Kazakhstan, 1999

Let me congratulate you,

Sir, on your election to the high office of President of the

General Assembly at its fifty-fourth session. We are

confident that under your able leadership we will be able to

address successfully the items on our agenda.

Please allow me also to convey our appreciation to

your predecessor, Mr. Didier Opertti, for his considerable

contribution to the work of the General Assembly at its

fifty-third session.

We pay a tribute to the Secretary-General for his

efforts to meet the unprecedented and complex challenges

facing the United Nations.

On the threshold of the third millennium — as at the

beginning of this century — the world community must

deal with substantive issues of war and peace. On the one

hand, the process of globalization, which is unfolding

before our eyes, has triggered a rich flow of ideas, capital,

technologies, goods and services all around the world,

having profoundly transformed our societies.

Philosophically, mankind has taken a big step forward

towards qualitatively new dimensions of existence.

On the other hand, the world continues to be rocked

by conflicts rooted in causes that have become compounded

despite the advent of global technologies and

communications. First among the causes of conflict is

ethnic, national and religious intolerance. It is absolutely

unacceptable that this most dangerous virus is spreading

rapidly throughout many regions of today's world, giving

rise to terrorist acts and bloody conflicts. The danger is that

people affected by conflicts look for the sources of their

troubles among other nationalities and religions. As a result,

we face a vicious circle wherein death and desperation

reign unchecked. We are confident that civilized society, by

pooling its resources, will eventually be able to break out

of this vicious circle, having convinced people of the

benefits of a conflict-free existence. If we talk about the

antagonism between war and peace, then we have every

right to demand the use of means to enforcing a

sustainable peace, including military means.

At the same time, it is impossible to ignore the fact

that the present world order is in desperate need of

reliable measures to ensure balance between the essential

elements of its support structures. Kazakhstan shares the

view of those States which believe that in the next

century the world should be multi-polar and free of

centres of power and dividing lines, confrontations and

showdowns, interference in the internal affairs of others

and imposition of policy directives. Cooperation and

mutual understanding, democracy and sustainable

development will define the core of the coming world

order.

We believe that the United Nations remains a unique

intergovernmental institution that ensures a positive trend

in the development of international relations. Kazakhstan

calls for a strengthening of the United Nations, the only

forum that is universal both in terms of its composition

and in terms of the comprehensiveness of its agenda.

Only the United Nations has the right to address

fundamental issues of peace and security.

The Yugoslav crisis has clearly demonstrated how

urgent the issue of strengthening the authority of the

United Nations has become. We are becoming

increasingly convinced of the need to enhance the

responsibility of the Security Council for the maintenance

of international peace and security and to make

authorization of certain actions its exclusive prerogative.

The nature of many conflicts makes this an

especially challenging task. That is why we believe that

to be able to adapt to new political realities, the Security

Council should enter the twenty-first century renewed and

strengthened through the admission of new permanent

members, first of all Japan and Germany, as well as non-

permanent members representing different regions of the

world.

The efforts to consolidate the international regime

for the non-proliferation of all weapons of mass

destruction and put in place effective controls over the

production of fissile material remain at the centre of our

policy for achieving global security and stability.

Kazakhstan has made an important contribution to

non-proliferation and to putting an end to nuclear-weapon

testing. We consider the decision to admit Kazakhstan to

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membership of the Conference on Disarmament as adequate

recognition of our actions in this direction. Renunciation of

nuclear weapons and accession to the Non-Proliferation

Treaty and the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty

have become natural choices for our country, which has felt

the full brunt of the harmful effects of nuclear testing.

Kazakhstan vigorously advocates further consolidation of

the non-proliferation regime, and supports the initiative to

establish a nuclear-weapon-free zone in Central Asia.

Our country has consistently called for the creation of

security structures in Asia. As is well known, at the

Assembly's forty-seventh session, the President of

Kazakhstan, Mr. Nursultan Nazarbaev, put forward an

initiative to convene a Conference on Interaction and

Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA). On 14

September, the opening day of the current General

Assembly session, after seven years of negotiations and

discussions, Almaty hosted the first meeting of the Foreign

Ministers of the Asian States members of the Conference.

Government officials responsible for foreign policy signed

a Declaration of Principles Guiding Relations between

CICA Member States which confirmed the Asian States'

strong commitment to and goodwill towards efforts to

ensure security and stability in the region.

Thus, for the first time in history, a legal foundation

for an Asian security system has been laid. It is difficult to

overestimate the significance of this development in the

context of the international community's efforts to

strengthen international security. We are talking here about

a region that is home to more than 3.5 billion people and

that accounts for more than 40 per cent of world trade.

We are grateful to all the States participating in the

CICA process for their support for our initiative and for

their genuine willingness to work together to build a

security system for Asia. I take this opportunity to express

our appreciation to Secretary-General Annan, for his close

attention to and support for the initiative by Kazakhstan.

Recent political developments attest to how urgent the

need is to create a security system in Asia. I refer here to

terrorist incursions in southern Kyrgyzstan and to terrorist

acts in the Northern Caucasus in Russia.

From the point of view of security in our region, we

believe that the outcome of the latest summit of the

“Shanghai Five” is very important. Its participants created

a mechanism of confidence providing for transparency in

military activity and reduction of those activities in border

areas, settlement of border issues and a regular exchanges

of information on military activities. The heads of the five

States believe that multipolarity reflects a general trend in

the development of the contemporary world and

contributes to the long-term stability of the international

situation.

