AZERBAIJAN GETS A UN SECURITY COUNCIL SEAT

In the last week of October, Azerbaijani diplomacy experienced its biggest success in the 20 years of independence - the country was elected a nonpermanent member of the UN Security Council for 2012-13. The reaction of the Azerbaijani people to this event was best expressed by President Ilham Aliyev in a statement on this occasion: "A very significant and historic event has taken place in the life of our country. Following a vote at the UN Security Council, Azerbaijan has been elected a member of this authoritative organization. Let me heartily congratulate the people of Azerbaijan on this great victory. This is a major victory indeed. The UN Security Council is the most authoritative body in the world, and Azerbaijan is already a member of it as an independent state."

The chronology of several tense days of voting in the UN is well known. It has received a detailed media coverage. Let us briefly recall that in the penultimate round of the vote Azerbaijan gained 116 votes and Slovenia 77. It became clear that behind-the-scenes efforts of the leading powers of the European Union, especially France, have not helped this Balkan country. With each round the level of support for Slovenia did not increase, but rather decreased. Not surprisingly, Slovenian Foreign Minister Samuel Zbogar said right before the final round of the vote that the country he represents withdraws its candidacy. We know what happened then. A total of 155 countries voted for Azerbaijan, 24 abstained and 13 still voted for Slovenia.

Such is the pleasing result of the UN vote for Azerbaijan. It was a surprise not only because of its outcome, but also because of the way in which the struggle unfolded. The scenario expected by United Nations old-timers was already impaired after the first round when Azerbaijan received more support than Hungary and Slovenia who were considered favorites. Contrary to the predictions of Western and Russian analysts, who had suggested that Azerbaijan can collect no more than 25 per cent of the votes, we received almost twice as much. As a result, Hungary was knocked out after the first ballot, while Slovenia and Azerbaijan moved on into the second.

Perhaps, along with Azerbaijan's own successful tactic, the outcome of the vote was influenced by tactical errors of Hungary and Slovenia, as well as the EU that supported them. The very nomination of their candidacies, as the vote showed, was not entirely successful. In Hungary, the government is led by nationalist politicians who have fallen out not only with neighboring Romania and Slovakia, but also with EU bureaucrats. Besides, their lobbying for their candidacy was quite sluggish, probably because they thought that the necessary result would be secured anyway.

As for Slovenia, it had its disadvantages too. This country, with independence experience not longer than that of Azerbaijan's, was a member of the UN Security Council in 1998-99. Considering that it had taken the place of the former Yugoslav republic of Bosnia-Herzegovina (2010-11), which, in turn, had previously replaced another former Yugoslav republic of Croatia (2008-09), it appears that former Yugoslav republics have almost monopolized a seat in the UN Security Council on behalf of Eastern Europe.

The supporters of Hungary and Slovenia certainly underestimated the growing international reputation of Azerbaijan, the great organizational and political work carried out by Azerbaijani leaders and diplomats to rally support. They did not expect Azerbaijan to show such a resolute position, thinking that we would be satisfied by the sole nomination and the vote and that the issue would be resolved between the two candidates acceptable to the West - Hungary and Slovenia. As the vote showed, they miscalculated.

Azerbaijan has received support not only from Muslim member-states of the OIC, but also the CIS (except Armenia) and many countries in the Non-Aligned Movement. Undoubtedly, a positive role has been played by a fact-finding visit to Azerbaijan by a group of permanent representatives of small countries to the UN, the constructive and consistent work of our diplomats both in the UN and various countries where we have diplomatic missions.

What was initially seen as an advantage for Slovenia, namely its membership in the EU, eventually worked against it. There are already four EU members in the UN Security Council. In addition to France and the UK, which have the status of permanent members, these are Germany and Portugal. The appearance of a fifth EU representative which is also a member of NATO would have hardly been in the interests of Russia and China. In any case, these influential powers also supported Azerbaijan, which could not but affect the position of a number of wavering countries.

To appreciate the importance of Azerbaijan's success, suffice it to say that out of 15 former Soviet republics which regained their independence only two decades ago, only Ukraine succeeded in getting a seat in the UN Security Council in 2000-01. Russia does not count, as it is a permanent member of the UN Security Council as the successor to the Soviet Union. Even fraternal Turkey had waited 50 years to become a nonpermanent member of the UN Security Council and got it only two years ago.

Armenia had also nominated itself to membership in the UN Security Council from Eastern Europe, but realizing that it could not get even the minimum number of votes, it quietly withdrew its bid, trying to hamper Azerbaijan in every possible way. Armenian President Sargsyan and Foreign Minister Nalbandyan did everything they could both publicly and behind the scenes to block Azerbaijan's bid using the world's superpowers. Obviously, their own strength was not enough, while their patrons were too busy with other things. Yerevan is now at a loss, if not shocked, even though it pretends that nothing happened.

