Tajikistan, 1995

First of all, let me express to His Excellency Mr. Diogo

Freitas do Amaral my sincere congratulations on his

election to the responsible post of President of the General

Assembly. There can be no doubt that his rich experience,

both in life and in diplomacy, will serve to enhance the

productive work of our anniversary session.

Mr. Traoré (Mali), Vice-President, took the Chair.

Five decades ago, having achieved victory over the

forces of evil in the Second World War, the international

community evinced the wisdom and political will to build

together the universal home of peace and common security:

the United Nations. And perhaps the main result of the past

few decades has been that, with the help of the United

Nations, we managed to save the world from another

world war. All of us can be proud of that.

Although the “big” war spared us, this in no way

diminished the increasing danger of small wars in the

world, which have caused intense suffering and misery.

Economic and social development in the countries where

these wars take place is set back for decades. And

although the civil war in Tajikistan is now behind us, it

is still necessary to pursue the final settlement of the civil

conflict.

It was the dialogue initiated by the Government of

Tajikistan, rather than violent confrontation, that began to

yield tangible results. A significant role here was played

by international interaction and by joint efforts on the

regional level.

A perceptible acceleration in the process of dialogue

resulted from the meetings between the President of the

Republic of Tajikistan, Mr. Imomali Rakhmonov, and the

leadership of the armed opposition in Kabul and Tehran.

This incontestably demonstrated our good will and our

sincere aspiration for the early achievement of complete

stability and accord on Tajik soil.

We are sincerely grateful to the leaders of the

Islamic State of Afghanistan and the Islamic Republic of

Iran for their personal contribution in arranging the

meetings between the President of Tajikistan,

Mr. Rakhmonov, and the leader of the opposition,

Mr. Nuri. The efforts of these and other countries acting

as observers in the inter-Tajik negotiations tangibly

supplemented the mediating activity of the United

Nations.

We are grateful to the Secretary-General,

His Excellency Mr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali, his Special

Envoy, Ambassador Píriz Ballón, and also the regional

and intergovernmental organizations that acted as

observers at the inter-Tajik negotiations for their

substantial contribution to the resolution of the conflict.

The results of these multilateral efforts have already

become apparent. Signed by the sides in the middle of

August this year, the Protocol on the fundamental

principles for establishing peace and national accord in

Tajikistan, which contains, inter alia, the decision to

extend the term of cease-fire agreement until

26 February 1996, has created a solid basis for the

attainment of general agreement for peace and national

accord in Tajikistan.

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The Government of Tajikistan is in favour of the

earliest possible start to an ongoing round of negotiations

with the Opposition. We plan to begin this very soon. The

intention is that in the course of the forthcoming dialogue

the Government and its opponents will agree upon a

complete set of issues for a comprehensive peace

settlement. A prerequisite for that is that the Opposition

agree to act with the Government on a common legal basis.

What is important is that, having signed the protocol to

which I have referred, the Opposition undertook to conduct

its political struggle exclusively by peaceful means and in

accordance with current legislation in the Republic of

Tajikistan.

We cannot ignore the fact that there are difficulties in

this process. Among the representatives of the hard-line

wing of the Opposition there are forces whose attitude

favours terrorism and political and religious extremism. To

achieve their own narrow, selfish ends they are inclined to

stick to the policy of keeping strong pressure on the

Government. Their arsenal includes terrorist acts,

intimidation of people inside the country, constant violation

of the Tajik-Afghan border, which is protected by border

guards of Russia, Kazakstan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan,

as well as by our own soldiers.

The continuous interference from outside in the

inter-Tajik conflict has had a negative impact on the

settlement process. Evidence of that is the continuing

explosive situation on the Tajik-Afghan border, which tends

to destabilize the situation in Tajikistan as well as in all of

Central Asia.

The unstable situation makes it possible for criminal

elements to engage in the illegal supply of drugs and arms

on a large scale across the southern border of Tajikistan.

The consequences of these criminal acts have a negative

impact, not just in our country or in the Commonwealth of

Independent States (CIS), but also far beyond the borders

of the CIS.

In this connection, it is appropriate to recall that the

leadership of Tajikistan and the States whose military

contingents comprise the peace-keeping forces of the CIS

have repeatedly requested that these forces be given the

status of a United Nations operation. An important reason

for that is the accumulated experience of close and

constructive collaboration between the United Nations

Mission of Observers in Tajikistan and the collective peace-

keeping forces of the CIS, as well as the border-guard

forces in Tajikistan. This collaboration is already one of the

most important factors in stabilizing the situation.

The completed process of constitutional reforms and

the concomitant peaceful transformation in State power

have also contributed to the inter-Tajik settlement.

Independent Tajikistan has now acquired a Constitution;

the President of the country, who is its guarantor, came

to office as the result of popular elections; legislative

power is vested in a newly elected Parliament, the Majlisi

Oli; all branches of power at the centre, as well as

locally, have been strengthened and are working

effectively; and the principle of the primacy of the law

has made active headway in the country.

It is not sufficient simply to note that all these

processes took place in the period between the forty-ninth

session and the fiftieth anniversary session of the General

Assembly: it is fair to note also that much was achieved

with the assistance of the United Nations institutions and

specialized agencies.

