YouSaid · the spoken record

Nikol Pashinyan

lines on the record: 79
first: 2018-09-24
most recent: 2022-09-24
sittings or episodes: 5
sources: un-general-debate

Every line below is reproduced as it was said and linked to the record it came from. Nothing here is summarised or generated. Directory · Search · Corrections

“That is why they are inflaming anti-Armenian sentiments among their people and spending enormous resources on armaments, and why anti-Armenian hate speech has become official policy in Azerbaijan. In fact, the Azerbaijani authorities want to bring back the Soviet-era status of Nagorno Karabakh, but that is a futile effort because the people of the Soviet-era Nagorno Karabakh Autonomous Region declared their independence and exercised their right to self-determination, as did Azerbaijan in seceding from the Soviet Union. That position of Azerbaijan is tantamount to claiming the restoration of the former Soviet Union. The Azerbaijani Government presents the Nagorno Karabakh conflict as a territorial dispute between Armenia and Azerbaijan. We totally disagree with such an interpretation of the conflict.”
2019-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 74 (2019)
“I introduced the formula not only publicly but also within the negotiations being conducted under the auspices of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Minsk Group co-chairmanship. In order to enable us to move forward, I expected a similar statement from Azerbaijan. However, Azerbaijan’s highest authorities have maintained their position, which is based on a solution to the Nagorno Karabakh conflict that is acceptable only to the people of Azerbaijan. What does that really mean? It means that the Azerbaijani authorities have no intention of resolving the conflict. Instead, they want to defeat the people of Nagorno Karabakh. They do not want to seek any compromise. What they aim at is revenge for their unsuccessful attempted aggressions against the people of Nagorno Karabakh in the 1990s and in 2016.”
2019-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 74 (2019)
“Since my very first day in office I have been taking steps in that context, and I publicly stated that any solution to the Nagorno Karabakh conflict must be acceptable to the peoples of Armenia, Nagorno Karabakh and Azerbaijan. It is noteworthy that I was the first Armenian leader to voice such a position about the settlement of the conflict. I was heavily criticized in my country for proposing such a formula to resolve the conflict, which places the three parties of the conflict on an equal footing. Nevertheless, I strongly believe that this is the only way to achieve a peaceful and lasting settlement of the conflict because it offers a possibility for compromise, mutual respect and balance.”
2019-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 74 (2019)
“We observe with concern the various disagreements among our friends, strategic partners and allies. Those realities present us with significant challenges because we face the persistent risk of not being correctly understood by some of our friends — or even worse, by any of them. We are doing our best to remain a reliable partner and a good friend to all of them without damaging our relations with any of them, without promoting relations with one partner at the expense of another. We will continue to invest every effort into making our region’s geopolitical environment safer. The peaceful settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict is of crucial importance to the stability and security of our region.”
2019-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 74 (2019)
“Two of the four international borders of Armenia, including the border with Turkey, have been closed for almost three decades. By refusing to establish diplomatic relations with Armenia, overtly assisting Azerbaijan against Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh, Turkey remains a serious security threat to Armenia and the Armenian people, who have experienced the deep tragedy of genocide and continue to face the fierce denial of truth and justice. The various degrees of tension existing in relations among our neighbours and strategic partners create very challenging circumstances for us. Russia is our key strategic partner and ally, while Georgia and Iran are our strategic neighbours, and we have a strategically significant agenda and partnership with the United States, the European Union and its Member States.”
2019-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 74 (2019)
“I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to all our international partners who are fully committed to assisting our reform agenda. In particular, we are grateful to the United Nations and its programmes and agencies, as well as regional partners such as the European Union and the Council of Europe. As I mention the United Nations, our global Organization embracing the whole of the international community, I hope that all members of that international community would like the Armenian democracy to succeed. Unfortunately, the world has not become a safer place for all of us this year. It is difficult to find any region in the world that has not been destabilized or affected by tensions in its neighbourhood.”
