KUALA LUMPUR, July 7 (NNN-Bernama) — Azerbaijan’s chairmanship of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) vigorously protected justice and international law and the legitimate interests of member states in line with the Bandung principles, said Azerbaijan’s president lham Aliyev.
Aliyev highlighted that when the international community was confused over how to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic, it was the NAM that consolidated global efforts in countering this unprecedented challenge.
“The NAM Online Summit initiated by Azerbaijan at the leaders’ level in May 2020 led to the UN General Assembly Special Session in December 2020.
“Furthermore, NAM’s strong opposition to “vaccine nationalism” pursued by some wealthy countries and subsequent UN resolutions for equitable and universal access to vaccines for all countries testifies to NAM’s leadership in combatting coronavirus,” he said in his address at the Meeting of the Coordinating Bureau of the NAM (CoB-NAM) at the Foreign Ministers level held at Azerbaijan’s capital, Baku, from July 5-6.
A copy of Aliyev’s speech was made available to Bernama by the Azerbaijan embassy in Malaysia.
With the unanimous decision of NAM countries, Azerbaijan assumed the chairmanship for 2019-2022 and again, by unanimous decision, the chairmanship was extended for one more year, said Aliyev.
Commenting further, the president said the institutional development of NAM, namely the establishment of the NAM Parliamentary Network and NAM Youth Organisation in 2021 and 2022, respectively, is another achievement of the Azerbaijani chairmanship.
“We are also working on the establishment of the NAM women platform. With these steps towards institutional sustainability, we will definitely leave a successful legacy to incoming chairs,” he stressed.
As a responsible and active members of the international community, Aliyev said his country also had to think about the post-pandemic period.
Thus, he said Azerbaijan successfully organised another NAM summit on March on post-pandemic recovery in Baku, where issues of global importance and shared views about better post-pandemic recovery were discussed.
The president said supporting countries in need was another priority for Azerbaijani chairmanship, adding that the country provided COVID-19-related financial and humanitarian support to more than 80 countries, most of those from NAM either bilaterally or through World Health Organisation (WHO).
“Azerbaijan made voluntary contributions to WHO amounting US$10 million. We also provided vaccines to five countries,” he said, adding he made two global calls to support the post-pandemic recovery of Africa and Small Island Developing States during the NAM summit in March, allocating US$1 million for both calls.
He said as a true defender of multilateralism and the second largest international institution after the United Nations, NAM has to find its own place in the newly reshaping world order.
“We need to stand firm around Bandung principles, make our voice louder against cases of violation of sovereignty and territorial integrity and intervention in the internal affairs of states. Our movement’s more visible presence in the world affairs is vital,” said the president.
Aliyev highlighted that ‘multilateralism is our powerful instrument’ adding that currently, international organisations, particularly the UN, do not meet the expectations of mankind.
“Inevitably UN needs to go through serious reforms. UN Security Council is reminiscent of the past and does not reflect the current reality.
“We advocate the expansion of the composition of the Security Council to make it more representative and more geographically fair. I am glad that today there is a growing consensus on this idea worldwide,” he added.
The president also highlighted that one permanent seat at the UN Security Council should be given to the NAM, adding that the chair of NAM, Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and African Union should have their seats at the UN Security Council on a rotating basis with a veto right.
“Azerbaijan is very much concerned by the rising tendency towards neo-colonialism. NAM, which was created as a result of the decolonisation process, should vigorously combat this shameful legacy of the past and contribute to its full elimination,” he said, adding one of the countries that is still pursuing neo-colonialism is France.
Aliyev said French-administered territories outside Europe are nasty remains of the French colonial empire, adding that France must respect the sovereignty of Comoros over the island of Mayotte and the rights of the New Caledonian people and other peoples in French overseas communities and territories.
“I welcome the distinguished representatives from French overseas communities and territories who will hold their side event in the margins of Baku Ministerial to make their just cause and aspirations for freedom be heard by the international community,” he added.
