Tajikistan, 2004

We

all pinned great hopes on the advent of the twenty-first

century with regard to a more stable and secure world

and sustainable development for humanity. We were all

eager to expand the positive achievements of the

twentieth century, which witnessed rapid technological

and social progress, the beginning of the space age, the

advancement of democracy and the globalization of the

planet. We all wanted to leave behind the destructive

impact on human history of two world wars, continued

blood conflicts, millions of refugees, poverty and the

destitution common in most countries of the world.

It had seemed that, at this junction of centuries

and millennia, humanity would rediscover and

appreciate more deeply the value of a world without

wars or violence and the significance of solidarity and

mutual understanding, of true human rights and respect

of the views of others. Now, however, it has become

clear that it is impossible to comprehend the dynamics

of global development or to find adequate answers to

modern challenges without the United Nations as a

leader.

The impression had been that, in the new century,

our civilization would embark on the path towards a

global society where harmony would prevail over

hatred and stability put an end to suspicion — a society

where the agreed rules of conduct set out in

international law, binding for all, would stand in the

way of isolationism and separatism; where all

internationally relevant issues, including the most

urgent ones, would be resolved at the negotiating table;

and where the use of force would not be the rule but,

rather, the exception, and only when sanctioned by

collective decisions of a capable and representative

Security Council.

Unfortunately, the twenty-first century has

brought more new and menacing challenges than

solutions to the numerous problems faced by

humankind. The number of wars and military conflicts

has not diminished but increased. The peaceful

resolution of the inter-Tajik conflict achieved under

United Nations auspices is more the exception than the

rule in the context of the efforts to achieve peace

undertaken by the United Nations.

The world’s peoples increasingly feel that the

world is in a state of permanent war rather than

working towards development. Every day we hear

about the dangers of the proliferation of weapons of

mass destruction and the struggle against international

terrorism. These are urgent problems, and we cannot

but be concerned about them since weapons of mass

destruction are capable of destroying hundreds of

thousands of human lives, while acts of terror can

destabilize entire countries.

For those reasons, we are firmly resolved to

transform Central Asia into a region free of nuclear

weapons. The recent tragic events in the town of

Beslan, in the Russian Federation, are clear evidence

9

that the forces of international terrorism are, day by

day, becoming more daring and continue to challenge

the whole of humankind.

Tajikistan resolutely condemns the acts of

violence perpetrated against defenceless women and

children in North Ossetia and appeals to the

international community to undertake urgent collective

measures to combat this scourge of the twenty-first

century.

It is comforting that the international solidarity

demonstrated in the struggle against such a

bloodthirsty and treacherous enemy as terrorism is

gaining in strength. Tajikistan has been actively

waging, at the regional and international levels, a

multifaceted struggle against the proliferation of

weapons of mass destruction and terrorism.

At the same time, in order to definitively put an

end to terrorism, it is very important to reach a

universal understanding of its nature and

manifestations in order to eliminate any obstacles that

stand in the way of the development and adoption of a

comprehensive convention on international terrorism.

While we can rightly be proud of having created,

within a short period of time, a united anti-terrorist

coalition of States, unfortunately we cannot say that we

have achieved the same degree of solidarity in the fight

against poverty and destitution.

For decades, States with low levels of income

have not been able to free themselves from their

destructive debt burden so as to be able to enjoy the

advantages of civilization. For instance, Tajikistan,

which lived through a civil conflict, continues to face

urgent economic and social problems, despite having

made some economic progress. Eighty per cent of the

population of Tajikistan still lives below the poverty

line. Because of the lack of access to the sea, many

regions of our country are cut off from the outside

world, which results in our paying higher prices for

imported goods and increased transit fees. Forty per

cent of all budget revenues go to servicing external

debt, which limits the Government’s capacity to meet

the urgent needs of the population.

Writing off a portion of the accumulated debt

would make it possible for those countries to invest in

education, health care and environmental protection,

and, in the case of Tajikistan, could be helpful in

rehabilitating the social sphere, which has suffered as a

result of the civil conflict and natural disasters.

However, the idea of exchanging debt for sustainable

development has not yet garnered solid support among

creditors. In that area, we still encounter inertia and a

lack of political will.

It is clear to us that the resolution of political

issues, including those related to international security,

depends, to a great extent, on social and economic

development and on the achievement by all countries

of the Millennium Goals.

In a globalized world, achieving the Millennium

Goals will require the utmost solidarity as well as

interaction among the international community as a

whole, with the United Nations as a leading

coordinator, in its capacity as the most universal and

representative international Organization.

The key to success lies in developing a common

and comprehensive approach to addressing poverty-

related issues, enhancing the means available as well as

seeking innovative ways of securing financing for

development, eliminating ecological threats,

addressing demographic problems, ensuring an

equitable international finance and trade system, and

dealing with the aftermath of natural disasters. Failing

that, the situation will remain the same: a quarter of the

world’s population will continue to prosper, using more

than half of the world’s resources, while the majority

of the world’s population, finding themselves

marginalized, will remain mere observers of global

economic development.