2019-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 74 (2019)
“The empowerment of women is another area in which we have taken bold steps to register visible results. The most important part of our institutional reforms is education. We believe that only through promoting education can we make our democracy irreversible and achieve sustainable economic growth. Our vision is to make lifelong education a nationwide activity for all layers of our society, from children to adults. The Armenian Government is determined to continue its institutional reforms, but we also count on the support of the international community to stand with the young Armenian democracy to address its challenges. We need to have access to international best practices to save time and resources. We need to avoid the mistakes previously made by other democracies in order to make our democratic reforms more fruitful and efficient.”
2019-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 74 (2019)
“Before the revolution, only a small group of people believed that individual efforts could bring about political changes in our country, but today that is a commanding idea for the overwhelming majority of Armenian citizens. Our overall goal is therefore to accomplish an economic revolution in exactly the same way that the political revolution was achieved earlier. The reform and strengthening of institutions are the most powerful instruments we possess in addressing the challenges that democratic Armenia is facing today. Immediately after coming to power, we initiated a package of drastic measures to establish the democratic institutions that never previously existed in our country, such as efforts to establish an independent judiciary, anti-corruption bodies and a level playing field for all economic and political players.”
2019-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 74 (2019)
“Yet the revolution was just the beginning of our mission and probably the easiest part of it. We are currently in a new, more important and difficult stage of our mission. We would like to prove that democratic transformation in Armenia is sustainable. We are proud to have already delivered some concrete results. Our economy is growing steadily and quite rapidly, thanks to a very important ideological transformation that has occurred in our country. The individual effort of every citizen does matter. That principle is the most important driving force of our economic revolution, and the most important mission of our Government is to inspire and convince our citizens to trust their talent and ability to make real changes. Individual efforts have been the main driver of the success of our political revolution.”
2019-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 74 (2019)
“From this rostrum, I would like to firmly state once again that the velvet revolution in Armenia was carried out by its proud citizens in a manifestation of their will to reject corruption and the abuse and monopolization of power, as well as the consistent falsification of elections and political fraud. There is absolutely no need to reproach the free expression of will of the Armenian people, who are their country’s ultimate sovereign in the sight of the international community. The political transformations in Armenia represent the fulfilment of a dream to have a free, democratic and happy country — a dream that was born in the late 1980s, at the end of the Cold War, and that led our people to independence. Armenia’s non-violent people’s velvet revolution is proof of the potential of democratic change in the contemporary world.”
2019-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 74 (2019)
“However, some are not free from meddling and control by the same old circles in the former Government and are fabricating fake news and spreading mistrust in the public domain about the origins and purposes of the velvet revolution. Despite such challenges, our resolve to promote and protect the freedom of the media is unrelenting. We have witnessed plenty of suspicion about the nature and purposes of our revolution. Some believe that the revolution was instigated by global competitors in our region. Others have asked, “if they are not behind this revolution, who else could have done it?”.”
2019-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 74 (2019)
“It is based on the strong mandate of our people, to whom we are accountable in delivering reforms, securing justice, improving economic and social conditions and developing our nation. Our democratic transformation and zero-tolerance policy on corruption are not without resistance from corrupted former elites, whose vast financial resources are directed at escaping justice. Our Government has not pursued a single case of property redistribution. At the same time, our resolve to press forward with reforms and ensuring justice is unwavering. Our mass media are completely free of Government control or interference.”
2019-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 74 (2019)
“For the first time in about 25 years, those elections and their results were fully accepted by our public and not contested by any political party. They received the best possible assessment from international observers, who hailed them as free, fair and transparent. That was a major achievement of the Armenian people’s non-violent velvet revolution of 2018. Armenia’s peaceful revolution received praise and recognition from the international community. International media groups acknowledged Armenia’s role in the global democratic surge as providing hope for global democracy. In recognition of our democratic achievements, The Economist magazine proclaimed Armenia “country of the year” in 2018. Our determination to advance democracy and reforms is solid, uncompromising and unwavering.”
2019-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 74 (2019)
“At the outset, I would like to congratulate His Excellency Mr. Tijjani Muhammad-Bande on his election as President of the General Assembly at its seventy-fourth session. I wish to assure you, Mr. President, of Armenia’s full support for your leadership during this seventy-fourth session. I also want to express our profound gratitude to Ms. Maria Fernanda Espinosa Garces, President of the General Assembly at its seventy-third session, for her effective leadership and important legacy. This is my second opportunity to represent my country in this Hall as Prime Minister of Armenia. Momentous changes have been taking place in our country since my previous appearance at the General Assembly (see A/73/PV.7). Parliamentary elections were held in Armenia last December.”
