UN 64TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY TO DEBATE NAGORNO-KARABAKH

Trend
July 29 2009
Azerbaijan

The United Nations General Assembly’s upcoming 64th session is going
to have two Nagorno-Karabakh conflict related issues, Trend News was
told at the Information center of the UN Headquarters, New-York. Those
are the resolution projects named "Protracted conflicts in the
GUAM area and their implications for international peace, security
and development" and "The situation in the occupied territories of
Azerbaijan", the centre said.

According to the UN HQ information office, these items have not yet
been considered by the General Assembly at its 63rd session, and remain
on the agenda of that session. Their inclusion in the provisional
agenda of the 64th session is subject to any action the Assembly may
take on it at its 63rd session. The HQ information office notices,
that the exact time when these resolution projects are to be discussed
during the GA session, will be specified in the end of September.

A New York based "Mediators beyond borders" organization’s analyst
Tom Fiutak told Trend News that the role of the UN mechanisms in
the process of solving frozen conflict in South Caucasus, including
Nagorno-Karabakh, "provide a legitimate arena in which to address
them". He believes that "The question is not how much role the UN
should play in solving those conflicts, but when".

"Confronting "frozen" or locked conflicts has more to do with
understanding the dynamics of parties while judging correctly the
ability of the arena to contain the emotional, psychological, and
political results of the interaction of the conflicting parties. Every
action will cause a reaction," the analyst adds.

He also says that "There is always a danger of prematurely entering
into the conflict when the chances of a supportive and positive
outcome are very low". According to Mr. Fiutak, forecasting the
dynamics of such a complex conflict as for example Nagorno-Karabakh,
"takes a larger view than often either or all the parties possess. The
UN therefore, needs to sustain a presence and legitimacy so that
at the appropriate time, their intervention will have the greatest
chance of a positive and durable result".

Speaking on why the conflicts in South Caucasus area remain frozen, the
expert adds, that "Things are frozen because there is some advantage
to the parties to keep things frozen. The final judgment to intervene
or not to intervene must be based on one’s belief that the process
of thawing and the resulting "unfrozen" state is more desirable than
the current condition".

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988
when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian armed
forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan since 1992, including
the Nagorno-Karabakh region and 7 surrounding districts. Azerbaijan
and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The co-chairs of
the OSCE Minsk Group – Russia, France, and the U.S. – are currently
holding the peace negotiations.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress