During 1993 the UN Security Council adopted
four resolutions 822, 853, 874 and 884 on the Armenian-Azerbaijan
conflict. Each of the abovementioned resolutions was adopted following
the subsequent occupation of Nagorny Karabakh region and other
territories of the Republic of Azerbaijan by the Armenian armed forces.
These resolutions reaffirmed the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan,
demanded immediate cease-fire, suspension of hostilities and withdrawal
of all occupying forces from the territory of the Republic of
Azerbaijan. Regrettably, the provisions of the resolutions have still
not been implemented.
Expressing with great concern that the
humanitarian situation in Azerbaijan continued to deteriorate seriously
and the number of refugees and internally displaced persons (IDP) in
Azerbaijan exceeded 1 million, in 1993 at its 85th plenary meeting the
UN General Assembly adopted resolution "Emergency international
assistance to refugees and displaced persons in Azerbaijan"
(A/RES/48/114).
During the period 1992 to 1996 the UN
Secretary-General and the President of the Security Council made several
statements on the conflict confirming the territorial integrity and
sovereignty of the Republic of Azerbaijan and supporting the OSCE Minsk
Group's efforts towards its peaceful settlement.
Since 1996 the UN
General Assembly in its resolution "Cooperation between United Nations
and Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE)"
reaffirms territorial integrity of Azerbaijan ("the conflict in and
around the Nagorny Karabakh region of the Republic of Azerbaijan").
Azerbaijan
takes an active part in the work of the UN General Assembly. In 1994
and 1995 at the 49th and 50th sessions of the UN General Assembly
President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Heydar Aliyev headed the
Delegation of the Republic of Azerbaijan. In September 2000 he also
joined the work of the UN Millennium Summit and delivered a speech
highlighting security and globalization problems, emphasizing the
Azerbaijan's contribution to the positive development of globalization
as well as security issues in the South Caucasus. In September 2003 then
Premier Minister Ilham Aliyev addressed the 58th session of the UNGA
focusing on regional and international security threats and the national
socio-economic development.
Azerbaijan maintains cooperation with a
wide range of specialized UN agencies and bodies in a very active and
effective manner - UNDP, UNICEF, UNHCR, UNESCO, UNCTAD, IAEA and etc.
The
cooperation between Azerbaijan and the United Nations Children's Fund
(UNICEF) is focused on the alleviation of the conditions for children
and teenagers among the refugees and IDPs. Azerbaijan was a member of
the Executive Board of UNICEF for the terms 1995-1997, 1998-2000.
Azerbaijan
has been actively participating in the work of other various UN bodies
and agencies. Azerbaijan was a member of the Commission of the Status of
Women (2000-2002). Azerbaijan is also a main sponsor of the
Commission's annual resolution "Release of women and children taken
hostage, including those subsequently imprisoned, in armed conflicts".
The
Republic of Azerbaijan has special links with appropriate UN agencies
and bodies such as the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and
the United Nations Industry Development Organization (UNIDO). Different
projects and programmes aimed at improving living standards, structural
adjustments of economy are carried out in close cooperation with them.
Particularly,
UNDP has provided extensive support to the process of post-conflict
rehabilitation by funding and developing the capacity of the Azerbaijan
Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Agency (ARRA) and the Azerbaijan
National Agency for Mine Action (ANAMA). UNDP support to ARRA has
facilitated the effective coordination of work in the sector by the
World Bank, UNDP, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
(UNHCR), the European Union (EU) Technical Assistance to the
Commonwealth of Independent States (TACIS) programme and others.
Azerbaijan
views the transformation of its economic and political system as a high
priority in its efforts to bring the country more in line with modern
norms and standards. An important part of this process is the
strengthening of democratic infrastructures, greater transparency and
public participation in political debates and decision-making processes.
To create employment and stimulate the economy UNDP help the Government
of Azerbaijan to address those institutional and policy issues most
critical to the effective development and growth of private sector. In
an effort to deepen structural reforms, UNDP works closely with the
World Bank on a public-sector reform programme in Azerbaijan.
As a
result of Armenian aggression, there are about 1 million refugees and
internally displaced persons in Azerbaijan. Since 1993 the government of
the Republic of Azerbaijan
and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) closely work to alleviate the conditions of refugees and IDPs.
Taking
into account the critical importance of the education, science and
cultural issues Azerbaijan practices a large-scale cooperation with the
United Nations Education, Science and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and
for this purpose in 1994 according to the President Decree Azerbaijan
established National Committee for UNESCO.
Different Ministries and
Agencies of Azerbaijan cooperate directly with their appropriate
partners within the UN system (for example, Ministry of Health and World
Health Organization).
The Republic of Azerbaijan is a co-sponsor of
a number of resolutions adopted by the UN General Assembly and other UN
bodies. The National Delegation put forward its own resolutions. Thus,
the Delegation of Azerbaijan initiated the resolution "missing persons"
at the 58-60th sessions of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights
(CHR). The provisions of this resolution adopted by CHR are based on
the well-known rules of international humanitarian law and draw
attention to an important issue which, in opinion of Azerbaijan is not
given due attention and consideration at the international for a.
Azerbaijan
actively takes part in election process by nominating its
representatives to the appropriate UN agencies and bodies. As it was
mentioned, Azerbaijan was a member of Executive Board of UNICEF for the
terms 1995-1997 and 1998-2000, the Commission of the Status of Women in
2000-2002, the Committee on Sustainable Development in 2002-2004.
Azerbaijan was elected a member of ECOSOC for the period of 2003-2005.
Past
three years due to the increased attention of the international
community and the UN particularly to the counter-terrorism activity,
Azerbaijan makes its own contribution to the global campaign against
terror. In the UN framework, Azerbaijan actively cooperates with the
UNSC Counter-Terrorism Committee (CTC) and has submitted three national
reports (S/2001/1325, S/2002/1022, S/2003/1085).
Azerbaijan
recognizes a vital role of the United Nations, first of all, in
establishing and maintaining international peace and security, as well
as in sustainable development and democratization. Azerbaijan supports
the idea of the reform within the UN so as the Organization will be able
to tackle with problems and challenges of the Twenty-first century.