Elmar Mammadyarov, Azerbaijan`s Minister of Foreign Affairs called on Organization of the Islamic Conference to support candidacy of Azerbaijan for a non-permanent membership of the UN Security Council, Press Service of the Foreign Ministry said.
In his address at the 38th Session of the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers held in Astana, Mammadyarov said Azerbaijan nominated its candidacy for a non-permanent membership of the UN Security Council, for the term of 2012-2013, at the elections to be held in 2011 at the 66th session of the UN General Assembly. "Stemming from the importance of representing the Islamic World in the Security Council we count on constant support by the Member States to the candidacy of Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan is the only country among the candidates to the UNSC from the Group of Eastern European States that is not a member of the European Union and does not belong to any political or military alliance. We are full-fledged member of the Non-Aligned Movement and pursuing an independent foreign policy with strong commitment to goals and principles of the UN Charter."
"I have the honour to ask my dear brothers and colleagues to extend their support to the candidature of Azerbaijan at the elections to be held this October in New York during the UNGA session and provide appropriate instructions to their distinguished Ambassadors to the United Nations".
Touching upon developments going in Islamic world, the Azerbaijani minister said "we remain concerned over the situation in Palestine. Azerbaijan reiterates its support to brotherly people of Palestine and their efforts to achieve peace, stability, and establishment of a sovereign and independent Palestinian state, with Al-Quds as its capital".
He said Azerbaijan highly values the work of the OIC Secretary General and his staff to consolidate the Organization in providing much needed assistance to population in Palestine.
Mammadyarov said "islamophobia which is regretfully on the rise in a number of countries around the world has inflicted heavy emotional and psychological cost on millions of Muslims".
"We strongly support the OIC`s efforts aimed at exploring the possibility of evolving a binding international framework to prevent the defamation of all religions," the Foreign Minister stressed.
Mammadyarov expressed Azerbaijan`s "sincere gratitude to the Islamic Ummah and the OIC Secretary General for their vigorous support to the just cause of Azerbaijan in the ongoing armed conflict with Armenia as a result of which almost twenty percent of Azerbaijan's territory still remains under occupation by Armenia". He said "presumably one million Azerbaijanis have been ethnically cleansed from their native lands, and thousands of Azerbaijani cultural and historical monuments, including of Islamic heritage were devastated and looted".
"The Government of Azerbaijan remains committed to the peaceful settlement of this protracted conflict based on the respect for the norms and principles of international law, implementation of the relevant UN Security Council and OIC resolutions as well as appropriate documents and decisions adopted by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, Council of Europe and European Parliament. All these documents unanimously supported territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, contains a strong call on Armenia to withdraw its troops from the occupied lands of my country and return of refugees and IDP's to the places of their origin," the minister added.

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