As part of his working visit to New York, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan delivered a speech at the 74th session of the UN General Assembly at the UN headquarters.
Below is the full speech of the Prime Minister of Armenia.
“At the beginning of my speech, I would like to congratulate N.G. Tijani Muhammad-Bandei on the occasion of his election as President of the UN General Assembly. Mr. President, I would like to assure you of Armenia’s full support during the 74th session of the General Assembly.
I would also like to express my deepest gratitude to the President of the 73rd Session, Ms. María Fernanda Espinosa, for her active presidency and the valuable legacy entrusted to us.
This is my second opportunity to represent my country in this highest body in the capacity of the RA Prime Minister. Since my last statement at the UN General Assembly, tremendous changes have taken place in our country. Extraordinary parliamentary elections were held in Armenia last December. For the first time in the last 25 years, the elections held in Armenia were not contested by any political party. They received top marks from international observers who hailed the elections as free, fair and transparent. It was one of the most important achievements of the non-violent velvet revolution of 2018.
As a result of last year’s events, the international mass media called Armenia the hope of world democracy. Acknowledging our democratic achievements, The Economist declared Armenia the country of the year.
We have an unwavering determination to advance democracy and reform in our country. It is based on the weighty mandate of our people to which we are responsible in implementing reforms, ensuring justice, improving economic and social conditions and developing our nation.
There is some resistance to democratic reforms within the country from the former corrupt elite, who are trying to obstruct the new government’s zero-tolerance-for-corruption policy. They are trying to evade justice by using their financial resources and challenging our democratic achievements and the democratically elected government of Armenia, which has not redistributed property and ownership.
Our media is completely free from government control or interference. However, some of them are succumbing to the same old tricks of the previous government, inventing fake news and instilling mistrust among the public about the origins and goals of the Velvet Revolution. Despite this challenge, our determination to promote and protect media freedom is unwavering.
Doubts were expressed about the nature and aims of our revolution. Some believed that this revolution was instigated by the global Achoyans confronting them in our region. Others asked a question. if they are not behind this revolution then who else could have done it.
From this high podium, I want to announce once again that the Velvet Revolution in Armenia was carried out by its proud citizens as a manifestation of their will to reject corruption, abuse of power, monopoly of economic and political power, constant electoral fraud and political manipulation. It is not necessary to consider the expression of the will of the Armenian people, which is the bearer of the supreme sovereignty in our country, from the perspective of the competition of global powers.
The political transformations were aimed at realizing the dream of a free, democratic and happy country, a dream that was born in the late 80’s at the sunset of the Cold War and brought independence to our people.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Armenian non-violent velvet revolution proved that democratic changes are possible in the modern world. But the revolution was only the beginning of our mission and perhaps its easiest stage. We are currently in another, more important and challenging phase of the mission. We must prove that the democratic transformation in Armenia is irreversible.
We are proud that we already have some results. Our economy is growing steadily and quite fast. The growth was facilitated by a very important ideological transformation that took place in our country. The individual effort of every citizen is important. this idea is the most important driver of our economic revolution. And the most important mission of our government is to inspire and convince our citizens to believe in their talent and ability to make real changes.
Individual effort has been the key formula for the success of our political revolution. Before the revolution, there was only a small group of people who believed that individual efforts could bring about political change in our country. But today this is an imperative idea for the vast majority of RA citizens. Therefore, our common goal is to carry out the economic revolution in exactly the same way that the political revolution was carried out earlier.
Reforms and institutional development are powerful tools we must use to address the challenges facing a democratic Armenia. Immediately after coming to power, we initiated a package of unprecedented radical measures to create democratic institutions. These include, for example, efforts to create a level playing field for all economic and political players and independent judicial, anti-corruption bodies. Women’s empowerment is another area where we have taken bold steps to record visible results.
The most important direction of our institutional reforms is education. We believe that only by promoting education we can make democracy irreversible and we can achieve sustainable economic growth. Our vision is to make lifelong learning a nationwide practice for all segments of our society, from children to adults.
The Armenian government is determined to continue institutional reforms, but we also hope that the international community will support Armenia’s fledgling democracy to meet the challenges ahead. We need to achieve international best practices in terms of saving time and resources. We must avoid the mistakes made by other emerging democracies in the past to make our democratic reforms more effective.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank our international partners who are truly committed to supporting our reform agenda. In particular, we are grateful to the United Nations Development Programme, the European Union and the Council of Europe. Essentially, I mentioned the United Nations, our global organization, which includes almost the entire international community, and I hope all members of the international community would like Armenian democracy to succeed.
Ladies and gentlemen,
unfortunately, our planet did not become a safer place for all of us this year. It is difficult to find any region of the world that is not itself destabilized or affected by tensions in a neighboring region. 2 of the 4 borders of Armenia, including the border with Turkey, have been closed for almost 3 decades. By refusing to establish diplomatic relations with Armenia, supporting Azerbaijan against Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh, Turkey continues to be a serious security threat to the Armenian people, who have already been victims of the genocide once and witnessed the denial of historical truth and fierce resistance.
Mr. President,
The various tensions between our neighbors and strategic partners put us in a very uncomfortable position. Russia is our main strategic partner and ally, Georgia and Iran are our strategic neighbors. We have a strategic agenda and partnership relations with the USA, the European Union and its member states.