The ever-increasing severity of these problems

makes them global threats to international peace and

security. For that reason, we support the Secretary-

General, Kofi Annan, in his efforts to restore the

balance of priorities on the agenda of the international

community.

The international community should also strive to

ensure maximum coordination of the actions taken at

the global level in terms of monetary, financial and

international trade policies. In that connection, it is

important to strengthen the role of the United Nations

as the key force for political mobilization in those

areas. That requires, on the basis of the Monterrey

consensus, a further reinforcement of the interaction

among the United Nations, the Bretton Woods

institutions and the World Trade Organization, which

Tajikistan hopes to join in the near future.

10

The issues of economic rehabilitation, poverty

eradication, improved living standards for the

population and long-term sustainable development are

among the top priorities for Tajikistan, as an economy

in transition.

At the same time, for a number of reasons,

Tajikistan still needs the assistance of the international

community in supporting national efforts to ensure

long-term sustainable development in the country. We

appreciate the continued efforts of the donor countries

and United Nations agencies such as the United

Nations Development Programme, the United Nations

Children’s Fund, the World Food Programme and

others to assist vulnerable segments of the population,

as well as their support in the ongoing transition to a

socially oriented market economy.

Given our own experience, we support the

priority attention given by the United Nations to

increasing the effectiveness of the assistance rendered

to countries in post-conflict situations and to receiving

feedback in that area. There is no doubt that the United

Nations is the key player in providing timely and

coordinated responses to post-conflict situations.

The success of the United Nations in this area

depends to a great extent on a qualitative interaction

with host Governments in the area of reinforcing

national potential, the introduction of effective

instruments and mechanisms for the coordination and

mobilization of resources, and increased interaction

with the Bretton-Woods institutions in the context of a

joint assessment of their needs and specific project

activities.

In this regard, it is noteworthy that one of the

lessons learned from the peaceful settlement of the

inter-Tajik conflict is the need for donor countries to be

active not only during the crisis but also in the post-

conflict period. I am convinced that strengthening the

foundation of peace and stability in countries living

through conflict requires not only humanitarian

assistance but also actual help in addressing economic

problems and support for countries’ efforts to create a

dynamic and stable economy. As a rule, these kinds of

investments, within the framework of a peaceful

process, turn out to be instrumental in strengthening

young democracies born out of conflict. There is no

doubt that the parliamentary elections to be held in

Tajikistan in early 2005 will prove once again the

vitality and irreversible nature of the peace process in

Tajikistan and the robustness of the country’s

democratic institutions.

Achieving ecologically sustainable development

on the global, regional and national levels remains an

issue of top priority. Tajikistan intends to continue to

contribute to the implementation of the relevant

decisions of Johannesburg and other international

forums. The 2005-2015 International Decade for

Action, “Water for Life”, to be launched on 22 March

2005, was initiated by our country and is expected to

combine efforts undertaken by Governments, the

United Nations, international organizations, civil

society and the private sector. These efforts are aimed

at identifying effective ways of achieving the

internationally agreed goals in the area of fresh water

resources, developing strategies, programmes and laws

to protect water environments and increasing

investment and voluntary donor contributions, two

activities associated with ensuring access to fresh

water to all persons in need. We ask the Governments

of all countries, as well as United Nations agencies, to

undertake practical activities within this decade. This

is the key to success, and it will require a great deal of

work.

In some regions of the world, the international

community is faced not only with the problem of

conflicts and wars that interfere with long-term

development, but also with illicit drug trafficking,

which poses a threat to civil society. We cannot help

being concerned with the fact that global demand for

prohibited drugs is not decreasing. For instance, the

volume of criminal transit of narcotics via Tajikistan

constitutes a serious threat to our social, political and

economic stability as well as to the security of the

region as a whole. Afghanistan remains a major

supplier of narcotics. Their production this year has set

a record.

The President of Tajikistan, Mr. Emomali

Rakhmonov, regards the struggle against illicit drugs as

one of the top priorities for our country. Thanks to the

cooperation with the United Nations and interaction

within Shanghai Cooperation Organization of the last

five years, Tajikistan has become one of the leading

countries in the world in terms of narcotics

interdiction. Over this period, the law enforcement

bodies of Tajikistan and the Russian border guards

have confiscated about 40 tons of narcotics, with

heroin constituting more than half of this total. As a

result, millions of dollars have been removed from

11

circulation and hundreds of thousands of people the

world over have been saved from narcotics

dependency.

According to Antonio Maria Costa, Executive

Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and

Crime, Tajikistan sets a good example for other

countries as to how one can successfully struggle

against drugs. The achievements of Tajikistan in this

area are considered as a good basis for strengthening

the struggle against the narcotics threat, but we are

combating the results rather than the roots of the

problem.

In autumn 2005, heads of State and Government

will meet in this General Assembly Hall to discuss

progress in achieving the Millennium Development

Goals. We attach great importance to this event, which

coincides with the sixtieth anniversary of the

foundation of the United Nations. We expect this

forthcoming event to give the necessary political

impetus to the international community in its progress

towards the achievement through combined efforts of

the Millennium Development Goals in the interest of a

more stable, just and prosperous world.