President Ilham Aliyev
Ansar Mahmood Bhatti /DNA
President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and his spouse Mehriban Aliyeva attended the opening ceremony of the Forum.Baku International Humanitarian Forum is a high-profile global scientific and political platform for tackling the challenges facing humanity in the 21st century, holding dialogues, discussions and the exchange of views on a wide range of issues of humanitarian cooperation.With its rich traditions of cooperation among different cultures, civilizations and religions, Azerbaijan is the ideal venue for holding such events. Co-chairmen of the 3rd Baku International Humanitarian Forum are President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin.
 BAKU (DNA) -Unfortunately, Azerbaijan confronted with a humanitarian catastrophe, as country’s lands recognized by the international community have been under occupation for many years, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said during the opening ceremony of the Third Baku International Humanitarian Forum on October 31, 2013.
“Ancestral lands of Azerbaijan – Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding regions are under the occupation of aggressive forces of Armenia,” the President noted, adding that more than one million of Azerbaijanis became refugees and IDPs in their native home land.
 “Some 20 percent of our lands are under occupation. All our cultural heritage and historical and religious monuments were destroyed in the occupied territories,” Ilham Aliyev said.
 “International organizations, in particular the OSCE, sent the fact-investigating missions to the occupied regions twice. It is clearly indicated in their reports that everything was destroyed. International organizations indicated their principled position on this issue in the documents. Four UN Security Council resolutions call for withdrawing of the Armenian forces from the occupied territories. The European Parliament, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, the Council of Europe and other organizations made similar decisions and resolutions. But, unfortunately, these decisions and resolutions are not fulfilled,” the President noted.
According to him, it is necessary to raise the question of the effectiveness of international organizations because their decisions have remained on paper and they are not being fulfilled.
Azerbaijani President said that in some cases the resolutions adopted by the international organizations are fulfilled within hours, while the aforementioned resolutions have remained on paper for more than 20 years.
“The negotiations are being held in connection with this issue,” he said. “Of course, internationally recognized territorial integrity of Azerbaijan must be restored. More than one million refugees, internally displaced persons must return home. This is their fundamental right. This conflict is also a gross violation of human rights.”
“More than one million Azerbaijani citizens cannot return home. Of course, this major humanitarian catastrophe caused great impact on the entire development of our country,” the President said.
Ilham Aliyev underscored that Azerbaijan’s current development attracts more attention because being occupied the country could achieve this development.
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Declaration of the III Baku International Humanitarian Forum
We, politicians, scholars and representatives of culture, education, civil society and the mass media from around the world, assembled in Baku on 31 October and 1 November 2013 at the III Baku International Humanitarian Forum,
guided by the United Nations Millennium Declaration and the agenda for the post-2015 period, and also taking account of the vast influence of the level of scientific knowledge and humanitarian cooperation achieved at the present time on the transformation of society;
seeking to make our contribution to the process of realizing the Millennium Development Goals and setting the agenda on this for the post-2015 period with the aim of concentrating efforts and resources in the priority areas for development;
taking into account the need to achieve solidarity at every level of interstate and regional cooperation, and equally the relevance of scientific, humanitarian and cultural integration in ensuring sustainable development;
recognizing that the current level of development of information technology, world communications and transport systems and the growing opportunities for the global mobilization of human potential create the conditions for a new level of dialogue between cultures and civilizations;
drawing attention to the fact that the stimulus of the economy, founded on the uninterrupted increase of consumption, should inevitably have its resource, ethical and humanitarian limitations;
considering that one of the reasons for the continuing deterioration of the environment throughout the world is the irrational structure of consumption and production, which deepens the existing disproportionality in development and is a cause for serious concern;
calling on the political, cultural and scientific elite, international organizations and representatives of civil society to strengthen cooperation in the era of globalization in line with the demands of the new humanitarian ethics that are coming into their own;
realizing that much remains to be done to ensure the preservation of key factors of sustainable human development and the encouragement of the knowledge-based economy, invoking achievements made in such areas as:
– converging technologies and landmark challenges of the 21st Century;
– humanitarian aspects of economic development;
– scientific innovations and their transfer into education;
– multiculturalism and originality;
– national identity in the postmodern era;
– sustainable development and ecological civilization;
– achievements in molecular biology and biotechnology;
– the topical issues of mass media in the globalizing information network;
we note that the contemporary challenges and threats related to the convergence of managerial and production technology have acquired a global character and demand increased attention from the international community from the point of view of the exposure of new dominant factors in the development of society;
we recognize that the development of human potential through the transformation of scientific innovations in the education system occupies a central place in efforts to ensure the sustainability of the development process and that reinforcing cooperation in this area is the most important humanitarian component of development;
we note the achievements of many countries, including Azerbaijan, in multiculturalism and consider it necessary to study the experience acquired as a component of the state policy of different countries aimed at achieving consensus in society;
we pay special attention to the need to cover the problems of multiculturalism in the media in order to avert xenophobia, racism, intolerance, and also in order to shape a culture of tolerance;
we express our conviction that in the postmodern era a careful and respectful attitude towards different manifestations of national self-awareness, patience, dialogue and cooperation in an atmosphere of trust and mutual understanding are the best guarantees of peace and security;
we affirm the need to use the principles of sustainable development and call on all countries to ensure planning and consumption at a level of sensible sufficiency and to achieve a way of life that meets the demands of ecological civilization and ecological ethics;
we realize the need to develop technology based on the achievements of molecular biology and biotechnology, in order to improve the quality and length of life and to eliminate differences in these indicators evident in the world at the present time;
we call on international structures and different humanitarian organizations to systematically hold forums, conferences, discussions and round tables with the aim of holding a dialogue of cultures and creating an atmosphere of tolerance;
we note the need to hold this type of forum every year and express our deep gratitude to the President and government of Azerbaijan, the Heydar Aliyev Foundation and all the organizers of the Baku International Humanitarian Forum for holding such a major event, turning Baku on 31 October and 1 November this year into a centre of discussion of humanitarian problems;
we consider it necessary to pass this declaration and use it with the aim of organizing international humanitarian cooperation and assistance to ensure effective coordination in this regard.
Baku Forum an important event: Russian President
BAKU (DNA) -The Third Baku International Humanitarian Forum has shown that this is a very important and popular international event. This is a platform for international intellectual community, where politicians, scholars, figures of culture, theorists and representatives of the civil society meet, Russian President’s Special Envoy for International Cultural Cooperation Mikhail Shvydkoi told media in Baku.
“One can not find such a platform in the world,” Shvydkoi added. “Many guests’ arrival demonstrates the need to discuss the most serious, profound and important problems of modern life – intellectual, political and civil.”
Mikhail Shvydkoi is taking part in the Third Baku International Humanitarian Forum, which started on Thursday.
The Third Baku International Humanitarian Forum is being held in Baku on October 31-November 1.
The guests from over 70 world countries are participating in the forum.
Round tables will be organised in eight directions: the convergence of technologies and the shape of the future: the main challenges of the 21st century; humanitarian aspects of economic development, scientific innovations and their transfer to the education sector; multiculturalism and identity: in search of value consensus in society, national identity in the post-modern era; sustainable development and ecological civilization; achievements of molecular biology and biotechnology: from theory to practice and relevant media issues under the conditions of globalisation of information space.
Baku International Humanitarian Forum is an annual event comprising the outstanding representatives of political, scientific and cultural elite of the world community, including well-known statesmen, Nobel Prize winners in various branches of science and heads of influential international organisations.
The purpose of the forum is to hold dialogues, exchange the views and discussions on wide range global issues of concern to all of humanity.