It is a serious challenge for us to be caught in the middle of disagreements among our colleagues, because we are constantly exposed to the risk of being misunderstood by some of them, or worse, by all of them. We do our best to be a reliable partner and good friend to everyone without harming our relationship with anyone. And we will continue to make efforts to make the geopolitical environment of our region safer.
Ladies and gentlemen,
The peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is of key importance for the stability and security of our region. Since the first day of my tenure, I have taken steps in this very context. To this end, I issued a statement stating that any solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict must be acceptable to the people of Armenia, Nagorno-Karabakh and Azerbaijan.
It is noteworthy that I was the first Armenian leader who expressed such a position regarding the settlement of the conflict. I was strongly criticized in my country for such a solution formula that puts a sign of equality between the 3 sides of the conflict. However, I believe that it is the key to a peaceful resolution of the conflict, as it implies the possibility of compromise, mutual respect and balance.
I presented that resolution not only to the public, but also within the framework of the negotiations held under the co-chairmanship of the OSCE Minsk Group. In order to move forward, I expected such a statement from Azerbaijan as well. However, the highest authorities of Azerbaijan remained on their position, striving for such a solution to the Karabakh problem that would be acceptable only to the people of Azerbaijan.
What does that really mean? It means that the authorities of Azerbaijan have no intention to resolve this conflict. Instead, they want to defeat the people of Nagorno-Karabakh. They don’t want to make any compromises. Their goal is revenge for the unsuccessful attempt of aggression against the people of Nagorno Karabakh in the 1990s and in 2016. That’s why they inflame anti-Armenian sentiments among their people, that’s why they spend huge resources on armaments, that’s why Armenian hatred has already become the official policy of Azerbaijan.
In fact, our opponents want to bring back the status of Nagorno Karabakh in Soviet times. But it is a futile effort, because during the Soviet period, the people of the Nagorno Karabakh Autonomous Region declared their independence and realized self-determination in the same way that Azerbaijan did by leaving the Soviet Union. This position of Azerbaijan is equivalent to the idea of restoration of the Soviet Union.
The Azerbaijani government presents the Nagorno Karabakh conflict as a territorial dispute between Armenia and Azerbaijan. We do not agree with such an interpretation of the conflict. It is not a dispute between Armenia and Azerbaijan. This dispute is not about territorial claims. It is about people, men, women and their right to live in their homeland, as their ancestors have lived for centuries.
Unfortunately, the Azerbaijani authorities do not want to talk to these people and negotiate with them, because they want to have territories, but not people. More precisely, territories without people.
Ladies and gentlemen,
I consider it important to explain why I am addressing this topic. It may seem that I want to contribute to the increase of tension in the region. Of course not, on the contrary, I want to say that the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is a very difficult and painful issue for the peoples of the region, which cannot be solved without hard and consistent work, without compromise, mutual respect and a balanced approach.
Therefore, I call on my colleague, President Ilham Aliyev, to accept the resolution to create conditions for progress in the peace process. Any solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict must be acceptable to the people of Armenia, the people of Nagorno-Karabakh and the people of Azerbaijan. We must work together to make this resolution a reality.
Ladies and gentlemen,
a few days ago we celebrated the Independence Day of Armenia. 28 years ago, Armenia, as a sovereign state, became a full member of the international community, restoring its place and role in the world arena.
We are beneficiaries of international cooperation and at the same time contributors to the agenda of security, development and human rights. We value effective versatility. We work with all our partners, both internationally and regionally, to promote global security, the fight against international terrorism, nuclear non-proliferation, nuclear security and peacekeeping operations.
Armenia participates in peacekeeping operations in Mali, Lebanon, Kosovo, and Afghanistan, and carries out humanitarian aid and demining operations.
The benefits of effective multilateralism are reflected in global efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. In Armenia, the process of nationalization of Sustainable Development Goals is complemented by the launch of an ambitious transformation strategy planned until 2050, which includes 16 mega-goals.
Priorities of education, innovation and smart development, an inclusive and participatory political and economic environment emphasize the interlinkages between development and human rights. Further promoting the role of women and youth is of utmost importance for Armenia. We will continue to focus on all these issues, both domestically and on the international agenda.
I would also like to highlight the integration of economic and environmental policies. Armenia is already feeling the negative impact of climate change, recording an average temperature increase of 1.3 degrees. In order to face this global challenge, we are working on the development of an innovative climate financing mechanism, which is part of the national commitment of Armenia at the Climate Action Summit held under the auspices of the Secretary General.
Sustainable development and protection of human rights must be an inclusive process. It should be accessible to everyone, regardless of their political status and geographical location. No one, including the people of Nagorno-Karabakh, should be excluded from the tools of sustainable development. Like others, Nagorno-Karabakh should receive international financial and technical assistance to strengthen human rights, alleviate poverty, improve education, respond to climate change, and build an inclusive society.
As a democratic country and a reliable and predictable member of the international community, Armenia will continue to contribute to international cooperation to maintain global peace and security, promote sustainable development, and protect human rights and fundamental freedoms.
We are committed to continuing constructive dialogue with all international partners to address global challenges and ensure progress and prosperity for our peoples.
We are against dividing lines and confrontational politics. We are against closed borders, which are considered nonsense in the 21st century, but still exist in our region.
As a nation that has lived through the horror of genocide, we stand for understanding and peace in our volatile region.
The policy of escalation and arms race based on unrealistic hopes of military superiority has no future in the South Caucasus.
The peoples of our region deserve to live freely and peacefully in order to do good, feed their children, educate them and build a bright future.
Thank you for your attention.”