He said nearly 1.5 million Algerians were killed during genocidal French rule, adding that Algerian freedom fighters’ skulls still remain in Paris Museum as war trophies.
“This is cynical and disgusting. We demand President Emmanuel Macron of France to hand over to Algeria the remains of its heroes,” he said.
The president said France has conducted several nuclear weapons tests in Algeria and its overseas territories – French Polynesia in the Pacific throughout the second half of the twentieth century, thus causing global environmental degradation and severe health problems for local communities.
“France has to apologise for its colonial past and bloody colonial crimes and acts of genocide against NAM member countries in Africa, Southeast Asia and other places, “ he added.
He said several days ago, the king of the Netherlands officially apologised for his country’s colonial past and involvement in the slave trade.
“As such, we call his French colleague to do the same. Better late than never. Apology in front of millions of people whom his predecessors colonined, used as slaves, killed, tortured and humiliated will not only be a recognition of the historical guilt of France but also will help France to overcome the consequences of deep political, social and humanitarian crisis it is facing after the brutal killing of the Algerian teenager,” he added.
According to the president, the recent killing of a 17-year-old teenager of Algerian origin by French police is yet another sign of racism and Islamophobia in the country.
“In this regard, we echo the UN statement deploring the police shooting and calling France “to seriously address the deep issues of racism and discrimination in law enforcement.”
“France even bans the Corsican language and does not accept the concept of ethnic minorities. At the same time, it tries to present itself as a defender of the Armenian minority in Azerbaijan. This is nothing but hypocrisy and double standards.
“Instead of trying to lecture others, French authorities should combat such alarming tendencies in their own country,” he added.
On another note, he said climate change, water scarcity, food insecurity, and forced migration require constant attention, adding that Small Island Developing States are more vulnerable to the impact of climate change and face an existential threat.
“Horrific pictures of migrant boat disasters in the Mediterranean Sea are deeply alarming,” he said.
Aliyev said the promotion of intercultural and interreligious dialogue should be high on the agenda, adding that Azerbaijan is concerned by rising Islamophobia and xenophobia, as well as attempts to equate Islam with violence and terror.
“Burning and desecrating the Holy Quran in Denmark, Netherlands, and Sweden and justifying it under the guise of freedom of expression is totally irresponsible and inadmissible and must be condemned,” he added.
He said the most significant and memorable moment for the Azerbaijani people was the historic victory in the Patriotic War, adding that In 2020, Azerbaijan defeated Armenia on the battlefield and put an end to 30 years of Armenian occupation.
He said another negative consequence of the Armenian occupation is landmines, where Azerbaijan is among the ten most heavily mine-infested countries in the world now.
“Some 300 Azerbaijanis have been killed or seriously injured in mine incidents since the end of the Patriotic War in November 2020.
“I am confident that NAM Member States will support my proposal to form a Like-Minded Group of Mine-Affected Countries to make our voice heard globally,” he said.
Despite all these challenges, Azerbaijan successfully conducted large-scale reconstruction works in the liberated territories of 10 thousand square kilometers from scratch with its own financial resources.
“Shortly after the end of the conflict, Azerbaijan presented five basic principles for signing a peace treaty with Armenia based on the mutual recognition of each other’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
“Using this opportunity, I would like to extend my deep gratitude to NAM countries for their principled stance in supporting the just position of Azerbaijan during and after the end of the occupation.
“I especially refer to two specific cases in 2020 and 2022, when NAM countries prevented one-sided and biased anti-Azerbaijani statements from passing in the UN Security Council.
“I would also like to thank all NAM Member States for their solidarity and support to Azerbaijan to run its chairmanship successfully,” he added.
Foreign Minister Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir represented Malaysia at the (CoB-NAM).
Malaysia recognises NAM as an important forum for consultation and coordination among developing countries, and addressing important political, security, economic and social issues.
— NNN-BERNAMA
