Aliyev's theses for the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) Summit

Baku/02.03.23/Turan: A summit of the Non-Aligned Movement Contact Group on Combating COVID-19 is being held in Baku. The theme of the summit  is "Ensuring a joint and adequate response to the challenges of the modern world, guided by the Bandung principles".

Representatives of about 160 countries and international organizations, including heads of State and Government of about 60 countries, as well as heads of international organizations have attended the summit.

President Ilham Aliyev, who is presiding at the summit, revealed his position on a number of regional and geopolitical aspects, the essence of which is to counteract the violation of international law in interstate relations.

NAM - COVID-19

Our goal as Chairman of the NAM is to defend justice and international law. Immediately after the outbreak of the pandemic, it was NAM that took the initiative to mobilize global efforts to counter COVID-19. We considered the "vaccine nationalism" that some rich countries adhered to, among other things, a serious obstacle in the fight against the pandemic. Subsequently, NAM initiated two resolutions for fair and universal access to vaccines for all countries, adopted at the UN Human Rights Council and the UN General Assembly in 2021.

NAM's leadership in mobilizing global efforts to combat the pandemic has once again demonstrated the influence and responsibility of the Movement.

NAM - Institutional development

Azerbaijan strongly supports the institutional development of the Movement. We initiated the creation of the Parliamentary Network of NAM, the first meeting of which was held in Baku in June 2022.

In addition, in accordance with the Shusha Agreements, in July 2022, the NAM Youth Organization was established. The permanent secretariat of the organization will be located in Baku. Our goal is to create institutional stability and leave a successful legacy to those NAM members who will assume the leadership after Azerbaijan.

NAM – International Security

The architecture of international security that has existed over the past few decades is currently undergoing dramatic changes, and multilateralism is under threat. The erosion of the norms and principles of international law further threatens the international order.

There are more and more cases of violations of sovereignty and territorial integrity, interference in the internal affairs of States. The decisions of leading international organizations are either not implemented, or a selective approach and double standards are applied.

The new world order is in the process of transformation. Now the whole world is witnessing the most serious confrontation between East and West since the end of the Cold War, which has consequences for the rest of the world. NAM, as the second largest international institution after the UN, should play a more visible and effective role in the international arena and actively participate in the transformation of the new world order.

NAM - Neocolonism

Unfortunately, today we are witnessing an increasing trend towards neocolonialism. NAM, which emerged as a result of the historical process of decolonization, should unite its efforts in order to completely turn this shameful page in the history of humanity.

NAM has always strongly supported the undisputed sovereignty of the Union of the Comoros over the island of Mayotte, which is still under French colonial rule. As reflected in the founding documents of NAM, we call on the French Government to respect the rights of the people of New Caledonia and other peoples in the French overseas communities and Territories. The territories ruled by France outside of Europe are the hideous remnants of the French colonial empire. We also call on France to apologize and accept responsibility for its colonial past and bloody colonial crimes and acts of genocide against NAM member countries in Africa, Southeast Asia and elsewhere.

NAM – UN Reform

Another important issue that has been discussed around the world for many years is the reform of the UN system. The UN Security Council recalls the past and does not reflect modern reality. The composition of the Security Council should be expanded to make it more representative and geographically more equitable.

One permanent seat should be given to the Non-Aligned Movement, and the country holding the post of Chairman of the Movement should have this seat on a rotating basis. I call on NAM member countries to start consultations on this issue and submit their views to the relevant UN Committee.

We also support the allocation of permanent seats for Africa in the Security Council.

NAM - South-South Cooperation

We must further strengthen South-South cooperation, guided by the principles of respect for sovereignty, national responsibility, equality, and mutual benefit. Its agenda is determined by the countries of the South themselves in accordance with their national needs and priorities, and is not imposed from the outside.

DN – Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict

As I have already noted, the UN Security Council is ineffective today. For example, some Security Council resolutions were implemented within a few days. However, in the case of Azerbaijan, for almost 30 years Armenia has ignored four Security Council resolutions demanding the immediate and unconditional withdrawal of its armed forces from the territories of Azerbaijan.

In 2020, Azerbaijan restored its territorial integrity and historical justice by military and political means and achieved the implementation of these Security Council resolutions by itself. This was probably the first case in the world since the creation of the UN.

During the years of occupation, hundreds of cities and villages of Azerbaijan were deliberately destroyed, all cultural and religious sites were looted and plundered by Armenia. The liberated territories of Azerbaijan have been turned into a classic example of urbicidal, culturicide and ecocide. Since the end of 2020, thousands of foreign diplomats, journalists, NGO representatives and politicians, including from NAM countries, have visited the liberated territories and witnessed the barbarism committed by Armenia.

Azerbaijan is carrying out large-scale restoration work in the liberated territories at the expense of its own financial resources. In 2021-2022, the Azerbaijani government spent about 4 billion US dollars on restoration work. This year we plan to allocate at least $1.7 billion for these purposes. We are building new cities and villages from scratch, applying modern urban planning, and using the concepts of "smart city" and "smart village". This is a unique and unprecedented model of post-conflict development and reconstruction under the leadership of national authorities.

Azerbaijan is among the most heavily mined countries in the world due to the Armenian occupation. About 300 Azerbaijanis have been killed or seriously injured by mine explosions since the end of the Second Karabakh War in November 2020.

Given the great importance of humanitarian demining for the country, Azerbaijan is currently considering the possibility of establishing a special national Sustainable Development Goal (SDG). Azerbaijan sees a direct link between the SDGs and the demining process because mines slow down the process of restoring liberated territories and returning former internally displaced persons. Azerbaijan is actively promoting the initiative to launch the 18th SDG on mine clearance. We invite NAM countries to support this initiative.

Since a number of NAM member countries are among the countries most polluted by mines and unexploded ordnance, I would like to propose forming a Group of Like-minded Countries affected by mines so that our voice can be heard around the world.

Shortly after the end of the conflict, Azerbaijan presented Armenia with five basic principles of a peace agreement based on mutual recognition of each other's sovereignty and territorial integrity.

DN - Azerbaijan

In conclusion, I want to assure you that Azerbaijan, as the Chairman of the NAM, will make every effort to further protect the legitimate interests of the NAM member states and increase the authority of our Movement in the international arena.--0--