INTERVIEWS
Azerbaijan is pursuing an active policy within the Organization of Islamic Cooperation
Q: Baku has recently hosted the 5th Ministerial Conference on the Role of Women in the Development of the Member States of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). What can you say of the importance of this event?
A: Azerbaijan has become a venue of high-profile international events recently. The world`s most reputable organizations chose Azerbaijan as the venue of their events. This is certainly the result of President Ilham Aliyev`s wise policy.
On October 20-21 Baku hosted the 5th Ministerial Conference on the Role of Women in the Development of the Member States of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). It was attended by more than 220 delegates from nearly 60 countries.
Speakers at the event said that the main objective of the Conference is to strengthen the cooperation between the Member States of the OIC and to increase the active participation of women in the development of the society. They spoke of Azerbaijan’s achievements at promoting gender equality in employment, health, education, economic and social policy, as well as at addressing violence against women such as special funds for activities ensuring gender equality; a state program on poverty reduction and sustainable development which fully incorporates the gender component; and a law on the prevention of domestic violence; in addition to the increase in the participation of women in political life.
They stressed that despite the fact that throughout history Muslim women have been making significant contributions in various fields of professional and social activities such as business, civil service, policy making, social and family welfare, their role is frequently less-acknowledged and, at times, even neglected. There is a need to take steps for addressing this situation.
Due acknowledgement of women’s role in the society and their empowerment is key to progress and development. On the other hand, when women are constrained by socio-cultural factors and their role is not duly acknowledged, it reflects negatively in every field of human endeavor.
Q: How was the situation with the settlement of women`s problems and ensuring gender equality in Azerbaijan assessed during the conference?
A:The conference surely heard opinions about the state of affairs with women`s rights in Azerbaijan. Chairperson of State Committee for Family, Women and Children Affairs HijranHuseynova addressed the conference. Ms. Huseynova said the conference is aimed at reviewing the progress made in promoting the status of women and strengthening their role in the OIC Member States. According to Huseynova, the gender problem could be settled only by well-educated, experienced women. She provided an insight into the Azerbaijani government`s policy towards strengthening a family institute, protecting the rights of women and children, and ensuring gender equality. Touching upon Armenia`s military aggression against Azerbaijan, the Committee chair noted more than a million of Azerbaijanis, including 400,000 women and 300,000 children are living as refugees and IDPs. She also underlined women`s role on parliamentary and municipal levels.
Ms. Huseynovasaid women make 50.3 percent of the total population in Azerbaijan. They make great achievements in the country`s socio-political, scientific, socio-economic and other areas. The number of women in the parliament and municipalities is increasing. Women make 16 percent of the total number of women in the parliament. In municipalities, they make 26.7 percent. Some 1.7 percent of chairpersons of municipalities are women.
Q: How would you assess the activity of Azerbaijan in the Organization of Islamic Cooperation?
A: The development of cooperation between Azerbaijan and the OIC is a prioritized direction in our foreign policy and has a strategic importance. Since regaining its independence, our country was the first among the CIS countries that appealed to become a member of the OIC and in 1991 joined the organization.
In recent years, the relations between Azerbaijan and the OIC have stepped up to the qualitatively new level. Undoubtedly, being in the wartime conditions during the first years of its membership in the organization, the main aim of Azerbaijan’s foreign policy was to bring reasons, goals and grievous results of Armenian aggression to the attention of the world community, but the cooperation with the OIC was not limited to this problem and many-field, mutually beneficial relations were prioritized.Azerbaijan has an intensive cooperation with various bodies of the OIC.
Q: The OIC Parliamentary Union plays an important role in promoting awareness of Azerbaijan`s realities and in protecting the country`s territorial integrity…
A: OIC is best placed to serve as venue for dialogue and cooperation in the Islamic world on a wide range of issues from security to economic and development cooperation.
As a result of purposeful activity with both the OIC General Secretariat and member countries, the relevant resolutions on the economic assistance to Azerbaijan and on the destruction and desecration of Islamic historical and cultural relics and shrines in the occupied Azerbaijan territories, resulting from the aggression of the Republic of Armenia against the Republic of Azerbaijan, were included to the agenda of the OIC and adopted unanimously by the member countries in the organization`s summits.
It is also worth noticing that the revised Charter of the OIC was adopted at the 11th Summit and inclusion of the provision on support by the member countries for the restoration of complete sovereignty and territorial integrity of any Member States under occupation, resulting from aggression, to the “Objective and Principles” part of the Charter, as a result of tireless and purposeful work done by Azerbaijan delegation, has an exclusive importance in formulating our future foreign policy. It is also important that the position of the OIC member countries was decisive in adopting the resolution on the “Situation in the Occupied Territories of Azerbaijan” at the 62nd Session of the UN GA in 2008.
Q: Is dialogue among civilizations possible in the modern world?
A: In the modern world crash and confrontation between civilizations are one of the head topics/questions of the think-tank centers. Along the history the crash of civilizations were resulting with the wide confrontations and wars which were ending millions of people life. Unfortunately in our modern world still exists the problem of civilizations crash and confrontation which is accompany with the wide wars and military attacks. This is one of the global problems of 21st century from which the civilizations and ordinary people are still suffering. Today the main sides of this modern world divergence and crash are the east and west, if to say concretely between the Muslims and western world. Despite that along history in those civilizations existed the common values and culture which are the basics of building peace and security in the world, in nowadays we still could see large confrontations, crash and misunderstanding between these communities.