Kazakhstan, 1994

On behalf of the Kazakhstan delegation, first

of all, I should like to congratulate Mr. Amara Essy on

his election to the office of President of the forty-ninth

session of the General Assembly and express our

confidence that his competence and experience will

contribute to the fruitful work of the session.

I should also like to thank his predecessor,

Ambassador Insanally, for the able stewardship, efficiency

and tact he demonstrated during the forty-eighth session.

May I also express our special gratitude to the

Secretary-General, Mr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali, for his

tireless efforts to consolidate peace and stability and to

strengthen the role of the United Nations in the life of the

international community.

19

Our world, multifaceted and contradictory, is rapidly

approaching the end of the second millennium. I hope that

the confrontation by force which existed throughout the

decades of the cold war and its underlying concept that

history is an evolving process of struggle between the

competing systems are now definitely a part of the past.

The end of the bipolar era triggered the release of

enormous political energy, which earlier had been directed

towards ideological competition. Today, the world is

searching for new institutional structures, non-

confrontational approaches to the solution of global

problems and a more efficient utilization of human, material

and technical resources.

Looking into the future, full of hope, we should not

rule out the possibility of meeting new challenges. Indeed,

a common set of global problems that existed before has

been replaced by numerous other problems no less complex

or immense.

In our opinion, the United Nations has never

experienced such an important period in its nearly half

century-old history. The beginning of the 1990s and the

fiftieth anniversary of the Organization can and should

become a truly historic milestone that will determine the

new tasks of the United Nations and considerably

strengthen its role in the life of the succeeding generations.

Each important turning-point in the history of this

century has manifested itself in social and political changes

in the life of States. Today the transition from one era of

international life to another is related to the disintegration

of the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR),

the revolutionary transformations in the countries of Eastern

Europe and the entry into the family of nations of a number

of newly independent States, among them my native Kazakhstan.

For us, three years of freedom have been three years

of achieving real political and economic independence. The

Republic, having become a Member of the United Nations

and other international organizations, having signed the

Helsinki Final Act, the Charter of Paris and a number of

other international instruments, has de jure completed its

entry into the world community. From the very first day,

our country has striven to ensure the actual implementation

of its commitments to deal with common global issues,

such as respect for human rights, the strengthening of

democracy and the rule of law, economic freedom and

social justice, the development of a market economy and

the strengthening of international security.

Kazakhstan accords priority to the issue of the non-

proliferation of nuclear weapons. In December 1993, the

Parliament of our Republic ratified the Treaty on the

Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) as a non-

nuclear State. At the coming 1995 NPT Review

Conference, we intend to join the position of those States

that favour an unconditional extension of the NPT for an

unlimited period of time. From this rostrum I declare that

the Republic of Kazakhstan, deeply committed to the

strengthening of its national sovereignty and security and

the process of political and economic reforms in society,

is genuinely interested in international stability and the

development of cooperation with all States. That is our

consistent policy, not subject to any changes dictated by

short-term experience. I should like to emphasize in

particular that we intend to achieve our objectives while

taking existing realities into account and effectively using

the geopolitical location of Kazakhstan as a kind of link

between Europe and Asia, between East and West.

In this context, we think that the initiative of the

President of Kazakhstan, Mr. N.A. Nazarbaev, to convene

a Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building

Measures in Asia, put forward for the first time from this

rostrum two years ago at the forty-seventh session of the

General Assembly, has a special significance. Its purpose

is to develop fundamental principles and areas of

cooperation in the context of strengthening peace and

stability and promoting the economic prosperity of Asian

States.

Today the idea of this Conference is being put into

practice. Thus, representatives of more than 20 countries

of the region, as well as representatives of the United

Nations, the Conference on Security and Cooperation in

Europe (CSCE), the Organization of the Islamic

Conference (OIC) and the League of Arab States took

part in the two meetings of experts convened by

Kazakhstan in Almaty last year to discuss this initiative.

As a follow-up to the Almaty meetings on this

Conference, the Permanent Representatives of 25 United

Nations Member States, as well as the Special

Representative of the Secretary-General and

representatives of a number of international organizations,

met twice in New York. A third meeting at the level of

senior officials is to be held in Almaty at the end of

October.

