Ilham Aliyev: France abuses its status as permanent member of UN Security Council

Despite the declaration of independence of the archipelago, including Mayotte, in 1975 by the Union of the Comoros Islands and the UN General Assembly (GA) confirming the sovereignty of the Comoros state over the island of Mayotte, France continues to administer the island of Mayotte as its Department, President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev said in a message to the participants of the international conference titled “Decolonization: Empowerment and Development of Women,” organized by the Baku Initiative Group, Report informs.

"The UN General Assembly has adopted more than 20 resolutions and confirmed the sovereignty of Comoros over Mayotte island. The UN also condemned and considered invalid the referendums organized by the French government on the island of Mayotte in the Comoros archipelago. At the same time, it has rejected the organization of any other form of referendum or consultation by France on the Mayotte island of the Comoros archipelago and any foreign law legalizing the French colonization of the said island. In that resolution, the UN assessed the occupation of Mayotte island by France as a gross insult to the National Union of Comoros, which is a member of the UN. Despite numerous UN resolutions, France has continued to hold referendums on the island of Mayotte in flagrant violation of international law. Therefore, the results of the referendums are illegal.

In addition to the UN, the Executive Council of the African Union and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation have also adopted decisions regarding the Mayotte island belonging to the Comoros. Ignoring the calls of international organizations and the international community, France included Mayotte in its constitution in 2003. In 2011, Mayotte became the 101st department of France and, in 2014, the ultra-peripheral region of the European Union. The fact that Mayotte was given the name of the EU's outermost region is a recognition of Mayotte as a part of France.

Apparently, France, abusing its status as a permanent member of the UN Security Council and continuing to blatantly violate the norms and principles of international law, forcibly annexed the territory of another country to its territory. This is explicit occupation and annexation," Ilham Aliyev said.