Kazakhstan, 2000

The current political

debate is taking place against the background that is

not quite usual. This Hall just heard statements by the

participants in the Millennium Summit. Unprecedented

round tables have just been conducted. The last several

days have brought unusual hectic activity to the United

Nations and the city that hosts the headquarters of our

Organization.

The most spectacular thing, however, is that the

Summit has triggered an intellectual burst, an

explosion of collective thinking. Apparently, this has

been predetermined by a special quality of this

particular moment in time, as we find ourselves at the

threshold not just of a new century, but of a new

millennium. Our acquisitive mind tries to look forward

as far as possible and aspires to see there, against all

odds, a better future. Such is the predominant human

trait to look forward with optimism.

Our past experience, however, warns us against

excessive euphoria and illusions. We realize that the

world is still full of threats, and our common impulse is

to understand these threats and their causes and to find

ways to overcome them collectively.

This is what I felt during the days I spent at the

Summit. I am probably not the only one who thinks the

same way. But let us hope that the intellectual tide

generated by the Summit will not just die down in the

humdrum of everyday life, but will force us to get

down to business in order to make our planet a safe and

prosperous place.

As we approach the new millennium, we surely

want to take a fresh look at the road we have travelled

so far. At the threshold of a new century, we are in a

position to say that our most important achievement is

that the world has become freer. I believe that the key

word explaining the substance of the changes that are

taking place today should be the word renewal. By our

definition, it means an absolutely new era of relations

between nations, free of the vestiges of the past:

pressure and diktat. It should be a triumph of the

principle of genuine democracy and justice when all

States have equal rights and obligations, irrespective of

their economic and political differences.

The renewal of international relations should be

guided by the understanding that we live now in a

global and interdependent world whose overriding

principle is global partnership. The United Nations

Secretary-General has rightly proclaimed a three-

pronged task: freedom from fear, freedom from want

and saving the human environment, precisely in the

context of globalization. It is also true that

globalization should not overshadow the problems and

concerns of the ordinary man. Our efforts will be futile

if we do not address the issues we face today in this

logical sequence.

Let me dwell on the three main components of

our common goal: making the world a safe, free and

prosperous place.

While recognizing that global security and

stability increasingly depend on economic,

environmental and humanitarian aspects of

development, we should not belittle the importance of

the military and political dimension of security. A

fundamental issue of the elimination of weapons of

mass destruction continues to be a matter of our

common concern. International instruments in this

field, first of all the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of

Nuclear Weapons, the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-

Ban Treaty and the Chemical Weapons Convention

have not yet gained universal support and, thus, cannot

be fully effective. The situation with regard to the Anti-

12

Ballistic Missile Treaty is also a cause for concern. We

call on all countries to radically change this state of

affairs and to support the Secretary-General's proposal

to hold an international conference to find ways to

avert the nuclear threat.

Kazakhstan, having been the epicentre of cold-

war nuclear confrontation and having resolutely

resisted the temptation to turn into a nuclear power

after it gained independence, has every right to raise

this issue with vigour.

As for Kazakhstan, it continues to contribute to

efforts to ensure global security. Fully respecting its

obligations under the above-mentioned international

instruments, Kazakhstan has been consistently

promoting its initiatives with regard to the Conference

on Interaction and Confidence-building Measures in

Asia (CICA) and the establishment of a nuclear-free

zone in Central Asia. We are convinced that the CICA

initiative has a rational kernel, and we call on the

United Nations and the Asian States to continue their

support of the CICA process in the interests of Asian

and global security.

We should be no less and, probably, more

concerned by new threats: international terrorism,

extremism, illegal trafficking in arms and drugs, and

organized crime. Our newly independent State has

come into direct contact with these threats. We are

seriously alarmed by the situation in Central Asia and

view the conflict in Afghanistan, the bandit groups'

infiltrations in Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, and the

situation in Chechnya in Russia as links in one and the

same chain. Members have heard our neighbours -

Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan - talking here

about the same thing.

I want to emphasize again that the way we see it,

the root of the evil is the prolonged war in Afghanistan,

and we urge the Security Council to seriously address

the problem in that country on a long-term basis.

Without addressing it, it would be naÔve to hope for the

elimination of the threat to stability in our region and,

thus, in the whole world. At the same time, we believe

that the key to the solution of the Afghan problem is in

the economic revival of Afghanistan. Our common

experience points to the futility of palliative measures

and attempts to bring the conflicting sides to the

negotiation table without a clear economic plan. There

should be a comprehensive plan for the economic

rehabilitation of Afghanistan which, together with

economic measures, should incorporate the fight

against the production of drugs, illegal arms trade,

terrorism and extremism, and should take into account

the specificity of the ethnic and religious situation in

Afghanistan. Of course, adequate financial resources

should bolster this comprehensive approach. The price

of peace and human life is worth it.

I would like now to look at the threat to the

stability in our region through the prism of the Caspian

Sea. The Caspian treasure-trove has turned now into

the centre of attention. The interests of many States,

not just of our region, converge there. The recent

discovery in Kazakhstan's part of the Caspian Sea of

the Kashagan oilfield, which is the largest one in the

last 30 years, with forecasted reserves of 7 billion

tonnes of high-quality oil, confirms once again that the

potential of the Caspian Sea is enormous. It is our

genuine desire and intention to see that this gift of God

serves the interests of peace and prosperity.

Globalization involves a new level of interaction

and interdependence of States. However, along with the

obvious benefits, globalization entails the danger of a

lopsided distribution of these benefits, both at the inter-

State and intra-State levels.

