Azernews.Az

By Sara Rajabova

Azerbaijan made an important contribution to the restoration of justice on the international level and principles of international law during its presidency at the UN Security Council.

The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry said in a statement issued on November 5 on the completion of the country's presidency at the UN Security Council.

The ministry says that during this period, Azerbaijan, as a reliable partner, developed a close cooperation with the UN, UN Security Council member states, and other international institutions and non-governmental organizations.

During its second presidency over the Security Council, Azerbaijan initiated a meeting on strengthening the partnership synergy between the UN and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on October 28.

The meeting aimed at discussing the present state of cooperation between the UN and OIC in keeping international peace and security, and holding discussions on possible actions aimed at strengthening the partnership even further.

The meeting, chaired by Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov, was attended by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, OIC Secretary General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, and top-ranking representatives of the UN Security Council.

Discussions revolved around topical international issues, global and regional processes, and UN cooperation with other international organizations in seeking ways of solving current problems.

The contribution of Islamic culture to the development of humanity, science, and education was underlined at the meeting. The participants highlighted the need to focus efforts on fighting attacks and slander against Islam.

They also expressed concern over Armenia`s long-lasting occupation of Azerbaijani lands, and called for the resolution of the problem in accordance with the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, inviolability of internationally recognized borders, and the UN Security Council resolutions on the conflict.

The UN Security Council president welcomed the present state of cooperation between the UN and OIC and underlined the need to strengthen this cooperation in a statement.

The statement noted that both organizations shared the same position on the resolution of all conflicts on the basis of the UN charter and Security Council resolutions.

During discussions held over lunch on the sidelines of the meeting, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon delivered a report on the situation in Kenya, Syria, and Somalia.

During Azerbaijan's presidency, the UN Security Council members' trip to Africa was organized on October 3-9 to study the political, humanitarian, and security situation in the region of African Great Lakes, and hold meetings and discussions with the Peace and Security Council of the African Union. They also visited the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Uganda, and Ethiopia.

The seventh annual joint meeting of the Peace and Security Council of the African Union and the UN Security Council took place in Addis-Ababa on October 8. The meeting, co-chaired by Azerbaijan and Equatorial Guinea, discussed the situation in the region of the Great Lakes, the relationship between Sudan and South Sudan, and the situation in Somalia, South African Republic, and the Sahel region. The meeting culminated in the adoption of a joint communiqué.

The UN Security Council held three open meetings on the Middle East, women, peace and security, and the organization's work methods, and also multiple sessions and closed consultations on Syria's chemical weapons and humanitarian situation, the relationship between Sudan and South Sudan, the situation in Sudan's Darfur and Abyei, Mali, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Somalia, region of the Western Sahara and Lebanon, and the report of Côte d'Ivoire Sanctions Committee.

A report on the Council's activities and its meetings, discussions, and decisions was adopted on October 30.

In response to the appeal of the African Union member countries, Azerbaijan organized an informal meeting of the UN Security Council with the Foreign Ministers and other senior officials of Ethiopia, Burundi, Mauritania, Uganda, Senegal, Namibia, and Kenya.

Azerbaijan`s presidency over the UN Security Council saw the adoption of four resolutions related to the extension of the UN mission's mandate in Haiti, the extension of the mandate of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan, the situation in the Central African Republic, and women, peace and security.

The organization adopted two statements of the UN Security Council president on strengthening cooperation between the UN and OIC and the situation in Syria, and six statements on the terrorist attack on the embassy of Russia in Tripoli on October 2, the poliomyelitis vaccination project in some regions of Sudan, the joint operation of the African Union and the UN in Darfur, killing of peacekeepers serving in the UN missions in Mali and Congo, and Guinea elections.

The permanent mission of the Republic of Azerbaijan to the UN held an official event over the end of Azerbaijan`s presidency at the UN Security Council, with representatives of other Secularity Council and UN members, UN Secretariat, non-governmental organizations and media outlets in attendance.

In November, the UN Security Council's rotating presidency was transferred from Azerbaijan to China.

Azerbaijan held the chairmanship of the Security Council in May 2012, and chaired it again in October.

Azerbaijan has acted as a non-permanent member of the UNSC since January 1, 2012, and its membership will continue till December 31, 2013.