Analysts such as Richard Kirakosyan and Karen Bekaryan, who usually toe the line of the authorities, have been trying to detract from the value of Azerbaijan's success, calming down the Armenian public with pledges that Baku cannot achieve anything in the Karabakh issue by getting a seat in the UN Security Council. At the same time, opposition politicians and experts speak directly about the failure of Armenian diplomacy. Armenia's former foreign minister Vahan Papazyan has said, "It is wrong to seek geopolitical interests in Azerbaijan's election to the Security Council. We simply have to acknowledge that the Azerbaijani diplomacy, having enormous financial resources at its disposal, has been working hard, while the Armenian side hasn't." A similar opinion has been expressed by another former foreign minister of Armenia, Aleksandr Arzumanyan.

Azerbaijan's friends have been sincerely rejoicing in our success. Thus, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said in a meeting with President Ilham Aliyev: "Two years ago, Turkey was a nonpermanent member of UN Security Council, and now brotherly Azerbaijan has become a member of this organization. My joy over this success of your fraternal country is truly boundless. Azerbaijan and Turkey are inseparable brothers and friends. We will work together with Azerbaijan, hand in hand, shoulder to shoulder, to create peace and prosperity in our region." Azerbaijan's election to the UN Security Council as a nonpermanent member has been welcomed by the spokespersons for the Russian Foreign Ministry, the US State Department and a number of other states.

The electoral rivalry is now in the past. Azerbaijan, along with Pakistan, Morocco, Togo and Guatemala also elected in the Friday vote, will replace the outgoing Lebanon, Nigeria, Gabon, Bosnia and Brazil in the UN Security Council. What should we expect from Azerbaijan's membership in the UN Security Council apart from the fact that this election is a visible expression of recognition of the our country's growing international authority? 

Whatever the critics might say about the reducing role of the UN in world politics, it is still the most authoritative and universal organization with the sole authority in matters of peace, security and international cooperation. The Security Council has a key place in the United Nations. Whereas other UN bodies make recommendations to governments, the Security Council only has the right to take decisions which member-states are required to implement according to the Charter.

Presidency in the Security Council is rotated among all members in an alphabetical manner. The functions of the chairman of the UN Security Council include the formation, together with the UN Secretary-General, of the meeting agenda, convention and closure of meetings and coordination of draft resolutions. The presiding country hold the office for one calendar month. Each council member has one vote. Decisions on procedural matters are considered passed by an affirmative vote of at least nine out of 15 members. To pass decisions on substantive political issues requires nine votes, including the concurring votes of all five permanent members.

It is clear that the Security Council is dominated by five superpowers. But the immediate presence in the political "kitchen" where international policies are decided will give Azerbaijan a great experience and the knowledge of how to advance its interests. The correct choice of a stance on sensitive issues on the agenda of the UN Security Council may further increase the international authority of the country, encourage the powers that may affect the solution of Azerbaijan's problems, most importantly the Karabakh conflict, to be more attentive and responsive to our enquiries and interests.

According to Eldar Quliyev, who was Azerbaijan's permanent representative to the UN in 1994-2001, "There is very serious and complicated politics within the UN. And if we act correctly for two years, we may derive serious dividends from the cooperation with the countries that will support us when we need that in the future. Also, we should remember that Azerbaijan will take part in resolving serious global problems. Meetings of the UN Security Council primarily consider the issues of war and peace, various sanctions, their introduction and removal. There is where world policies are developed. Being a part of all this is prestigious and cool."

The success of Azerbaijani diplomacy should be translated into a solution of problems that are important to us and our friends. This may require no less effort than election to the UN Security Council. Work in this direction has been started. On 28 October, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov, speaking to students and teachers of the Azerbaijan Diplomatic Academy, said the Foreign Ministry is working on the agenda of its activity in the Security Council in the next two years. Activities relevant to the Council agenda are being planned. Azerbaijan has identified priorities of its future work in this organization. Along with support for its national interests, it is important for Baku to support peace and stability, conflict settlement, combating global warming and poverty eradication within the framework of the UN Millennium Goals and promotion of multiculturalism on the example of Azerbaijan.

It is important to take a balanced position on complex international matters, including such issues as the Middle East settlement and recognition of Palestine, the Cyprus issue, the Iranian nuclear program, the situation in Afghanistan, etc. The interests of the countries that supported Azerbaijan in the vote and the positions of superpowers that have the status of permanent members in the Security Council are quite different, if not conflicting. A responsible, well-reasoned and principled position of Azerbaijan will help it not lose friends and strengthen the international prestige of our state. This will facilitate the settlement of the Karabakh conflict.

If Armenia persists in its unreasonable territorial ambitions, dares to take reckless action such as "recognition of the NKR" or resort to military provocations, our presence in the UN Security Council may enable us to initiate and pass resolutions preventing such actions. The geopolitical position, energy resources, the scale of the economy, monetary and financial reserves are already attracting the attention of the world's leading powers to Azerbaijan's. Membership in the UN Security Council is an additional factor that increases the importance of Azerbaijan as a partner.