BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 8. Azerbaijan reaffirmed its commitment to the promotion and protection of human rights, highlighting the humanitarian consequences of the former conflict, including landmines and missing persons, First Secretary of the Permanent Mission of Azerbaijan to the United Nations Shahriyar Hajiyev said at the Third Committee of the eighty-first session of the United Nations General Assembly under agenda item 70: Promotion and protection of human rights.

"Upholding the inherent dignity and equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is of the utmost importance today, as our world faces serious challenges arising from escalating conflicts, deepening inequalities and the impacts of climate change.

Securing human rights and freedoms is the highest-priority objective, as determined by the Constitution of Azerbaijan, and continuous legal and institutional reforms are being undertaken to maintain steady progress in the promotion and protection of human rights.

Azerbaijan attaches particular importance to cooperation with United Nations human rights mechanisms, in particular the Universal Periodic Review, the treaty bodies and the special procedures mandate holders, by regularly submitting national reports on the implementation of international human rights instruments and maintaining dialogue with monitoring mechanisms.

Restoring the human rights of Azerbaijanis displaced as a result of the former conflict has always been a priority area for the state. Azerbaijan’s systematic rehabilitation and reconstruction measures under the Great Return Programme have already enabled 96,000 persons to return to and live in the territories liberated from occupation.

These efforts are seriously hampered by the extensive presence of mines, killing and seriously injuring more than 400 individuals, which requires genuine cooperation in rendering them harmless. At the same time, the issue of over 4,000 persons registered as missing is another remaining humanitarian problem.

Since the end of the conflict, 32 mass graves containing the remains of 253 individuals have been discovered. These graves provide further evidence of the wilful killing of civilians and other persons protected under international humanitarian law.

Providing all necessary information on burial sites, opening of archives and collection of witness statements are among the measures to be implemented for realisation of the right to know for the missing persons’ families. Azerbaijan will continue to mobilize all its resources to shed light on the fate of persons whose whereabouts remain unknown.

Accountability is undeniable and must be an inevitable consequence of the offences committed. Azerbaijan has taken decisive steps to investigate and prosecute serious offences committed against its civilians and other protected persons during the conflict, in full accordance with its national legislation and international obligations.

Concerning the report (A/81/211) submitted to the Third Committee by the Working Group on the rights of peasants and other people working in rural areas, Azerbaijan emphasizes that mandate holders must be guided by the aims and principles of the Charter of the United Nations. Furthermore, it is incumbent upon special procedures to exercise their functions in strict accordance with their mandates, and the information they present should be reliable, cross-checked and drawn from relevant and credible sources, in accordance with Human Rights Council resolution 5/2, entitled “Code of Conduct for Special Procedures Mandate-Holders,” of 18 June 2007. Unfortunately, the above-mentioned report does not meet these requirements.

Sovereign equality, respect for territorial integrity and non-interference in the internal affairs of States are fundamental principles enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations. We oppose growing trends of politicisation of human rights and double standards, or interference in States’ internal affairs under the pretext of human rights on various international platforms.

In this regard, we stress that certain issues brought to the attention of the Committee, including those related to China, must be approached with that understanding and in full conformity with the mentioned principles," Shahriyar Hajiyev said.