SPEECH BY SERZH SARGSYAN, THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF ARMENIA IN THE 66TH SESSION OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY
23.09.2011
Mister President,
Mister Secretary-General,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Firstly, I would like to thank and wish much success to Mr. Nassir
Abdulaziz al Nasser, the President of the 66th session of the UN
General Assembly, and thank Mr. Deiss of Switzerland for his leadership
during the 65th session.
I would also like to take this opportunity to once again congratulate
the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for his second term in office.
Mister President,
I wish to recognize the important choice of the general debate
theme for this session and highlight the role of mediation in the
settlement of disputes by peaceful means and as a means of preventing
the resumption of hostilities.
We highly appreciate the mediation efforts of global and regional
structures and organizations in various parts of the world in
preserving peace and security and in conflict settlement through
peaceful negotiations.
It is particularly worth mentioning the engagement of regional
organizations that have built-up an enormous experience in mediation
and have an in-depth knowledge of the political, cultural, and military
realities on the ground. The success of mediation hinges, among other
things, upon the articulation of a clearly-defined mandate. A case in
point for us is the mission of the OSCE Minsk Group in the settlement
of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
Another key factor worth highlighting here is the mediators’ role in
preventing conflict escalation and the resumption of hostilities.
This aspect of mediation is sometimes overlooked, yet it is of no
less importance to international peace and stability than finding a
solution to a contentious matter.
Mr. President,
Three years ago, when I had the honor to speak from this rostrum, I
stated that the time has come for seriously considering the exercise
of the people’s right to self-determination in the 21st century. We are
today witnessing new cases of the exercise of this inalienable right.
In this context, I would like to congratulate the newly-elected
193rd member of the United Nations Organization, the Republic of South
Sudan. Its path to having a place in this august hall has been long and
difficult, but the people of South Sudan, through the free expression
of will, exercised their right to live sovereignly and independently,
thus crossing the path that many of the UN member states present here
today have crossed.
Mr. President,
The people of Nagorno-Karabakh made the same choice two decades ago
by exercising their right to self-determination, by withstanding the
war unleashed by Azerbaijan, and surviving bloodshed to earn their
right to live in freedom.
The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement talks are continuing with
the mediation of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs. We are grateful to
the co-chair countries and their leaders for their mediation efforts.
However, the mediators cannot reach an agreement in place of the
negotiating parties.
Azerbaijan’s utter unwillingness to reach an agreement and its
“everything or war” position have stalled progress in the peace
talks. Despite the expectations and the high-level advice from the
international community, Azerbaijan took yet another step back during
the last meeting in Kazan by rejecting the previously elaborated
arrangement and trying, in fact, to break down the negotiation process.
Baku has turned armenophobia into state propaganda, at a level that
is far beyond dangerous. It is not only our assessment; the alarm
has also been sounded by international structures specializing in
combating racism and intolerance. Even more dangerously, armenophobic
ideas are spread among the young Azerbaijani generation, imperiling
the future of peaceful coexistence.
By denying and destroying all that is Armenian, Baku stubbornly
continues to disseminate false accusations against Armenia,
Nagorno-Karabakh, and the Armenians at all levels everywhere, including
here, within the framework of the UN. The Azerbaijani propaganda
machine continues regularly to overwhelm the international community
and the domestic audience with horrendous lies about the so-called
“Armenian brutality” and the killings of children. These stories are
fabricated and disseminated using a trite yet painful logic, whereby
their authors believe that some people out there will rise to the bait
of this black PR against Armenia, and it will thus serve a purpose.
In recent years, owing to the efforts of the Minsk Group co-chair
countries, particularly the direct mediation by the President of the
Russian Federation, a number of documents have been signed, including
the Meindorf, Astrakhan, and Sochi Declarations, which have stressed
the need to strengthen the confidence-building measures between the
parties. The signature of the President of Azerbaijan also stands on
those documents.
Azerbaijan, however, continues to turn down the repeated proposals
by the international community concerning agreement on the non-use
of force and strengthening the confidence-building measures.
Moreover, the belligerent rhetoric and war threats uttered by
Azerbaijan have intensified and ceasefire violations have grown more
frequent, continuing to deprive of life innocent civilians. All of
this is orchestrated from the highest state level.
The dangerous rise in manifestations of armenophobia not only fails to
contribute to an atmosphere of trust in the region, but also leads to
questions about Azerbaijan’s understanding of the goals of the United
Nations to practice tolerance and live together in peace with one
another as good neighbors. Aspiring for membership in the Security
Council of the UN with such an understanding is impermissible and
even dangerous.
Mr. President,
In the frameworks of this Assembly, alongside debates on some of the
most vital and urgent issues of our time, a high-level meeting took
place yesterday on the 10th anniversary of the Durban Declaration,
which reiterated the urgent need to eliminate racism, racial
discrimination, xenophobia and all forms of intolerance.
