Statement by the Delegation of the Republic of Azerbaijan at the Sixth Committee of the seventy-ninth session of the United Nations General Assembly under agenda item 110: "Measures to Eliminate International Terrorism"
|
Azərbaycan Respublikasının |
 |
Permanent Mission |
|
633 Third Avenue, Suite 3210, New York, N.Y. 10017 |
||
|
Statement by the Delegation of the Republic of Azerbaijan at the Sixth Committee of the seventy-ninth session of the United Nations General Assembly under agenda item 110: "Measures to Eliminate International Terrorism"
3 October 2024
Mr. Chairman,
At the outset, I would like to congratulate you and other members of the Bureau on your election. Mr. Chairman, terrorism remains a potential, immediate and escalating threat in many regions and countries, also rooted in or merging with xenophobia, racism and ethno-nationalism. In some parts of the world, including our region, terrorism has been used to advance and support territorial claims, violent ethnic separatism and aggressive wars against sovereign States. Azerbaijan has repeatedly been an object of externally directed terrorist attacks, which claimed the lives of thousands of our citizens. For more than thirty years, the territories of Azerbaijan formerly occupied by Armenia had been a zone of presence and activities of infiltrated terrorist, mercenary and other armed groups, accumulation and proliferation of uncontrolled armaments and military equipment and illicit exploitation of and trade in natural resources and other illegal activities. Despite the end of the conflict in the fall of 2020, Armenia refused to completely withdraw its armed forces from the territory of Azerbaijan for the next three years, resorting instead to mine terrorism and continuing to import weapons, military equipment and soldiers there. The purpose was to advance territorial claims and kill and maim Azerbaijanis on their own sovereign territory. After putting in place the effective border control, following a series of deadly terrorist acts that caused numerous casualties among civilians and military, in September last year, Azerbaijan carried out the local counter-terrorism measures on its sovereign soil, in the Garabagh region. These measures lasted less than 24 hours and culminated in the dissolution of the former occupation regime and its terrorist network and the surrender and disarmament of more than 10,000 Armenian troops. Azerbaijan legitimately exercised its inherent right and responsibility to address the increasingly critical security situation by protecting its people, defending its sovereignty and territorial integrity and restoring peace, the legal order and stability in the region, acting exclusively in full conformity with international law, the U.N. Charter and the relevant resolutions of the Security Council. This year’s report of the Secretary-General (A/79/99) recalled the comprehensive information submitted by Azerbaijan during the 75th and 76th sessions of the General Assembly related to foreign terrorist fighters and the financing of terrorism, money-laundering and corruption in connection with the Armenian aggression (A/75/625-S/2020/1161 and A/76/680-S/2022/92). The report further informed about the judicial proceedings following the counter-terrorism measures in September 2023, in particular about the ongoing investigation involving arrests and pretrial detention of individuals on charges of, inter alia, terrorist acts, the illegal acquisition, transfer, storage, transportation, carrying of firearms, their components, ammunition and explosive devices and the financing of terrorism. Moreover, according to the report, hundreds of the citizens of Azerbaijan had become victims of landmine terrorism since 2020. Unfortunately, after the submission of the information for the report, the number of post-conflict mine victims in Azerbaijan has increased to 379, of whom 70 lost their lives and 309 suffered horrific injuries, the majority of whom are civilians, including children and women. In total, over the past 30 years, the number of mine victims in Azerbaijan has reached 3,458. The scale and gravity of the landmine threat in Azerbaijan necessitate urgent, continued and adequate international support to its demining efforts, along with measures to ensure the responsibility of Armenia under international law for planting of mines and refusing to share the locations of minefields as part of its longstanding policy of ethnic cleansing.
Mr. Chairman,
The strict compliance by all States with their international counter-terrorism obligations is critical to ensure, inter alia, that their respective territories are not used for terrorist and related activities. Bringing the perpetrators of terrorist acts to justice has to remain a priority. It is important not to grant amnesty or any other form of early release to the perpetrators of terrorist acts. Equally, the instances of shielding and glorification of terrorists cannot be tolerated. Particular attention should be given to terrorist activities benefiting from organized crime and the abuse of non-governmental, non-profit and charitable organizations. Among the instances of this kind are radical ethnic diaspora communities engaged in raising funds and collecting other material means to finance terrorist and related criminal conduct. Furthermore, continued solidarity with and support for victims and survivors of terrorism and affected States must remain humanitarian and human rights imperative. As many delegations have noted, the war on terrorism cannot and must not be used to target any religion or culture. That principle must be part and parcel of any counter-terrorism strategy. Azerbaijan will continue its efforts to curb terrorist activities and to prosecute and punish terrorist offenders.
Thank you. |
||