Confidence in the possibility of the step-by-step

establishment of this new international structure is

confirmed by the fact that the creation in Asia of different

political and economic unions, associations and groups,

20

closely interrelated and influencing one another, is

dependent on a common interest in the strengthening of

peace and stability, without which the economic prosperity

of Asian countries is impossible. The deep-rooted

processes of economic integration on the Asian continent

should logically and inevitably lead to the formation of an

Asian common market, on the one hand, and political

coordination and integration, on the other. Therefore, we

think that the political will of the States of the region

towards the purposeful and careful management of these

processes should speed up the creation of global economic

and political structures, similar to those in Europe.

This confidence has prompted the President of our

country to put forward a new proposal to establish the

Euro-Asian Union (EAU) as a catalyst of integration

processes and as an instrument for the prevention of

conflicts in the post-Soviet era. The opportunities to

overcome the economic and social crisis, and inter-ethnic

and inter-State conflicts, and to ensure external and internal

security and stability through the proposed mechanism of

unification have been received with understanding by

politicians and leaders of different States.

Since the creation of the Commonwealth of

Independent States (CIS), stability and security as the basis

of economic and social reforms have come to the forefront.

As for economic aspects, they are in fact a dominant part

of the EAU integration processes. The first step is the

creation of a common economic space by the Central Asian

States — Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan —

supported by the appropriate agreements. Appropriate

inter-State bodies, such as the Central Asian Bank, have

already begun to function. The proposed union is open to

all States.

During the transition period, the proposed EAU most

adequately reflects the interests of the States of the region,

regardless of their size, population, economic and other

indicators. It provides an opportunity to demonstrate their

willingness to cooperate on an equal basis, as well as their

commitment to reforms in the interests of all the nations of

the region.

In putting forward these initiatives, Kazakhstan

assumes that the problems they seek to resolve are pressing

for all countries of the world, and for such an authoritative

Organization as the United Nations. Our certainty is also

strengthened by the fact that the Kazakhstan initiatives are

harmonious with the principles of the United Nations

Charter and with key provisions of the broadly supported

report of the Secretary-General “An Agenda for Peace”, and

particularly with his idea of the need to strengthen

preventive diplomacy and the peacemaking activities of

the United Nations and deepening cooperation in these

areas between the United Nations and regional

organizations. The foreign-policy approaches of

Kazakhstan were the basis for our decision to join the

“Partnership for Peace” programme of the North Atlantic

Treaty Organization (NATO).

Kazakhstan, as a member of the Commonwealth of

Independent States (CIS), strives to implement its foreign

policy initiatives in practical terms and, accordingly, takes

into account and respects the legal rights and interests of

other CIS States. The true interests of the multi-ethnic

population of Kazakhstan lie not only in the maintenance

but also in the expansion of common economic, political,

military and strategic partnership and interaction within

the CIS. Our Republic maintains special relations with

the Russian Federation, all the Republics of Central

Asia — Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan,

Turkmenistan, and other CIS States. Certainly, the most

important direction for Central Asian interaction is our

common interest in strengthening peace, stability and

security, both in regional and global dimensions.

In a situation threatening peace in the region or on

the Euro-Asian continent, Kazakhstan, together with the

countries of Central Asia and Russia, is ready to put into

operation an established machinery of joint consultations

aimed at coordinating its positions and undertaking

measures for the elimination of the threat.

A vivid example of this is our joint endeavours to

settle the situation on the Tajik-Afghan border. Thus, at

the meeting of the Presidents, Prime Ministers and

Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan

and Uzbekistan held at Almaty last July the situation on

the Tajik-Afghan border was discussed and a joint

statement was adopted. Guided by the need to maintain

peace and ensure a favourable environment for successful

economic and political reforms and greater independence

of their countries, the Foreign Ministers of the three

States appealed to the conflicting parties to stop hostile

activities and settle existing problems by political means

through negotiations. The participants in the meeting

pointed to a close interrelation between the stabilization

of the situation on the Tajik-Afghan border and internal

political developments in Tajikistan, and they supported

efforts to deepen the inter-Tajik dialogue and the active

role of the United Nations and the Conference on Security

and Cooperation in Europe.