Unfortunately, such intolerance is known to us, Armenians, not
only through the examples I mentioned earlier. As a nation that has
survived a genocide, the most extreme form of racism and xenophobia,
we are morally obliged to act for the prevention of future genocides.
The elimination of racism and xenophobia and the inculcation of
tolerance can become a truly effective mechanism if accompanied with
clear prescription of liability. Impunity and avoidance of liability
give birth to yet new crimes. Hence, it is incumbent upon us in the
international community to identify and denounce without delay any
expression of intolerance, but especially its extreme forms.
The Genocide of the Armenians perpetrated in the Ottoman Empire has
been recognized and condemned by numerous countries, parliaments,
international organizations, and genocide scholars’ community.
Unfortunately, the same does not hold true for the Republic of Turkey,
which continues to engage in a policy of denying this atrocious crime
committed against humanity.
We unequivocally welcome the clear position adopted by the
international community in precluding any possibility of immunity or
pardon for perpetrators of genocide or other crimes against humanity.
Without recognition and condemnation, it will be impossible to develop
and implement effective mechanisms of prevention, which is one of the
UN’s priorities. Armenia will contribute its most to the recognition,
punishment, and prevention of genocides.
These references to the Armenian Genocide lead me to recall another
important celebration marked this year: the 150th birthday of Fridtjof
Nansen, the first High Commissioner for Refugees. In the most difficult
period for my nation, the great humanist rendered priceless support
to the survival of the homeland-deprived fragments of the Armenians
fleeing from the Genocide. Holders of the Nansen passports settled in
various countries of the world, reaching as far as South America. They
rose to their feet and partook in the development of the countries
and peoples hosting them.
I believe that justice and the equality of rights between states have
become standards in international relations owing to such powerful
individuals who promoted their vision of morality in that cruel world
of the “realpolitik.”
Mr. President,
Speaking from this rostrum in 2008, I had expressed hope that
the Armenia-Turkey normalization process initiated by us and the
establishment of diplomatic relations and the opening of the borders
closed by Turkey, trespassing international law, would become the
first steps in enabling us to start a dialogue and overcoming the air
of mistrust, suspicion, and uncertainty existing between us. Although
our initiative was commended and widely supported by the international
community, Turkey has in all ways possible aborted the ratification
and implementation of the protocols we initialed in 2009.
Mr. President,
Today, on the eve of the Rio Summit on Sustainable Development,
political will must be demonstrated to honor the international
commitments in order to turn the South Caucasus into a region of
cooperation and prosperity.
The correlation between security and development is not an abstract
theory for our region where economic cooperation and deeper integration
with the global economy are hindered by unlawful blockades and the
blockage of regional integration projects.
These attitudes, alongside the fueling of an arms race, not only are
dangerous for the peoples of the region, but they also continue to
absorb the resources direly needed for sustainable development.
The time has come for the leaders of the countries in our region to
try to stand above the dictates of a narrow political agenda and to
move towards solutions that are aimed at a peaceful and prosperous
future for generations to come.
I want to believe that, not in the distant future, our region will
be perceived as a solid and firm bridge uniting civilizations, rather
than as a dividing line.
Mr. President,
Two days ago, the Republic of Armenia celebrated the 20th anniversary
of its independence. In September 1991, Armenia restored its
independence, realizing the dream of the Armenian people and reuniting
with the Family of Nations.
In the realm of history, 20 years may seem like a short period, but
it has served for the present generation as a period of great change,
construction of independent statehood, and a renewed perception of
their role and place in the world. I wish to take the opportunity
from this esteemed rostrum to express my gratitude to all the states,
peoples, and individuals that have supported us in these 20 years of
development and construction of statehood.
Freedom, peace, and democracy are our choice, and we are committed to
this path. We are proud of our achievements today. In two decades,
the Republic of Armenia has implemented a wide-scale program
of constructing statehood. Much has been done in the fields of
democratization, human rights and economic reforms, the establishment
of the rule of law and liberal economy. We have many achievements,
but much still remains to be done. Above all, we are convinced that
we are on the right path, a path that is irreversible.
Mr. President,
Exactly a decade ago, New York, the city which is home to the United
Nations Organization, experienced one of the worst atrocities in the
history of mankind, the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Armenia unconditionally
supports and actively contributes to the international community’s
counter-terrorism efforts and all of the UN’s initiatives in this
area. We are doing and will continue to do our best for the world to
be a safer and more peaceful place.
We stand ready, to the best of our abilities, to contribute to global
security and respond to global threats, be it through peace-keeping
missions, elimination of the consequences of natural disasters,
environmental protection, or the fight against terrorism, racism,
and intolerance. Over the years, we have proven our aspirations
and determination with deeds, and we stand ready to continue doing
the same.
Thank you.