Azerbaijan, at UN Assembly, calls for worldwide mutual respect to achieve development goals

Mounting the podium of the United Nations General Assembly today, Azerbaijan’s Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov stressed the critical importance of enhancing better understanding among diverse communities and encouraging mutual respect in order to achieve the ambitious Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of Agenda 2030.

“Unresolved armed conflicts, terrorism, violent extremism, aggressive separatism, intolerance and discrimination on ethnic and religious grounds continue to represent the most serious challenges and are among the main obstacles to development,” he told the Assembly at its annual general debate.

“The outcome document of the United Nations summit for the adoption of the post-2015 development agenda stated that there could be no sustainable development without peace and no peace without sustainable development, recalling the rights and obligations of States under international law and reaffirming the need to respect the territorial integrity and political independence of States.”

He said no substantive progress has been achieved in the settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict over the past year, adding: “Armenia continues to occupy the territories of Azerbaijan,

including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven adjacent districts, in flagrant violation of international law and (UN Security Council) resolutions.”

The humanitarian consequences of the conflict are harsh and necessitate urgent solutions, with massive displacement and close to one million refugees and internally displaced persons deprived of their basic human rights and fundamental freedoms, he stressed.

“Further continuation of this situation is intolerable,” Mr. Mammadyarov said. “Armenia's policy and practices in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan undermine the prospects of achieving

a political settlement of the conflict and pose an imminent threat to peace, security and stability in the region,” he said.

He accused Armenia of frequently resorting to armed provocations, and of this April conducting large-scale attacks against the civilian population of Azerbaijan, subjecting densely populated

areas, including schools, hospitals, and places of worship, to intensive fire with heavy artillery and large-calibre weapons, killing or seriously wounding large number of Azerbaijani civilians.

“Armenia's direct and deliberate attacks against the Azerbaijani civilian population, as well as inhuman acts against Azerbaijani military servicemen, during its offensive action in April this year, constitute yet another serious violation of international humanitarian and human rights law by Armenia,” he said.

“The conflict can be resolved only on the basis of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan within its internationally recognized borders. The sooner Armenia reconciles with this reality and withdraws its armed forces from the occupied territories of Azerbaijan, the earlier the conflict will be resolved, and Armenia and its population will benefit from the prospects of cooperation and economic development,” he stressed.