21

Kazakhstan’s efforts towards integration at the regional

and interregional level need the support of international

organizations and the leading countries of the world. The

prerequisites for such support exist and are being created.

They include commitments on a bilateral and multilateral

basis and the resolutions of the United Nations General

Assembly on assistance to countries with economies in

transition, as well as our participation in cooperation with

the CSCE based on one of the components of the concept

of global security, namely, the economic dimension.

Kazakhstan attaches great importance to the expansion

of United Nations activities in social and economic fields

and supports vital initiatives relating to reforms in this area

that are being undertaken within the United Nations and, in

particular, in the Economic and Social Council.

The report of the Secretary-General of the United

Nations “An Agenda for Development” is to play the key

role in these issues. We support the fundamental ideas of

the report, and we believe that the discussion of this

document at the current session of the General Assembly

should be marked by our common aspiration to increase the

efficiency of United Nations activities in the social and

economic fields to ensure proper coordination of efforts of

the related United Nations agencies and to set new priorities

in accordance with today’s global, political and socio-

economic realities. The main purpose of these endeavours,

we believe, should be to preserve and develop the spirit of

global partnership born at Rio two years ago and to ensure

the environmentally safe, sustainable development of the

whole world.

As a young State endeavouring to resolve difficult

tasks of socio-economic and democratic reform and to

ensure its efficient participation in the international division

of labour, Kazakhstan welcomes United Nations efforts

with regard to the integration of countries with economies

in transition into the world economy and promotion of their

access to world markets, particularly through assistance to

the newly independent land-locked States of Central Asia,

of which Kazakhstan is the largest. We view this as a

manifestation of the comprehensive approach by the United

Nations in the field of socio-economic policy and deem it

to be the most productive way to meet the challenges of

global sustainable social and economic development.

In this connection I should also like to indicate the

high value Kazakhstan places on its cooperation with the

International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, the European

Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the European

Union, the Organization of Economic Cooperation and

Development and other international organizations

through their programmes of technical assistance. At the

same time, we would like to see this cooperation acquire

more dynamism and practical efficiency, which would

create a favourable climate for market reforms in

Kazakhstan and other countries with economies in

transition and for their better access to world markets and

the flow of foreign investments to these countries.

In this context it is a matter of concern to us that,

according to some forecasts, the gap in the levels of

factual and required assistance will sharply increase when

unemployment in the States of the former Soviet Union

peaks. This is expected as a consequence of the closure

of unprofitable State enterprises. Against that

background, the current level of Western assistance to our

market reforms will not be enough to make progress

towards the implementation of a second “Marshall Plan”.

Another priority of socio-economic development in

our country is its activity in the field of environment. It

is no accident that Kazakhstan has singled out

environmental issues, since it is itself exposed to such

environmental disasters of a global and regional nature as

the Aral Sea crisis, the degradation of a vast area around

the Semipalatinsk nuclear-test grounds, the severe

deterioration of the Caspian Sea ecosystem and the

dangerous increase of its water level, which threaten the

life and economic activity in a large coastal area. All

these things seriously hamper the process of social and

economic reform in Kazakhstan. A great contribution to

the solution of the Aral problem is being made by the

International Fund for the Salvation of the Aral Sea,

headed by Mr. Nazarbaev, President of the Republic of

Kazakhstan. The Central Asian Inter-State Council on the

Aral Sea has been established, and a programme of action

for the coming three to five years has been elaborated to

improve the environmental conditions of the Aral Sea.

However, the States of the region have very limited

financial and technical resources. In this regard, I should

like to appeal again to the world community, the donor

countries and the specialized international agencies to join

their efforts to fight this truly global, environmental

disaster in the Aral Sea. In this connection, Kazakhstan

proposes to hold in Almaty or in the city of Aralsk a

special international conference on the Aral Sea problem

under the auspices of the United Nations, and to consider

the possibility of establishing a special structure within

the United Nations system to deal with this problem.

22

When we speak about the balanced and sustainable

development of society we cannot leave out the issue of

human rights. If an individual is poor and deprived of the

elementary means of life, his political rights are

meaningless. A comprehensive approach to this problem

was demonstrated by the World Conference on Human

Rights at Vienna in 1993, which analysed and reviewed the

overall activities of the United Nations in the field of

human rights. Pursuant to the recommendations of the

World Conference on Human Rights, the United Nations

General Assembly at its forty-eighth session called for the

establishment of the post of United Nations High

Commissioner for Human Rights. On behalf of the

Government of Kazakhstan, let me congratulate Mr. J.

