Speech by Ilham Aliyev at the opening of the “International Conference on Strengthening Cooperation in Preventing Terrorism”

- Dear ladies and gentlemen,

Distinguished guests,

First of all, I want to welcome all of you to Azerbaijan and to express my gratitude for the opportunity to participate in such an important conference. I express my appreciation to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime and to ISESCO for promoting this important initiative and conducting this conference in Baku.

In my opinion, the fact that the conference against terrorism is being held in Azerbaijan is quite symbolic because Azerbaijan has suffered from international terrorism in the past, while now our country is making a major contribution to the prevention of terrorism on a global scale. Unfortunately, in the early 1990s our country became the target of terrorist attacks of Armenian terrorist organizations. Azerbaijani citizens were subjected to numerous terrorist attacks which claimed the lives of 2,000 innocent people. About as many people were wounded. Azerbaijan has been exposed to aggression and occupation of its lands. As you may know, in many cases these events were accompanied by aggressive separatism. Acts of aggressive separatism and terrorist attacks against Azerbaijan have led to the occupation of almost 20 per cent of the internationally recognized territory of our country. Moreover, Azerbaijan has been exposed to the policy of ethnic cleansing, as more than a million Azerbaijanis have been driven out of their homes.

As you know, the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh is one of the biggest threats to regional stability and security. It is one of the greatest injustices in the world. The UN Security Council has adopted four resolutions demanding an unconditional and immediate withdrawal of the Armenian troops from Azerbaijani territory. Unfortunately, these resolutions are not being fulfilled. The OSCE, the European Parliament, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, the Council of Europe, NATO and other international organizations have also adopted resolutions and decisions. Unfortunately, all these resolutions remain on paper. The internationally recognized territory of Azerbaijan has been under occupation for more than 20 years.

As I noted, this poses the biggest threat to international and regional stability and security. This issue must be resolved on the basis of international law, the Helsinki Final Act. The territorial integrity of Azerbaijan must be restored.

A settlement of the conflict must be based only on the norms and principles of international law. We are continuing our efforts towards a negotiated settlement of the conflict. Unfortunately, Armenia is trying to maintain the status quo as long as possible and to "freeze" the conflict to the maximum extent. However, this will not be possible because the world is changing and so is the regional balance. Azerbaijan is getting stronger in terms of its political and economic development, and its role on the global scale is enhancing. Therefore, I am absolutely convinced that we will restore our territorial integrity. We want to achieve this as soon as possible. We strive to do this peacefully.

At the same time, our people have experienced one of the biggest tragedies of the 20th century – the Khojaly genocide. On 26 February 1992, the Armenian armed forces attacked the residents of Khojaly. As a result of this villainous attack, 613 innocent civilians were killed, among them 100 women and 63 children. The parliaments of four countries have already officially recognized the Khojaly tragedy as an act of genocide. The process of recognition of the Khojaly events as an act of genocide is under way in other countries as well.

Azerbaijan is also an active contributor to the fight against terrorism. We strongly believe that the international community should above all give a clear definition of international terrorism. With its political moves and practical activities Azerbaijan is trying to actively contribute to the global fight against terrorism. We firmly believe that thanks to the consolidation of all the efforts of the international community we can succeed in this fight.

There can be no justification for terrorism regardless of the reasons behind it. No matter who the acts of terrorism are committed against, we must not make a distinction between terrorist organizations.

Therefore, I believe that broad consolidation of efforts and full cooperation against terrorism will help us get the upper hand in this fight.

I believe that one of the topics discussed at this conference will be related to a more efficient operation of the international community in the fight against terrorism. Because we know from history and from modern life that no country in the world, no matter how well it may be protected, can effectively combat terrorism on its own and be completely insured against terrorist attacks.

