Azerbaijan, Baku, August 2 / Trend T. Hajiyev /
Azerbaijan fails to join the UN Cluster Munitions Convention now, the Foreign Ministry arms control department specialist Elchin Huseynli said during a round-table-meeting organized by the public association "Azerbaijani campaign against mines".
"Azerbaijani territories - Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding regions are under occupation. Therefore, Azerbaijan can not join the UN Cluster Munitions Convention now. Azerbaijan supports the convention. But the country has to avoid joining this convention till its territory is under occupation. At the same time, Azerbaijan welcomes the initiatives in this direction, " Huseynli said.
The Foreign Ministry spokesman said that the complete elimination of cluster munitions is one of the biggest challenges of the world community in XXI century. He said that since 2007 Azerbaijan has been participating as an observer in all conferences within the Oslo process.
"Azerbaijan takes the humanitarian principles of disarmament as a basis. Our country has joined the Nuclear Weapons Convention and other similar documents", Huseynli said.
The UN Cluster Munitions Convention entered into force August 1, this year, chairman of the public association "Azerbaijani campaign against landmines" Hafiz Safihanov said.
Safihanov said that cluster weapons were created and used during the Korean War. A coalition was formed against cluster weapons in 2003. The international community has begun to work to ban such weapons at the initiative of the Norwegian government.
Cluster munitions were banned at the talks in Oslo, Norway in 2007.
Earlier, Commissioner of the European Council for Human Rights Thomas Hammarberg, has called for Azerbaijan's and Armenia's joining the convention banning cluster munitions.