Ayala Lasso on his election to this high and responsible

post and assure the world community that my country will

fully abide by the recommendations of the World

Conference on Human Rights and support United Nations

activities in the field of the international protection of

human rights.

With regard to social and economic issues, I should

like to highlight the recently concluded Cairo International

Conference on Population and Development. Kazakhstan

took an active part in that Conference and believes that its

outcome will be yet another practical contribution to United

Nations efforts to ensure global sustainable development.

In this connection, we also expect significant results from

such major forthcoming international forums as the World

Summit for Social Development in Copenhagen, the Fourth

World Conference on Women in Beijing and the United

Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II) in

Istanbul.

Kazakhstan supports the joint endeavours of Member

States to reform the principal organs of the United Nations,

especially the Security Council.

Guided by Article 24 of the United Nations Charter,

which states that the Security Council, in carrying out its

duties under its primary responsibility, acts on behalf of all

Member States, Kazakhstan favours the enlargement of the

Security Council to ensure equitable geographical

representation and the effective and efficient functioning

and transparency of the Security Council.

For many years now we have been witnessing a

significant deterioration of the financial situation of the

United Nations. Without going into the details of this

difficult issue, I should like to note that the current session

of the General Assembly is not an ordinary one, because it

will have to adopt a new scale of assessments for the

apportionment of United Nations expenses for the period

1995-1997.

As a cornerstone of the whole financial system of

the United Nations, the scale of assessments has always

been among the most important aspects of the functioning

of the Organization. The adoption of the new scale of

assessments this year is also important in that the new

arrangement will fully reflect the considerable increase in

the membership of the United Nations and solve to the

greatest possible extent problems related to the

contributions of a group of new Member States.

Since the creation of this problem Kazakhstan has

demonstrated realism and a balanced approach and has

tried to take into consideration the interests of other

Member States. We hope that the principle of the

capacity to pay and of the need to improve the

methodology of the scale by eliminating its most

distorting elements will be taken fully into account in the

determination of the new scale of assessments. This

would undoubtedly help to improve the Organization’s

overall financial situation.

With regard to the financial standing of the United

Nations, I should like to refer to the question of

improving administrative and financial management in the

system. Kazakhstan has welcomed concrete steps in this

field and supported the creation of the Office of Internal

Oversight Services, and we deem it appropriate that such

efforts be continued.

Ten years ago, in this Organization, the former

rector of the University for Peace, Mr. Robert Muller,

said the following very true words:

“A jubilee is an occasion for reflection and not for

celebration”.

I believe that today, on the eve of the fiftieth

anniversary of the United Nations, we are all adopting

this very approach in evaluating the Organization’s past,

present and future.

In this context, I should like to note with gratitude

the great efforts of the Preparatory Committee and the

Secretariat in respect of the fiftieth anniversary of the

United Nations. They are making a concrete contribution

to the commemoration of this forthcoming historic event.

Kazakhstan too is preparing to commemorate the

event in a fitting way. It has set up a national committee,

23

which is scheduled to arrange a variety of ceremonial

events, as well as to issue collectors’ stamps and coins

devoted to the fiftieth anniversary of the United Nations.

The importance that Kazakhstan attaches to the fiftieth

anniversary of the United Nations is reflected also in our

initiative concerning the holding of a special session of the

General Assembly within the framework of the event. In

our view, this could be the occasion for a thorough, useful

and interesting exchange of views on the most significant

aspects of the activities of the United Nations and on it’s

role.

The forthcoming anniversary inevitably brings to mind

another historic international date — the fiftieth anniversary

of the end of the Second World War. Kazakhstan

wholeheartedly supports the initiative to declare 1995 the

international year of the commemoration of the victims of

that war.

In conclusion, I should like to express my firm belief

that the United Nations will come to its anniversary

revitalized and fully able to realize the rich potential

embodied in the aspiration to peace and humanism that was

enshrined in its Charter 50 years ago.