72nd session of UN General Assembly - ineffective discussions - COMMENT

Baku. 11 September. REPORT.AZ/ Official opening of the 72nd session of the UN General Assembly will take place in New York tomorrow. Traditional general discussions will run from September 19 to 25.

This event is an opportunity for Baku to once again convey occupation of Azerbaijan's Nagorno-Karabakh and its surrounding regions to the international community.

According to information, "The situation in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan" and "Protracted conflicts in the GUAM area (Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan and Moldova - S.S.) and their implications for international peace, security and development" draft resolutions were included in the initial agenda of the session.

These draft resolutions were added under items 36 and 40 of the agenda of this year's session respectively as they were not discussed at the 71st session of the UN General Assembly.

171 clauses, including peace and security, Africa's development, disarmament, drug trafficking control, fight against international terrorism and other issues will be discussed during the session.

General Assembly is the UN's main advisory body, which includes representative of each participant state, having one vote. Decisions on important issues such as peace and security or admission of new members shall be taken with a 2/3 majority vote. Decisions on other issues are made by a simple majority of votes. The General Assembly session intensively work from September to December every year. Then, sessions are held if necessary.

 Azerbaijani and Armenian Foreign Ministers Elmar Mammadyarov and Edward Nalbandian

Notably, earlier, Slovak politician and diplomat Miroslav Lajcak was unanimously elected as chairman of the UN General Assembly upcoming session and determined six priority areas during the 72nd Session of the UN General Assembly: conflict prevention, migration, human rights protection, sustainable development, climate change and equality.

International mediators on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, as well as the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs plan to hold a meeting of Azerbaijani and Armenian Foreign Ministers Elmar Mammadyarov and Edward Nalbandian within the framework of the General Assembly session in New York.

E. Mammadyarov said that the meeting with his Armenian counterpart Edward Nalbandian has been agreed, but the exact date is unknown yet: "We are still awaiting. The meeting may be held in frames of opening of the next UN General Assembly session in New York".

According to him, a political decision shall be taken at the meeting: "As we have repeated many times, first of all, Armenian troops must be withdrawn from the occupied territories of Azerbaijan".

The FM noted that two resolutions on the occupied territories of Azerbaijan and GUAM were included in the UN General Assembly session agenda.

The issue of liberation of the occupied territories of Azerbaijan was discussed at the 63rd session of the UN General Assembly on March 14, 2008.

Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov

Guided by resolutions 822, 853, 874 and 884 of the Security Council adopted in 1993 on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and supporting territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, the session adopted a resolution requiring withdrawal of the Armenian armed forces from the occupied territories. The title of the resolution adopted nine years ago was as follows: "The situation in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan". The 9-point resolution emphasized ensuring territorial integrity of Azerbaijan.

Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov

Notably, these resolutions require immediate withdrawal of Armenian armed forces from Kalbajar, Aghdam, Fuzuli, Jabrayil, Gubadli and Zangilan regions.

However, 24 years have passed since UN Security Council's adoption of these documents, about 9 years since General Assembly's ratification, the international community could not achieve the liberation of an inch of the Azerbaijani territories.

During this period, the Azerbaijani side proposes every year to include the issue on liberation of Nagorno-Karabakh in the agenda of the Assembly. The discussion is postponed to the next session.

Hopefully, the next meeting of the foreign ministers will be of importance for the co-chairs organizing it. Because co-chairs try to show activeness in this direction acting as international mediators. However, according to the experience of previous years, it can be concluded that this session is necessary to mark "executed" in their work plan.

"The situation in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan" will probably be postponed till the next session.

Thus, the 72nd Session of the UN General Assembly will continue with fruitless discussions as always. The Assembly has turned into a debate club of international problems as adopted documents remain unfulfilled.