AZERBAIJAN’S INTERPRETATION OF ARTICLE 41 OF THE UN CHARTER: RHETORIC VS. FACTS

Foreign Policy Journal
Oct 25 2013

by Aram Avetisyan
October 25, 2013

The recent hasty inaugural ceremony of Azerbaijani President Ilham
Aliyev, who has predictably won his third term in a vote widely
criticized by the US State Department[1] and major international
watchdogs[2] of democracy, became another stage for pouring
international threats of isolation of neighboring Armenia[3]-a policy
in place already for two and half decades. Aliyev has repeatedly
stated there was no secret in his country’s isolation policy against
Armenia and that policy “must be continued”[4].

In order to legitimize Aliyev’s intentions, Azeri diplomats, when
asked to explain their President’s statements, seek to justify the
republic’s official policy[5] by referring to Chapter VII, Article 41
of the UN Charter.[6] The tactics would have been quite successful,
if they didn’t contradict the article referred to.

The fact is that Article 41 is not relevant in this case, and cannot
be used to justify Azerbaijan’s policy. The measures outlined in the
article, in particular, state: “complete or partial interruption of
economic relations and of rail, sea, air, postal, telegraphic, radio,
and other means of communication, and the severance of diplomatic
relations” may be enforced by a UN Member state only through a
resolution of the UN Security Council (UNSC). None of the UNSC
resolutions relating to the conflict in and around Nagorno Karabakh
has ever sanctioned member states, including Azerbaijan, to resort
to measures outlined in the Article 41. Moreover, the resolutions of
the UN Security Council on the Karabakh conflict, frequently referred
to by Azeri officials, explicitly ruled out any isolation policy,
and called for cessation of hostilities and restoration of “economic,
transport and energy links in the region.”

So far, Azerbaijan has rejected any international proposal that
envisaged confidence-building and peace-enforcing initiatives, which,
as agreed by the rest of parties involved, constitute a prerequisite
for effective negations.

How such international behavior benefits Azerbaijan remains unclear.

What is clear is that inaccurate and selective interpretation of
international documents, unfortunately, remains a tool used by Azeri
officials to mislead international audience and distort the essence of
the Karabakh conflict. Meantime, solving the complicated confrontation
requires a more responsible approach.

Notes

[1] U.S. Department of State:

[2] OSCE: Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights:

[3] Speech by President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham
Aliyev at the inauguration ceremony: 19 October, 2013:

[4] Speech by Ilham Aliyev at the fourth meeting of
the heads of diplomatic service, 21 September, 2012:

[5] Woodrow Wilson Center, Connecting the Caucasus
with the World: Railways & Pipelines event:

[6] Charter of the United Nations: Chapter VII: Action With Respect to
Threats to the Peace, Breaches of the Peace, and Acts of Aggression:

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress