Uzbekistan, 1998

Allow me first of all to offer my sincere

congratulations to the Minister for Foreign Affairs of

Uruguay, Mr. Didier Opertti, on his election to the post of

President of the General Assembly at its fifty-third session

and to wish him every success in this important task. I am

confident that his long experience and abilities will

contribute to the successful outcome of the current session

of the General Assembly. I should also like to express our

appreciation to the previous President of the General

Assembly, Mr. Hennadiy Udovenko, for his energetic and

professional work.

I would like to take this opportunity to draw the

Assembly’s attention to the problems that are of greatest

concern to the States of our region.

The international community fully recognizes the

danger of recent developments in Afghanistan, South Asia

and the Republic of Tajikistan. There is an enormous

potential for conflict in this subregion today. The threat

that the Afghan conflict may explode and spread to

neighbouring States remains a real one. Uzbekistan has

repeatedly appealed to the international community from

this rostrum for assistance in resolving the Afghan

problem.

This goal should be served, inter alia, by our

initiative to impose an arms embargo on Afghanistan. The

appeal to halt deliveries of weaponry and matériel to all

parties to the conflict has been reflected in numerous

Security Council resolutions and awaits the creation of an

effective mechanism within the United Nations so that it

can be implemented. The Six Plus Two group, with the

participation of Afghanistan’s neighbouring countries, as

well as the United States and the Russian Federation,

which was established as a result of a proposal by

Uzbekistan, is today, in our opinion, the only effective

international mechanism within the United Nations

capable of launching the peace process. Its task is not to

condemn the warring factions, to criticize them or to

support one of them against the others. We are united by

a common goal, which is to find a path to stability,

security and peace.

A great deal of interest is now focused on energy

projects and transport communications in the region.

However, the implementation of these projects should not

cause confrontation, but should on the contrary promote

stability and the development of mutually beneficial

cooperation between the States of the region. Given the

ongoing hostilities in Afghanistan, the importance of the

Six Plus Two group as a full-fledged negotiating

instrument is growing. Within that framework — and

with the cooperation of the inter-Afghan forces — it is

possible not merely to elaborate the terms of

reconciliation but also the necessary measures to restore

statehood to that country and bring about its economic

revival. In that connection, we fully support the decisions

of the meeting of the Six Plus Two group held at the

level of Ministers for Foreign Affairs, which took place

on 21 September of this year in New York. We also

commend the efforts of the Special Envoy of the

Secretary-General for Afghanistan, Ambassador Lakhdar

Brahimi.

Recent developments in Afghanistan have confirmed

that one of the most important conditions for the

restoration of peace in the Islamic State of Afghanistan is

the achievement of consensus at the regional level and the

elaboration, under the aegis of the United Nations, of a

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single position to be taken by the countries that have an

influence on events in that country. Cooperation with the

Afghan factions in order to reach a speedy settlement of the

Afghan conflict is the ultimate goal of the proposed on-site

meeting of the Six Plus Two group in Tashkent. We hope

for further support for this proposal from interested States

and the Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi Annan.

The problems that affect the vital interests of

Uzbekistan, in particular the establishment of lasting peace

in Tajikistan, the cessation of war in Afghanistan, the

imposition of an arms embargo on the Afghan zone of

conflict, the establishment of a Central Asian nuclear-

weapon-free zone, the construction of transport

communications and the revival of Aral Sea are all part of

global international processes that are under way and could

be implemented under the aegis of the United Nations.

I believe that the events of the last decade have

convinced everyone that no State can, on its own, resolve

transnational security problems such as illicit drug-

trafficking, terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of

mass destruction and of their components.