Kazakhstan calls for a lasting and just peace in

Afghanistan within the negotiation process, according to

the “six plus two” formula. At the same time, we believe

that the Afghan peace process should involve all the

States concerned. For this reason, Kazakhstan supports the

proposal to convene a representative international

conference in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, on the settlement of

the conflict in Afghanistan.

Kazakhstan highly appreciates the United Nations

efforts to promote the integration of the economies in

transition into the world economy. Our country counts on

continued cooperation with the United Nations on the

issues of consultative services and technical assistance.

We are firmly committed to the policy of deepening

regional economic cooperation and actively using for this

purpose the capacity of the United Nations. Our country

is satisfied with its cooperation with the Economic

Commission for Europe and the Economic and Social

Commission for Asia and the Pacific in the elaboration

and implementation of the Special Programme for the

Economies of Central Asia.

We support the revival of the Silk Road.

Geographically, Kazakhstan, along with other Central

Asian States, plays the role of a bridge connecting the

two continents. During the era of the Roman Empire trade

routes between Rome and Shanghai passed through the

region. The revival of the Silk Road will boost the

economic development of the Central Asian region.

In current conditions it is envisioned that the Silk

Road will be revived by building on three pillars: energy,

a transcontinental transportation system and

telecommunications. The thrust of this project — which

reflects global, regional and local interests — is to

develop the natural resources of the region, first of all its

large oil and gas fields. One has to bear in mind,

however, that no large-scale pipeline project can be

realized without the hydrocarbon resources of Kazakhstan.

In view of the increased competition in the world

energy-carriers markets, Kazakhstan is giving priority

attention to the construction of oil and gas pipelines. The

northern Caspian pipeline consortium project, scheduled

for completion in 2001, is a top priority for our country,

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because when it is operational Kazakhstan will be able to

double, at a minimum, both its oil production and its export

deliveries to foreign markets.

We pin many of our hopes on the development of the

hydrocarbon resources of the Caspian Sea shelf. For this

reason we believe that the issue of the legal status of this

sea is of fundamental importance. Kazakhstan commends a

breakthrough agreement with Russia on the delimitation of

the seabed in the northern part of the Caspian Sea on the

basis of a modified median line.

The issues of sustainable development, environmental

protection and rehabilitation of ecological disaster areas

have become especially pressing at the end of this century,

and demand immediate action. Kazakhstan is interested in

the mobilization of the international community to solve

environmental problems, because it has disaster areas, such

as the region of the former Semipalatinsk nuclear testing

ground, the dying Aral Sea and other zones. Our country,

which suffers from desertification and floods, is also

directly affected by global climate changes.

On behalf of the Government of Kazakhstan, I would

like to express our great appreciation to the States

concerned for their support for the efforts to overcome the

serious social, ecological and humanitarian problems of the

Semipalatinsk region. The adoption of two General

Assembly resolutions on international cooperation and

coordination for the human and ecological rehabilitation and

economic development of the Semipalatinsk region has

undoubtedly contributed to an interest in and reflection on

the outstanding issues.

Special words of appreciation are due to the

Government of Japan and the United Nations Development

Programme (UNDP) for sponsoring an international

conference convened at the beginning of September in

Tokyo. The outcome of this representative forum

reverberated throughout our country. We consider this

conference a practical contribution by the Government of

Japan and the UNDP to the implementation of the relevant

General Assembly resolutions. In this regard, I cannot miss

this opportunity to recognize important work by the

International Atomic Energy Agency, the United Nations

Children's Fund, the United Nations Population Fund and

the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural

Organization, as well as by the donor countries that acted

as cosponsors of the conference.

Kazakhstan is taking concrete steps to democratize its

society and to deepen its political reforms. Kazakhstan's

head of State has introduced a programme that covers

such important areas as elections, political parties, the

Parliament, the judicial system, the status of women and

the mass media. Earlier this year the first open and

contested presidential elections were held in Kazakhstan.

The refinement of the election process continues.

The law on elections has been amended to reflect the

recommendations of the Organization for Security and

Cooperation in Europe. Its provisions will be used in the

parliamentary elections scheduled for this October. The

election process is becoming more representative,

encouraging active involvement of candidates and voters.

A programme of phased transition to holding elections for

local and regional governments is being developed. The

role of non-governmental organizations, an important

element of a civil society, is being enhanced. The judicial

system and the mass media are steadily becoming more

independent.

Achieving an open society, with a market economy,

is the course for Kazakhstan's further development. The

process of democratization in our country is gaining

momentum and has become irreversible.

Along with political reforms, Kazakhstan is taking

vigorous actions to protect the long-term interests of

foreign investors. Our objective is to ensure — through

the creation of a favourable investment climate in the

country — its full integration into the world economic

system of today.

Kazakhstan expresses support for the efforts of the

Secretary-General to reform the Organization in order to

enhance its effectiveness and capability to respond

adequately to emerging problems and challenges. We

believe that concrete results in the renewal of the

Organization can be achieved only through joint efforts of

all Member States. That is why all States should continue

their coordinated efforts to strengthen the role of the

United Nations in the promotion of global stability and

security in the next century.