When the Khojaly genocide was committed on February 26, 1992, the Republic of Azerbaijan was experiencing its most difficult period, both militarily and politically. Faced with such a brutal massacre, the young independent country was unable to make its voice heard in the global arena. In this situation, it was of vital importance for Azerbaijan to fully integrate into the system of international relations and gain access to legal and diplomatic instruments. Finally, that historic event occurred.
Just one week after the Khojaly genocide, on March 2, Azerbaijan was admitted to the UN. Membership in the UN officially confirmed the international recognition of the Azerbaijani state.
This photo, presented in the “History of a Photo” section of the Modern.az website, depicts the historic moment when the independent Republic of Azerbaijan's membership in the UN was formalized.
Time: March 2, 1992... Location: UN Headquarters in New York City...
On the podium, the first Minister of Foreign Affairs of the independent Republic of Azerbaijan, Huseynagha Sadigov, delivers a speech.
The former minister recalled those historic times in an interview with Modern.az as follows:
“After the Khojaly genocide occurred, Elmar Mammadyarov and Fakhraddin Gurbanov set off with me to become a member of the UN. At that time, Elmar Mammadyarov was involved in protocol affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Fakhraddin Gurbanov was preparing information for the press.
We heard about the tragedy at the airport, but we did not consider it appropriate to return. Because a great opportunity had arisen to spread the news of the event to the world. Representatives of all UN member states were going to gather at the headquarters in New York.
I called my friends in Baku and got accurate information. Unfortunately, although I called the government, I couldn't reach anyone.
When we were admitted to the UN, I decided to deliver my speech in Azerbaijani. This was very important considering the participation of the 366th Motorized Rifle Regiment in the Khojaly genocide. While still on the plane, I had translated my speech from Russian into Azerbaijani. I also added information about the Khojaly genocide to my speech.
I instructed Mammadyarov and Gurbanov to oversee the simultaneous translation. When I spoke in Azerbaijani, you could have heard a fly buzz. Because in the hall, people were saying “What language is he speaking?!” and quickly put on their headphones to listen.”
According to H. Sadigov, some states tried to obstruct his speech at the UN.
“Those who obstructed were countries that were friends of Armenia at the time. It wasn't just Russia; there were other European countries too...
At that time, Turkey was the country that supported Azerbaijan the most. Subsequently, Germany, England, Switzerland, Spain, Pakistan, India, and China supported us from the very first day.
In fact, that day was both a celebration and a mourning for us. It was a mourning because our city of Khojaly had been razed to the ground. It was a celebration because independent Azerbaijan was being admitted to the UN. After my speech, Azerbaijanis and Turks shed tears for Khojaly. The next day, I met with the UN Secretary-General. During the meeting, I insisted that he either come himself or send his representative to familiarize themselves with the situation in Khojaly on the ground. He stated that he would not be able to come himself but would send his official representative.
A week later, a delegation led by the UN Secretary-General's official representative, former US Secretary of State Cyrus Vance, arrived in Azerbaijan. I took him to Aghdam and showed him the situation. Cyrus Vance was shocked when he saw the bodies brought from Khojaly in the Aghdam mosque. "Even fascists did not commit such atrocities during World War II," Cyrus Vance noted with emotion. After returning, he prepared a detailed report on the existing situation, and the UN's first resolution regarding Armenia's occupation was adopted after that document.”
Reference: Huseynagha Sadigov was born on March 14, 1940, in Baku. In 1958, he graduated from Baku City Secondary School No. 132, and in 1963, from the Faculty of European Languages of the Azerbaijan Institute of Foreign Languages named after M.F. Akhundov. He pursued postgraduate studies at the institute.
From 1970, he worked as an instructor in the Foreign Relations Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Azerbaijan.
In 1968, he completed the Higher Foreign Tourism courses under the Council of Ministers of the USSR in Moscow.
From 1971, he held responsible positions in the Council of Ministers of the Azerbaijan SSR and the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Azerbaijan.
He began his diplomatic service in 1974. From that year, he served as Vice-Consul at the USSR Consulate in Leipzig, German Democratic Republic, and from 1980, as Consul at the USSR Consulate in Rostock, GDR. He held diplomatic positions at the USSR Consulate General in the German Democratic Republic and at the embassy in Berlin.
From 1988 to 1991, he served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Azerbaijan SSR.
In 1991, he was appointed as the first Minister of Foreign Affairs of the independent Republic of Azerbaijan.
In 1989, he was granted the diplomatic rank of Envoy Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, 1st Class, of the USSR, and in 1992, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Azerbaijan.
In 1992, he was appointed Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Azerbaijan to Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and Austria.
He knows German, Arabic, Turkish, and Russian.
For his services in developing friendship and strategic cooperation between the Federal Republic of Germany and the Republic of Azerbaijan, he was awarded Germany's state award - the "Grand Cross of Merit" order - by the German President in 2006.
A. Gafarli