A widening gap between developed and

developing countries is a burning issue. In fact, this

gap is getting bigger, and debates are underway as to

the forms of involvement of both groups of countries in

the processes of globalization, particularly from the

point of view of the solution of the problems facing the

developing countries.

The situation with regard to the future of the

World Trade Organization (WTO) provides a good

example of the differences in appraising the

globalization phenomenon. This organization, uniting

some 140 States, has become a trade and economic

counterpart of the United Nations. It should be said,

however, that the WTO has to be thoroughly reformed

in order to really liberalize and democratize trade

relations. It should not be a controlling and selectively

discriminating body of world trade policy.

The Bretton Woods institutions also have to be

reformed. We believe that the most important goals in

reforming them are to ensure their openness and

democratization, competence and adequacy and to

improve cooperation with the United Nations. We share

the criticism of the International Monetary Fund

regarding its arm-twisting policy when loans are

13

conditioned on many political factors that have nothing

to do with the actual economic situation.

In the context of the role of the Bretton Woods

institutions in the world, I would like to mention the

issue of the integration into the world economy of the

economies in transition. The role and importance of

this group of countries, which includes my own, in the

world economy and politics will grow. I stress that it is

important for Kazakhstan to continue constructive

cooperation with the agencies of the United Nations

family, as well as with the Bretton Woods institutions

and other international organizations, in promoting

economic reforms in my country.

Kazakhstan continues to give priority attention to

the development of the transit transport system in the

States of Central Asia and in neighbouring developing

countries. We think it is important to actively pursue

the improvement of existing programmes and the

development of new ones designed to raise the

efficiency of the present transit system in Central Asia.

Our landlocked country, and the region as a whole,

should have secure multiple access to the world

market. This is a matter of strengthening our

sovereignty and independence.

Environmental issues particularly the

management of transboundary water resources,

environmental pollution and the greenhouse effect

long ago moved from the social and economic plane to

the political one, and have acquired truly global

significance. All countries face the problems of

protecting the environment. Yet the effect on the

environment experienced by developing countries and

economies in transition is immeasurably much greater.

Economic growth has increased the pressure on all the

natural resources of our planet. The problem of lack of

natural resources and their depletion creates serious

economic problems and poverty. Economic

development cannot stop. However, it should follow a

different path. It should cease to destroy the

environment so aggressively. It is because of the

underestimation of environmental factors that

Kazakhstan today faces such ecological disasters as

those involving the Aral and Caspian Seas and the

former Semipalatinsk testing ground.

There have been many cases in history of nations

and States being in conflict over the lack of drinking

water and water for irrigation. Thousands and

thousands of people have often had to pull up their

roots because of problems with water. Reducing the

number of people without access to safe water is as

vital today as ever. Kazakhstan calls for every country

to adopt, under bilateral and multilateral treaties,

legislative and administrative measures with regard to

transboundary water resources and their management.

The United Nations Economic Commission for

Europe and the United Nations Economic and Social

Commission for Asia and the Pacific have devised a

joint Special Programme for the Economies of Central

Asia (SPECA), which encompasses all priority issues

facing the region: development of the transit transport

capacity and multiple pipeline systems; the

management of energy and water resources;

environmental protection; and technological growth.

Such a comprehensive approach promotes better

regional cooperation in Central Asia and the

integration of its considerable potential into the world

economy. It serves common interests. We therefore

urge the international donor community to actively

contribute to the SPECA programmes and to promote

the economic and democratic growth of Kazakhstan

and other newly independent States in Central Asia.

The three-pronged goal of global development,

which I mentioned at the beginning of my statement,

would be unattainable without an effective common

tool. Such a took we see in the United Nations, and we

are convinced that there is no alternative to our

Organization. But the next century and the new, highly

complex tasks we face will demand a radically renewed

Organization free from the stereotypes of the past. This

matter is in our hands. We should support the genuine

desire of the Secretary-General to drastically revamp

our Organization.

We believe that it is important to start from the

head that is, the Security Council. The debates on

that subject have gone on far too long. Shall we

continue to mark time, or shall we take a responsible

collective decision? We stand for the expansion of the

Security Council, in both categories of membership, on

the basis of equitable geographic representation and

respect for the sovereign equality of all United Nations

Member States. Kazakhstan supports the inclusion of

Germany and Japan, as well as major developing

countries of Asia, Africa and Latin America, as

permanent members of the Security Council, and also

supports an increase in the number of non-permanent

members.

14

We believe that the peacemaking capacity of the

United Nations should also be strengthened

considerably, and we support the conclusions of the

report (A/55/305) by the Brahimi Panel. As for

Kazakhstan, it is forming peacekeeping forces through

its participation in the Central Asian battalion,

composed of three States of Central Asia, and through

the creation of its own Kazakhstan battalion.

There is no doubt that the financial capacity of

the United Nations should be commensurate with the

new tasks that the Organization is asked to perform.

All Member States should meet their financial

obligations under the United Nations Charter. In spite

of its temporary economic difficulties, Kazakhstan is

striving to do just that and is taking practical steps in

that direction. As to the scale of assessments and its

methodology, we have always believed, and continue to

believe, that the main criterion should be a country's

real capacity to pay.

We have set ambitious tasks for ourselves. Are

we up to them? I am absolutely sure that we are, if we

join our efforts. In fact, there is no other way. Such is

the imperative of a new era, such are the aspirations of

our nations.

I thank the Assembly for its attention and wish it

success in its endeavour to build a safer and better

world in the next century.