While there may have been significant progress in

the political process, it has proved quite difficult to

improve the situation in the national economy in the

period of transition without any support from outside,

despite the concrete steps that are being taken towards

market reforms. A national currency has been introduced,

prices have been liberalized, the process of accelerated

privatization is under way, and so on.

In other words, the conditions have been created for

the development of the economy in the transition period.

At the same time, restoring those aspects of daily life that

were destroyed by the civil war of 1992 has been

extremely difficult. Our health care, education and social

security are in critical condition.

The question of the return and settlement of refugees

and displaced persons and their social rehabilitation

remains crucial. We are grateful for the efforts of

specialized agencies of the United Nations and other

international organizations for their generosity to our

country in helping to resolve the refugee problem.

As is known, Tajikistan does not have access to the

sea. However, it possesses significant quantities of natural

resources, and it has substantial industrial potential. If our

country were to be approached by international financial

organizations this would significantly ease the situation

and accelerate the process of reform in the economy.

We call upon the States Members of the United

Nations to cooperate in mutually beneficial partnership.

Stabilization in the economy of Tajikistan will not only

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serve to satisfy the socio-economic needs of our people; it

will become an important factor for further development of

democratic institutions in our country, strengthening the

machinery for the defence of human rights and the process

of national accord and the consolidation of society.

As an equal member of the world community, the

Republic of Tajikistan, to the extent of its potential, will

strive to participate actively in international political life.

Tajikistan actively supports the strengthening of the

Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, to

which it is a party, as well as a comprehensive nuclear-test

ban.

My country attaches great importance to the

development of broad cooperation, not only with the United

Nations but also with regional organizations. The Republic

of Tajikistan is a striking example of successful practical

interaction between two influential international

organizations — the United Nations and the Organization

for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) — in their

common interests. The ties between Tajikistan and the

OSCE are developing in all major areas of that

organization’s activity. We also attach great importance to

the activity of Tajikistan within the Organization of the

Islamic Conference.

Our country pays particular attention to the state of

affairs in the Commonwealth of Independent States and to

the consistent development of that organization’s ties with

each of its members.

The development of the situation in the central Asian

region is of vital importance to our Republic. The

Government of my country is a staunch advocate of the

parity approach to the settlement of regional political

problems and of the closest possible economic integration

of the States in its region.

Finally, I should like to say a few words about the

situation in a neighbouring country — Afghanistan, which

is one of the most dreadful casualties in the aftermath of

the cold war. There appears to be no end to the internecine

conflict in the territory of this long-suffering nation. We

believe that the United Nations and the world community

have sufficient political and moral weight to exert a

meaningful influence on the parties to this fratricidal

conflict with a view to ending the bloodshed as soon as

possible. This would undoubtedly be one of the most

significant contributions by the United Nations to the

establishment of universal peace and security.

The 50-year history of the United Nations has

enriched us with the invaluable capacity to live in peace

with each other despite our differences. Applying this

experience, we must give our peoples high hopes for life

in the third millennium. In this sense, we share very much

the concept of the Secretary-General’s report “An Agenda

for Development”. Consonant with this are the joint

initiatives of the CIS States at the fiftieth session of the

United Nations General Assembly — initiatives in which

Tajikistan has participated. The most relevant of these is

the convening of an international conference on refugees

and migrants in post-Soviet territory.

The package of documented initiatives from the CIS

States confirms our will to further integrate the

Commonwealth into the international community, and to

seek more active participation in the work of United

Nations institutions and its specialized agencies. Our joint

efforts do not mean that we wish to work in isolation.

They simply testify to the fact that there is a great deal

that unites us, and there is much we share in common

with respect to our development besides having many

similar problems.

The entire civilized world, with great concern and

indeed with growing alarm about what will happen to

future generations, has been observing increasing

incidents of international terrorism, religious fanaticism

and ultra-nationalism. The task of the world community

is to unite efforts to counteract the forces of evil. The

tragic events in Tokyo, Oklahoma and Budenovsk show

that the world must intensify the struggle in those

directions, including foiling the attempts of terrorists to

get access to weapons of mass destruction, whether they

be nuclear, chemical or any other kind.

International terrorism, drug trafficking and the illicit

traffic in weapons, the emergence of “hot spots” here and

there on the planet: these are all interconnected

phenomena. The pain and suffering of the people in these

“hot spots” call for urgent and joint steps to be taken to

wage uncompromising war against these demons of the

end of the twentieth century.

As the situation now stands, either the principles of

high morality and humanity will prevail or the world will

be doomed to further suffering. We have no right to allow

society to return to the epoch of barbarism.

On the eve of the end of the Second World War the

founders of the United Nations dreamed about ruling out

any global catastrophes in the future. The 50 years of our

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Organization’s history provide convincing evidence of the

constant antagonism between the forces of reason and light

and those of injustice and hatred. Today we bow our heads

in respect before the tens of millions of people who

sacrificed their lives for the sake of peace and justice.

Over the 50 years of its existence the United Nations

has essentially saved the world from new universal

slaughter. Our common task is now to step into the twenty-

first century having learned wisdom from the experience of

the past, and having provided our children and

grandchildren with durable peace, the right to free

development and spiritual progress.