Spokesman for UN Secretary-General: "UN values its relationships with Azerbaijan"

Commenting on Azerbaijan's obligations, Mr Varma said that all obligations of UN Member States are clearly laid out in the UN Charter.

"For example, the Members of the United Nations agree to accept and carry out the decisions of the Security Council in accordance with the Charter," he told the APA.

Commenting on the reforms in the UN, the spokesman said: "Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon believes that the UN must stay the course with ongoing reform of the UN Secretariat's management. This is the key to the revitalization of the Organization. He feels that key reform ideas have faltered due to deep-seated mistrust among Member States. Nevertheless, he is determined to keep up the reform momentum so that we may build a twenty-first-century Secretariat for a twenty-first-century Organization.

"The Secretary-General is also working to ensure that the Secretariat is structured in a way that allows it to respond effectively to the demands placed on it. In that regard, he is holding consultations with Member States about a possible restructuring of Departments and Offices related to peace and security.
The Secretary-General is also striving to change the working culture of the Organization itself. His goal is to build a staff which is truly mobile and multi-functional, through greater emphasis on career development, training, accountability, and recognition of work performed at all levels."

The spokesman disagreed with the idea that the UN which once played a main role in conflict resolution now seems to be in isolation from such progress and now mostly NATO, OSCE and some countries are very active at these issues.

"The UN remains very involved in conflict resolution. We currently have 18 peace operations throughout the world, including sixteen peacekeeping missions. Nearly 82,000 men and women in uniform from more than a hundred countries serve the cause of peace in the name of the UN."