Madame / Mr. Chair, fellow delegates, and distinguished guests,
On behalf of the Republic of Azerbaijan, we thank you for the honor of being present, and look forward to this conference. The Republic of Azerbaijan, as a member nation of the United Nations, is committed to engaging in social and political reform nationally and internationally, especially on the following topics of terrorism, private military contracts, labor laws, and the Euro.
Terrorism
Terrorism today is one of the greatest problems facing countries around the world, whether they be first or third, or developing countries. The number of terrorist incidents in 2010 alone was around 82,000, resulting in 115,000 fatalities. ("WITS NextGen.") In fact terrorism has been such an issue recently that it has been deemed that, once again, the UN must try to reduce the amount of terrorist incidents in the world.
There have been many general assemblies on combating terrorism, however, the major two that created resolutions were the “Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Crimes against Internationally Protected Persons” in 1973 and the “International convention against the taking of hostages” in 1979. ("General Assembly Actions to Counter Terrorism”) In the former, the United Nations adopted a resolution to make it impossible for a person of any origin to be persecuted or extradited, and to ensure that even if he was working for another government he would still be persecuted. The resolution “International convention against the taking of hostages” made the taking of hostages punishable by international law. There have also been other resolutions such as the “International Convention for the Suppression of Terrorist Bombings”, the “1999 International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism” and the “International Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism” all of these created strong counter terrorism tools for countries to use. Finally at the 2005 summit the UN’s officially condemned terrorism in its entirety. However, these measures have not stopped, or even reduced terrorism, but rather have given countries and the UN necessary tools.
The UN and the world as a whole must decide quickly the best way to reduce terrorism worldwide and follow that course of action. The UN must also acknowledge organizations that are clearly terrorist related, and focus on either removing them or shrinking their influence. This can be done several ways; in what way reducing terrorism is done in is not a matter to Azerbaijan. We are only concerned in that something is done to reduce terrorism, especially in the Middle East, southeast Europe, and southwest Asia.
Private Military Companies
Private military companies (PMCs) have had explosive growth in the past few decades. However, now many governments are facing the problem of not only defining what a PMCs and mercenaries are, but also whether they should be regulated, if at all allowed. In fact 3rd world countries, as well as communist ones are in favor of mercenary proliferation, while first world capitalist countries, generally, are against it. ("International Humanitarian Law”)
There has only been one major resolution passed through the UN: the International Convention against the Recruitment, Use, Financing and Training of Mercenaries, which was made into international law on December 4th, 1989. This resolution made it against international law to be “any person who recruits, uses, finances or trains mercenaries” (Article 2"International Humanitarian Law - UN Convention on Mercenaries 1989." ) However, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, and other countries do not follow the law of this convention, as they did not ratify it.
In this new age, Private Military Companies certainly need to be reexamined. New information of how they work and act has become available, and this warrants new assemblies too decide the future of private military companies. Certainly, these are not benevolent businesses, and we at least must look into the regulation of these companies. Some of these companies have clearly not self-regulated to their purported levels, and a resolution can be passed that nearly every country could agree on.
Labor Laws
Azerbaijan has a long history with labor laws, especially concerning forced labor and, by extension, human trafficking. Azerbaijan is a major point in the human trafficking network, with hundreds of people unwillingly transported across its borders on a regular basis. The International Labour Organization (ILO), a UN agency, was established in 1919 as a part of the Versailles Treaty following World War I. This department is working with UN member nations and governments to find solutions and compromises to labor law injustices faced in the world today. The ILO will continue to work with Azerbaijan and other UN nations to gain fair working conditions for people all over the world.
Azerbaijan opposes unfair labor and is more than willing to help the United Nations in its quest for fair labor. Azerbaijan is currently on the UN’s tier two watch list for human trafficking, but is making amends, promising to further prosecution of perpetrators and stop human trafficking through and from Azerbaijan. In 2005, Azerbaijan passed the “Law of the Republic of Azerbaijan on Trafficking in Persons” to stop human trafficking by: “identifying and eliminating causes of trafficking in persons, and conditions leading to trafficking in persons; reducing the risk of individuals to become victims of trafficking in persons; restoring the rights and social rehabilitation of the victims of trafficking in persons.” (Aliyev, 2005)
The Euro
Azerbaijan supports the stabilization of the euro and the European Union. As a nation with a rapidly developing economy, Azerbaijan believes that the ease of trade that will come through the stability of the EU is vital.
President, Ilham Aliyev, recently stated his prerogative to double the GDP per capita in Azerbaijan in the next 10 years. He intends to do this through the “Restoration of the Historic Silk Road”. An international conference on this matter was held in Baku, the nation’s capital, on September 8th 1998. The agreements made at this conference allow for international rail transport, international road transport, international commercial maritime navigation, and customs procedures and documents handling. Stabilizing the EU will make the restoration even more effective and successful. This stability will also strengthen INOGATE (interstate oil and gas transportation to Europe) which is one of Azerbaijan’s key economic stimulators.
For these reasons the nation of Azerbaijan is in firm agreement with efforts made by the UN to strengthen and stabilize the value of the euro.
Once again, on behalf of the Republic of Azerbaijan, we look forward to the proceedings ahead of us, and are confident in this conferences ability to resolve the issues that face the globe today.
No comments:
Post a Comment