The world is changing. Unfortunately, modern technologies are also taken advantage of by malicious people. I believe that mobilization of efforts could become one of the most effective tools in the fight against terrorism and its prevention. Terrorism poses a threat to the international community, to the territorial integrity of countries, to economic and democratic development. I think that the preservation of this important issue on the global agenda will help us build up our efforts in this fight step by step. Azerbaijan is doing everything possible to ensure that the international community continuously keeps the issue in the spotlight. One such example is the holding of this conference in Baku. At the same time, Azerbaijan dedicated its first presidency in the UN Security Council in May last year specifically to the subject of combating terrorism. In May 2012, Azerbaijan presided over the UN Security Council for the first time in its history. We declared open the ongoing discussion on the fight against terrorism. We chose this topic from a list of all the other issues on the agenda because we believe that the focus on this theme was more important.

Without the effective and very selfless struggle against terrorism we can not resolve any of the issues we are faced with. I remember the early years of our independence. At that time the Armenians launched a series of terrorist attacks against our citizens in Baku and elsewhere. There was no stability. And where there is no stability, there can be no development. We know that from our own experience only too well. Political stability was established in Azerbaijan only in the mid-1990s. We began to develop, to attract investment, to modernize our economy and the political system, and to establish a democratic system in Azerbaijan.

Unfortunately terrorism has become part of daily life in countries affected by international terrorism. Under such circumstances no-one can talk about development. Under such circumstances no investment is made and no reforms are conducted. There is no democratic development because countries subjected to international terrorism have to fight back. And this leads to very dangerous implications. Therefore, prevention or reduction of terrorist threats is the first major condition for development. This is why we have chosen this theme among all the other important topics on the international agenda and raised it at the Security Council. As a result of our initiative, a very important declaration was adopted. I believe that this declaration promotes and will continue to promote mobilization of efforts. Without the consolidation of efforts no country can succeed in the fight against terrorism.

I am very glad that representatives and experts from more than 50 countries and international organizations have come to Azerbaijan today. This is the international community. This is our attitude towards such an important international issue. This is our contribution. I think that we must certainly approach this issue from different angles. We need to enhance our practical contribution to the fight against terrorism. Azerbaijan is making a strong contribution to the fight against terrorism at the international level and beyond. We must constantly keep this issue on the agenda and raise it at various international forums. At the same time we have to use the possible mechanisms to eliminate the conditions conducive to the emergence of terrorism. We need to narrow down the scope of activities of terrorist organizations. We must work together to bridge the gaps that can create the conditions for the involvement of people in terrorist organizations, in particular those who have no education.

This is where we come to another important issue. It is the issue of a peaceful coexistence of peoples. Unfortunately, while reading the international press, we see that sometimes attempts are made to link terrorism to Islam. There is some concern in the Muslim world over the growing Islamophobia. I think that the international community, in particular representatives of the media and nongovernmental organizations, should act more responsibly and not hurt the feelings of hundreds of millions of Muslims around the world.

Terrorism has neither religion nor nationality. Regardless of nationality and religion, all of humanity is suffering from terrorism. I think that this is one of the important issues that must always be in the spotlight. Without joining our efforts we can not resolve this problem properly.

One of the important elements in the global fight against terrorism is the promotion of the ideas of multiculturalism. I think that from the standpoint of the current level of international relations this issue must always be in the focus of our attention. Azerbaijan is trying to ensure that the multicultural atmosphere is always on the agenda. We have conducted numerous international events, conferences and forums in Azerbaijan where multiculturalism and its positive experiences have been discussed. We are aware of the different ideas being voiced in different societies and political circles these days. It is said that multiculturalism has failed or is moving towards a precipice. In my view, we should be very careful in giving such assessments because there is no alternative to multiculturalism in this globalizing world. It is hard to imagine what alternative to multiculturalism there could be. For centuries, mankind has evolved, generations have replaced one another, but the development of multiculturalism mainly took place at the modern stage of history. Therefore, we can not back down from the results already achieved.

Azerbaijan is a country where representatives of different ethnicities and religions live in an atmosphere of peace and friendship. This is an excellent example of how multiculturalism is not moving towards a precipice. Multiculturalism is strengthening. It is especially important to recall that historically we were part of other countries. And being part of these countries and empires, we communicated with people belonging to different nationalities and religions. In the Soviet Union and even before that a commitment to these ideas was seen as a natural phenomenon. But Azerbaijan has been an independent country for more than 20 years. I think that the ideas of multiculturalism and the essence of what is happening in Azerbaijan are a good example of our state policy in the years of independence and of the overall atmosphere in our society.