The Government of Uzbekistan welcomes the efforts

of the United Nations to counter the spread of narcotic

drugs and to implement the Political Declaration adopted at

the twentieth special session of the General Assembly, held

in New York in June 1998. Today, in some European

countries, up to 90 per cent of the narcotic drugs consumed

originate in Afghanistan. The international community is

aware of the need to take coordinated action to counter

illegal trafficking in narcotic substances and to implement

the principles of international cooperation in this area on

the basis of mutual assistance and solidarity. However, we

believe that these principles should also reflect specific

regional aspects. In particular, once again we call for the

elaboration of special programmes to plan for concrete,

joint action by the States of Central Asia and the European

Union.

Unfortunately, terrorist acts have become a common

occurrence in many countries. Existing international

mechanisms to fight terrorism, including political isolation,

economic sanctions and direct military intervention, are not

achieving results. We should have no illusions about this

phenomenon. Today we need coordinated and targeted

action by the entire international community. In that

connection, we welcome discussion of one of the most

complex issues in international law: the possibility of and

need for a new approach to the problem of terrorism. The

importance of resolving this whole set of problems is

obvious.

In this connection, Uzbekistan has taken the

initiative to establish within the framework of the United

Nations a commission for the prevention of terrorist

activities and for fighting international terrorism. The

main task of such a commission would be to formulate

recommendations on questions relating to the fight against

international terrorism. Making use of legal norms, the

United Nations could prosecute the organizers and

perpetrators of terrorist acts. If Member States support

this initiative, Uzbekistan will take an active part in

bringing it to fruition.

Uzbekistan has consistently taken steps to ensure

peace and strengthen regional security. One of these is

Uzbekistan’s initiative to establish a Central Asian

nuclear-weapon-free zone. Considerable progress has

already been made to implement this idea. Allow me to

cite the closing statement of the President of the General

Assembly at its fifty-second session, Mr. Hennadiy

Udovenko:

“In a decision designed to further promote the

regime of nuclear nonproliferation, the Assembly

adopted a consensus resolution supporting the

initiative to establish one more nuclear-weapon-free

zone, in Central Asia. The significance of that step

became even more apparent in the light of the recent

nuclear tests in southern Asia”. (A/52/PV.92)

Here, let me express our special gratitude to the

Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi Annan, and to the Under-

Secretary-General for Disarmament Affairs, Mr. Jayantha

Dhanapala, for their well-informed and strong support of

this initiative.

When considering potential threats to national

security, we ought today to give special attention to

problems of ecological security and environmental

protection. It is common knowledge that the drying up of

the Aral Sea has caused many complex ecological, socio-

economic and demographic problems, whose origins and

gravity are international, even global. The Aral crisis is

one of the most serious of the world’s ecological and

humanitarian disasters. It has had a direct impact on more

than 35 million people who live in the Aral Sea basin.

A number of decisions have been adopted at

international and regional meetings on the problem of the

Aral Sea. But these have not been backed up by practical

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action. We are obliged to say that the idea is gaining

ground in the international community that the Aral crisis

can be contained through humanitarian operations. That is

not the case. This is an extraordinary ecological problem

that requires the establishment within the United Nations

system of a regional commission on the ecology of Aral

Sea. This initiative is justified by the need to formulate and

implement a specific long-term strategy and programme for

resolving the Aral crisis on the basis of the principles of

sustainable development, maintaining the standard of living

of the people of the region, and ensuring a decent life for

future generations.

Modern Uzbekistan is in the process of establishing a

State based on the rule of law, a civil society and an

effective, socially oriented market economy. It has an acute

need for the experience and know-how of international

bodies. At the same time, our republic is devoting great

attention to the question of recruiting Uzbek experts for the

activities of a variety of United Nations bodies. Let me

stress that the level of training and knowledge of Uzbek

specialists is fully in keeping with the requirements for

recruitment to the bodies and specialized agencies of the

United Nations system. I am confident that specialists from

Uzbekistan can and should contribute to the work of

international organizations.

In conclusion, I should like to stress in particular that

our relationship with the United Nations is intended not

only to obtain assistance and support, but primarily to

enable us to play our full part in the successful

implementation of the purposes and principles of the United

Nations and to give fresh content to the activities of the

Organization.