2019-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 74 (2019)
“I reiterate once again our invitation to delegations to attend the summit of La Francophonie with several events planned within that framework.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“They served as the basis on which Armenia launched the Global Forum against the Crime of Genocide. This year the Global Forum will be dedicated to issues of genocide prevention through education, culture and museums. I encourage delegations to come and contribute to the work of the Forum. “Living together” is the theme of the seventeenth summit of the International Organization of la Francophonie, which will be held in October in Yerevan, the capital of Armenia, a city that is some 2,800 years old. It is a great honour and a privilege for Armenia to be part of the wider French-speaking family and to promote tolerance and mutual respect through cooperation in the areas of culture, education and innovation.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“In that regard, we recognize the indispensable role of the United Nations and its specialized agencies, as well as the importance of cooperation in working with other potential partners. As a newly elected member of the Economic and Social Council and a candidate for the Human Rights Council for the 2020-2022 term, Armenia will do its utmost to contribute to the realization of the Sustainable Development Goals and to the protection and promotion of human rights and fundamental freedoms. This is the year when we mark the seventieth anniversary of two of our most important human rights documents, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. Each has its own history, and each has become a cornerstone for the development of international law.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“The United Nations and its development agenda should indeed be relevant and accessible to all. No one should be left behind, as we keep repeating in our collective efforts. Earlier this year, in July, Armenia presented its first voluntary national report on the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals at the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development. That important exercise coincided with a decisive political period animated by vibrant democratic processes and the launch of a wide range of reforms in my country. Armenia is committed to the creation and development of a knowledge-based, innovative platform that will leverage the impact and accelerate the implementation of the development agenda.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“Karabakh must therefore not become a part of Azerbaijan unless we want to trigger a new Armenian genocide. To sum up, let me reiterate that the conflict can and should be settled only through mutual compromise on all sides, in an atmosphere conducive to peace, not war. Last but not least, I would also like to express my satisfaction to the Secretary-General for his unwavering support to the OSCE Minsk Group co-Chairs’ approach and the related efforts. The topic of our deliberations, “Making the United Nations relevant to all people: global leadership and shared responsibilities for peaceful, equitable and sustainable societies”, shows the consistent nature of our approach to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“Furthermore, if Azerbaijan is truly committed to the peace process, it should start talking to the main subject of the conflict, Nagorno Karabakh. Azerbaijan declares at every possible occasion that Karabakh should be a part of its territory, while at the same time announcing that it will not negotiate with Nagorno Karabakh. The question is how Azerbaijan can make a claim to Nagorno Karabakh without even speaking to it. Is that possible? It is possible only if the Azerbaijani Government wants the territory, but not the people in it. It therefore becomes obvious that the Azerbaijani leadership’s intention is to cleanse Armenians from Karabakh, as it did in Nakhchivan. That entitles Nagorno Karabakh to argue that if Karabakh were to become a part of Azerbaijan it would mean its total extermination.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“The peaceful resolution of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict continues to occupy a central place on our foreign policy agenda. The status and security of the Republic of Artsakh is an absolute priority for Armenia in the negotiation process. Any attempt to resolve the conflict through military means represents a direct threat to regional security, democracy and human rights. Armenia will continue its constructive engagement in the peaceful resolution of the conflict within the format of the co-Chairs of the Minsk Group of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), which has the only internationally recognized mandate to deal with the conflict. Azerbaijan should change its disrespectful attitude to the negotiations, abandon the idea of any military solution and implement all previous agreements.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“We are a truly global nation, with hundreds of Armenian communities all around the world, which explains Armenia’s sensitivity to global threats that could put our fellow Armenians at risk in different parts of the world. The sizeable Armenian community in Syria is facing an existential threat from the ongoing crisis there. Armenia has tried to contribute by dispatching humanitarian assistance to the most vulnerable regions, and we are ready to enhance our humanitarian mission, aimed at meeting the most pressing needs of our community in Syria. As a nation that has experienced the horrors of genocide, Armenians have a great awareness of security concerns involving their compatriots and are ready to do their utmost to protect them.