Baku, January 28, AZERTAC

The 11th session of the Parliamentary Union of the OIC Member States (PUIC) Conference was held in Baghdad, Iraq on January 20-25.

A delegation led by member of the Azerbaijani Parliament Govhar Bakhshaliyeva attended the conference, which adopted two resolutions on Azerbaijan.

Govhar Bakhshaliyeva spoke to AZERTAC on the issues discussed at the session as well as the resolutions.

According to Bakhshaliyeva, chaired by Speaker of Iraq's Council of Representatives Salim al-Jabouri, the session featured discussions on organizational issues and elected bureau members. “The program and agenda of the 10th Session of the PUIC Conference also was adopted at the session. A report of the 18th Session of the PUIC General Committee was passed.”

The 5th Meeting of the Muslim Women Parliamentarians and the 6th Meeting of the Standing Committee on Palestine Affairs were also held as part of the session.

Govhar Bakhshaliyeva was elected a member of the Standing Specialized Committee on Human Rights, Women and Family Affairs.

Azerbaijani MP Mirkazim Kazimov was elected a member of the Committee on Political and Foreign Relations and Fettah Heydarov was elected a member of the Specialized Committee on Cultural and Legal Affairs and Dialogue of Civilizations and Religions.

Azerbaijani MPs Govhar Bakhshaliyeva and Mirkazim Kazimov also were elected to the PUIC General Committee.

The head of the Azerbaijani delegation also was appointed speaker of the 5th Meeting of the Muslim Women Parliamentarians at the 12th session.

Bakhshaliyeva noted that two important resolutions were adopted at the session as a result of the organized activity of the leadership of the Azerbaijani Parliament and the delegation, as well as efforts of General Coordinator of the OIC Youth Forum on Intercultural Dialogue Leyla Aliyeva.

The resolution, entitled “The aggression of the Republic of Armenia against the Republic of Azerbaijan”, expresses grave concern of the member states over the aggression by the Republic of Armenia against the Republic of Azerbaijan which has resulted in the occupation of about 20 percent of the territories of Azerbaijan. The member states also express their deep distress over the plight of more than one million Azerbaijani displaced persons and refugees resulting from the Armenian aggression and over the magnitude and severity of these humanitarian problems. They also express their deep concern about losses in people and injuries of civilian Azerbaijani citizens who live along the line of contact, including children and women as a result of the breach of ceasefire agreement by the Armenian armed forces.

The document strongly demands the strict implementation of the United Nations Security Council resolutions 822, 853, 874 and 884 and the immediate, unconditional and complete withdrawal of Armenian forces from all occupied Azerbaijani territories including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and strongly urges Armenia to respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Republic of Azerbaijan, as well as stresses that fait accompli may not serve as a basic for a settlement, and that neither the current situation within the occupied areas of the Republic of Azerbaijan, nor any actions, including arranging voting process, undertaken there to consolidate the status quo, may be recognized as legally.

The resolutions also demands to cease and reverse immediately the transfer of settlers of Armenian nationality to the occupied territories of Azerbaijan, which constitute a blatant violation of international humanitarian law and has a detrimental impact on the process of peaceful settlement of the conflict.

Bakhshaliyeva said the second resolution was called “Cooperation between the Islamic Conference Youth Forum and the Parliamentary Union of the OIC Member States (PUIC)”.

The resolution welcomes Justice for Khojaly international civil awareness Campaign initiated by Leyla Aliyeva, ICYF-DC General Coordinator for Inter-Cultural aimed at promoting historical truth on the genocide by the Armenian forces of Azerbaijani civilians in the town of Khojaly on 26 February 1992.

Then the Baghdad declaration and the final communique were adopted at the session.

The Baghdad declaration included chapters on the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, strongly condemning the Armenian aggression against Azerbaijan.