Situation in occupied territories to be mulled in UN GA session
By Sara Rajabova
The situation in Azerbaijan's occupied territories will be discussed in the United Nations General Assembly.
An item on the situation in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan has been included in the agenda of the 69th regular session of the UN General Assembly, AzerTag news agency reported.
During approval of the item, Armenia's representative disassociated his delegation from the consensus to include it in the agenda.
Helped by member states of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, Azerbaijan earlier ensured inclusion of the item in the agenda of 54th regular session of the UN General Assembly in 1999.
The General Assembly adopted two resolutions on the issue - No. 60/285 in 2006, and No. 62/243 in 2008 - expressing serious concern over the fires in Azerbaijan`s occupied territories, reiterating its respect for Azerbaijan`s sovereignty and supporting the country`s territorial integrity.
The UN Security Council has passed four resolutions on Armenian withdrawal from the Azerbaijani territory, but they have not been enforced so far.
Armenia occupied over 20 percent of Azerbaijan's internationally recognized territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent regions, after laying territorial claims against its South Caucasus neighbor that caused a brutal war in the early 1990s. Long-standing efforts by U.S, Russian and French mediators have been largely fruitless so far.
As a result of the military aggression of Armenia, over 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed, 4,866 are reported missing and almost 100,000 were injured, and 50,000 were disabled.