It is impossible to achieve such results by public policies alone. As far as we are concerned, we are very happy with the fact that the atmosphere in our society and the government policy serve the same purpose. Development in the conditions of peace, friendship between all nations and religions in Azerbaijan are among our goals. Our country is the home of all the people living here. This is our policy, this policy will be continued and grow further in the future. I am confident that the successes we have achieved in this area will have and are already having an impact on Azerbaijan and beyond.

One of the main issues in an effective fight against terrorism is education. As I said at the beginning of my remarks, terrorist organizations use uneducated people. They use young people who can not read and write, poison their brains, conduct propaganda and take young people down a wrong path.

Unfortunately, in some parts of the world we see backwardness instead of development in terms of education and social issues. Sometimes social injustice also gives an impetus to terrorism and the emergence of terrorist organizations. International terrorist organizations use all the shortcomings in society and try to attract as many people as possible in order to poison their brains. Therefore, education is one of the key criteria in the fight against terrorism. Azerbaijan attaches great importance and attention to education. The level of literacy in our country is 100 per cent. Our young people are educated and knowledgeable. We are open to the world. We have freedom of the media and all the other freedoms. We have free Internet. Not all the countries of the world can be proud to have uncensored Internet. Today the number of Internet users in Azerbaijan exceeds 70 per cent of the population.

We invest heavily in the sphere of information and communication technologies. At present, we have embarked on the implementation of the state program to take broadband Internet to every city. This program will be implemented over several years. In February, Azerbaijan launched its first telecommunications satellite into orbit and joined the group of countries with a space industry. Education, modern technologies and communication among young people from different countries can play an important role in that.

Of course, there is also the issue of poverty reduction. This factor is important in the fight against terrorism, in particular in poor countries. Referring to our experience again I can say that we have made great strides in reducing poverty. In general, the economic development of Azerbaijan over the past 10 years looks very impressive. In the last 10 years our economy has been one of the fastest growing economies in the world. The gross domestic product grew three times, while poverty has dropped from 50 per cent 10 years ago to 6 per cent according to the statistical indicators for 2012.

More than 1,100,000 jobs have been created in Azerbaijan, the overall economic situation and our financial capabilities are quite stable. In the years of the global economic recession our economy continued to grow. At present, the structure of the gross domestic product is worthy of approval. The share of the non-energy sector in the gross domestic product is growing rapidly – last year it was 10 per cent. Our foreign debt amounts to only 7 per cent of the gross domestic product.
International rating agencies – the three main ones being Fitch, Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s – have downgraded the ratings of some developed countries, while the credit rating of Azerbaijan has been upgraded. The reduction of poverty and unemployment has been a major contributor to the overall development of Azerbaijan over the last 10 years. I am confident that in the coming years we will succeed in completely eliminating poverty as a social factor.

So I think that in order to properly address these issues in every society and in every country, we, as I said earlier, should not forget about the principle of social justice. Social justice and the rule of law mean tranquility of every society. All these are important elements for eliminating the original conditions conducive to the atmosphere of terror. By pursuing our policy in Azerbaijan in recent years we certainly made effort to strengthen our independence and to reinforce our law enforcement agencies. Within Azerbaijan we have practically eliminated all potential terrorist threats. Therefore, we are now investing more in strengthening the border infrastructure.

As I have already said, no country can be fully immune from this threat. This is especially true about countries that are not located on islands, are surrounded by neighbors and are located in a region where peace is not entirely secured. Therefore, investments in the border infrastructure and effective border control are our top priority issues in the fight against terrorism in the region. There are no domestic sources of terrorism in our country that can cause a concern.

I am sure that there will be extensive discussions today, that opinions will be expressed on how organize this fight more efficiently and make this world a safer place, and that an exchange of experiences will be conducted.

Once again I welcome all the guests. I do hope that you will spend your time in Azerbaijan fruitfully. I wish the conference every success. Thank you very much.