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“However, we do not intend to develop our relations with one partner at the expense of another. We underline the importance of the role of multilateralism at the global and regional level. Armenia’s cooperation under the umbrella of the United Nations is comprehensive and vibrant. Without going into minute detail, I would like to mention our contributions to global peace through the United Nations-led and -supported peace operations, with their impressive geographical scope, which extends from Afghanistan to Lebanon and from Kosovo to Mali. That has special significance for our country. While we are dealing with serious security concerns, we realize that the security of any one country is inextricably linked to that of all others and that global peace requires concerted action.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“Now that we have assumed our responsibilities, our team has a clear vision and the strong political will we need to launch fundamental reforms aimed at eradicating corruption, creating transparent, accountable and efficient governance mechanisms, safeguarding human rights and the rule of law, ensuring an independent judiciary and advancing economic growth through a free and competitive business environment and an atmosphere favourable to investment. Despite the radical transformation in our internal political life, our foreign policy agenda will not involve any U-turns. The continuity of Armenia’s foreign policy shows that our country is a predictable and reliable partner. Our international commitments are not subject to revision. Our position is clear: Armenia stands ready to have constructive dialogue and to cooperate with all partners.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“I would also like to stress that the current situation in Armenia is not just a change of Government or ruling party. It represents the establishment of a new political and governance system, which we have named “the people’s direct rule” or “the people’s direct governance”. In order to institutionalize the system, we intend to guarantee the expression of the people’s will not only through elections but also through local and national referendums, in order to engage our people in the decision-making process. Having been a political prisoner myself, I understand how much it means to be able to speak out and decide one’s own future.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“The fact that for the first time since Armenia became independent, all of the main parties congratulated the winning candidate and nobody questioned the official results shows that a completely new political culture has been established in Armenia. In the same spirit, we are now getting ready for snap parliamentary elections in our country. Free, fair and transparent elections will become an irreversible reality in Armenia and will bring strong and vibrant democratic institutions that function through a system of checks and balances. Protecting our citizens’ rights and ensuring freedom of speech and other forms of expression and of assembly are very high on our Government’s agenda. From now on, there can be no possibility of manipulating the electoral process and undermining the people’s trust.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“Against all odds, I was elected Prime Minister, and in a Parliament where I had only four reliable votes, including my own. Yet it was possible. It happened because people were firm in their demands, and the Parliament, which had been elected just a year before, had no choice but to follow the people’s will. While that Parliament continues to operate today, it no longer represents the people’s will, as it also failed to do before and during the revolution. Why? The short answer is that the elections that created it involved the buying of votes on a massive scale, the misuse of administrative resources, and oppression. An important test of our ability to hold genuine free, fair and competitive elections was the Yerevan city council election that took place just before my departure for New York.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“From the very beginning, we declared that we were ruling out violence of any kind. We declared that even if violence was used against us, we would not respond with violence. We declared that our response would be with raised and open hands, smiles and love. When we started this political process there were just a few dozens of us marching from Gyumri, Armenia’s second-largest city, to the capital, Yerevan. When we reached Yerevan and showed our determination and devotion to the principle of non-violence, our entire nation rose up against the ruling regime in unity and solidarity. We won without a single shot being fired and with no victims, through peaceful demonstrations alone. We succeeded against all expectations. Even well-known experts and think tanks were sceptical about our chances for victory.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“First of all, I would like to congratulate Her Excellency Ms. María Fernanda Espinosa Garcés on her election as President of the General Assembly at its seventy-third session. We hope that the deliberations under her able leadership will be fruitful. It is a great honour to address the Assembly as a leader who has recently become the Prime Minister of Armenia as the result of a people’s revolution that is now known as Armenia’s velvet revolution. I would like to take a moment to share the story of our victory over the authoritarian rule that preceded that revolution. The people of Armenia succeeded in bringing about an unforeseen and unprecedented revolution, which took place without violence, victims or public disorder. That was no coincidence, as our intention was to make a revolution based on love and solidarity.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)