution will contribute to establishing an atmosphere of trust and confidence and will give positive impetus to the negotiation process. Sadly, that is the only positive development so far and cannot be attributed to the overall situation concerning the settlement process. Although no substantial progress has been registered so far, the parties and mediators have accepted the stage-by-stage approach in the settlement process as the only possible option. Basically, there are two main issues on which the parties disagree — the definition of the status of self-rule for the population of the occupied Nagorny Karabakh region and the withdrawal of Armenian forces from all the occupied territories of Azerbaijan. There is a common understanding that the status cannot be defined today. It should be elaborated through a peaceful, democratic and legal process with the direct participation and consent of both Azerbaijani and Armenian communities of the Nagorny Karabakh region. To that end, the Armenian occupying forces have to withdraw from the occupied territories and the necessary conditions have to be in place to allow the secure and dignified return of the indigenous Azerbaijani displaced persons to the Nagorny Karabakh region and the surrounding territories of Azerbaijan. Such a logical chain of events will establish the necessary conditions for the next stage of the settlement, which is normalizing life in the conflict- affected area, restoring intercommunal relations, launching socio-economic development and considering appropriate models of self-rule for the entire population of the region within Azerbaijan. Our position is based on relevant resolutions of the Security Council and decisions of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, which unequivocally demand the unconditional withdrawal of the occupying forces from all occupied territories of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the restoration of its sovereignty and territorial integrity, the creation of favourable conditions for the safe return of the civilian population, the restoration of intercommunal relations, and the elaboration of the status of self-government within a democratic and legal process, based on the agreement of both communities of the region. It is difficult to hope for a breakthrough in the negotiations when Armenia rejects face-to-face meetings and refuses to take a constructive approach to solving existing problems. What is more worrisome is that Armenia is attempting to support by all available means the separatist regime established under its control in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan and to spread myths and legends about the historical past and the alleged democratic and economic achievements of the regime. As a matter of fact, the reality on the ground proves the opposite. The Armenian community, which is the only remaining part of the entire population of the Nagorny Karabakh region of Azerbaijan, is increasingly inclined to leave the unrecognized quasi-entity due to worsening living conditions and the lack of any prospect of economic and social development. The dynamics of development of the entire region are strikingly evident, and in five or 10 years the economic growth of the region vis-à-vis Armenia will be much more impressive. It could be given a chance to join ongoing regional and transnational projects, but 06-53341 22 prior to that Yerevan has to take a number of steps to establish normal relations with its neighbours. The first plenary meetings of the Assembly under the presidency of Sheikha Haya Rashed Al-Khalifa were marked by an extremely difficult debate over an issue that was procedural in nature, but had a substantial political bearing. I join my colleagues from the States members of the Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Moldova Organization for Democracy and Economic Development (GUAM) in commending her wisdom and efforts aimed at ensuring that the rules of this house serve the interests of all Member States. Procedural disadvantages should not constrain the Member States from bringing critical issues affecting their security to the attention of the Assembly. The GUAM heads of State, in their Joint Declaration on the issue of conflict settlement, called upon States and international organizations to further facilitate, within their competence, conflict settlement processes in the GUAM area. Therefore, the inclusion of the new item on conflicts in the GUAM area in the agenda of the General Assembly is an attempt to raise the awareness of the Assembly of dangerous developments emerging from those unresolved conflicts. The pledges we have made to promote better standards of living in larger freedom nourish the faith of people around the world in future positive change and development. Hence, there is no greater imperative than to fulfil the development agenda and to strengthen global partnership for development. Azerbaijan is convinced that national development strategies should be a principal framework of development cooperation and support. Efficiency in the implementation process cannot be achieved unless it employs measures targeted at increasing the self-sufficiency of countries in the long run, inter alia, through knowledge, capacity-building, infrastructure development and market access and, ultimately, by reducing their dependence on foreign aid. A favourable global economic situation remains a prerequisite for the success of national development strategies, macroeconomic policies and, eventually, the economic and financial stability and growth of countries. Azerbaijan believes that international organizations should support the efforts of countries to improve and sustain their economic performance. We look forward to the contribution of the United Nations with a stronger and more effective Economic and Social Council capable of effectively discharging its newly assigned functions. Let me now describe the economic outlook for Azerbaijan and its experience in enhancing growth, development and social well-being. In the light of trends in 2005, gross domestic product is expected to increase by 30.5 per cent in 2006, driven by oil and gas production and exports. In 2006, State spending has been increased by up to 65 per cent, a large proportion being spent on the public sector and infrastructure. The key challenge facing the Government is to create a favourable environment for investment in the non-oil sector and to diversify exports. To achieve this objective, it must keep domestic reforms on track and strive to strengthen the business environment. The year 2006 marked a historic moment for the region and beyond, with the official inauguration of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) oil pipeline. We are looking forward to completion of the Baku-Tbilisi- Erzerum natural gas pipeline this fall and remain committed to contributing to global energy security. At the same time, we are actively developing transregional infrastructure projects, in particular the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railroad, which has been recognized as an important addition to the East-West and North- South transportation corridors. Last but not least, the establishment of the Human Rights Council marked a critical step towards enhancing the universal system for promoting and protecting human rights worldwide. The Council has been endowed with the necessary mandate to give human rights the central role foreseen by the Charter, and its status is that of a subsidiary body of the General Assembly. We have to build effective mechanisms, such as universal periodic review, special procedures and a complaints procedure within the Council. As a newly elected member of the Human Rights Council, Azerbaijan reiterates its readiness to cooperate with other Member States in order to ensure that the new Council becomes an effective body guided by the principles of universality, objectivity and non- selectivity and that it bases its activity on constructive and transparent dialogue and cooperation.