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UNITED
NATIONS


FOURTH WORLD CONFERENCE                                 Distr.
ON WOMEN                                                GENERAL

                                                        A/CONF.177/17
                                                        12 September 1995

Beijing, China                                          ORIGINAL: ENGLISH
4-15 September 1995

Agenda item 8


                          GENERAL EXCHANGE OF VIEWS:

           SECOND REVIEW AND APPRAISAL OF THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE
           NAIROBI FORWARD-LOOKING STRATEGIES FOR THE ADVANCEMENT  
                           OF WOMEN TO THE YEAR 2000

               MAIN CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS OF REGIONAL
                            PREPARATORY CONFERENCES

                      NATIONAL PRIORITIES AND COMMITMENTS

            Note verbale dated 12 September 1995 from the Embassy of
            Azerbaijan to Beijing addressed to the Secretary-General
                    of the Fourth World Conference on Women


     The Embassy of the Republic of Azerbaijan in Beijing sends its greetings
to the Secretary-General of the Fourth World Conference on Women and has the
honour to inform her that the delegation of the Republic of Azerbaijan kindly
requests that the attached statement be circulated as an official document of
the Conference (see annex).


                                     Annex

         STATEMENT BY THE DELEGATION OF THE REPUBLIC OF AZERBAIJAN TO
         THE FOURTH WORLD CONFERENCE ON WOMEN REGARDING THE
         IMPLEMENTATION OF RESOLUTION 39/2 OF THE COMMISSION ON THE
         STATUS OF WOMEN, ENTITLED "RELEASE OF WOMEN AND CHILDREN WHO
         HAVE BEEN TAKEN HOSTAGE IN ARMED CONFLICTS AND IMPRISONED"


     At its thirty-ninth session, held from 15 March to 4 April 1995, the
United Nations Commission on the Status of Women adopted a resolution entitled
"Release of women and children who have been taken hostage in armed conflicts
and imprisoned".

     The resolution, which was sponsored by 37 countries, included a request
that the Secretary-General of the United Nations inform the Fourth World
Conference on Women of the progress made in the implementation of the
resolution, and that he submit a report to the Commission on the Status of
Women at its fortieth session.

     Although a week has passed since the opening of the Fourth World
Conference on Women, no involvement in this issue by relevant agencies has
been observed.  Nor did the address to the Fourth World Conference on Women
made by the Secretary-General of the United Nations include any information
about the progress made in the implementation of the resolution.

     The delegation of Azerbaijan draws the attention of participants in the
Conference to this issue because Azerbaijan is not the only country whose
citizens, including women and children, are being held hostage by the opposite
side in areas of armed conflict.  The fact that the focus of the Conference is
action for equality, development and peace makes it necessary today that the
Conference urge the parties concerned to release all women and children who
are being held hostage in areas of armed conflict.  No discussion that the
Conference participants are having will be effective if thousands of women and
girls, including 486 Azerbaijanian women and children who have been taken
hostage as a result of armed aggression by the Republic of Armenia against
Azerbaijan, are suffering in captivity.  No achievement of the Conference will
be complete unless it promotes the release of women and children hostages. 
Violence against women and children hostages and their suffering in captivity
dwarf any other problem that women are facing today.

     Azerbaijan calls on all participants in the Fourth World Conference on
Women and on all women of the world to support this statement regarding the
urgent implementation of resolution 39/2 of the Commission on the Status of
Women, entitled "Release of women and children who have been taken hostage in
armed conflicts and imprisoned".


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