Uzbekistan, 2003

I should like first of all

to join earlier speakers in congratulating you, Sir, The

Honourable Julian Robert Hunte, Minister for External

Affairs, International Trade and Civil Aviation of Saint

Lucia, on your election as President of the General

Assembly and to wish you every success as you carry

out your duties. I would also like to extend our

appreciation to Mr. Jan Kavan for the very efficient

way in which he organized the work of the fifty-

seventh session of the General Assembly.

We would like at the outset to express our

profound condolences to the whole family of the

United Nations for the loss of Sergio Vieira de Mello, a

brave and able diplomat, and the other United Nations

personnel who died as a result of the deadly attack

against the United Nations premises in Baghdad.

I would like to take this opportunity to outline the

position of Uzbekistan on the key issues on the agenda

of this forum. As is well known, since the events of 11

September 2001, the world has been on the verge of a

fundamental transformation caused by new challenges

and threats to security in many regions of our planet.

This harsh reality unequivocally increases the

responsibility of the United Nations as a unique

international institution whose role cannot be

substituted by anyone or anything. It also increases the

responsibility of each and every nation to preserve

peace and stability in countering threats to modern

civilization such as international terrorism, extremism,

and the ever-growing illegal drug trade.

Given our immediate proximity to Afghanistan,

we, the nations of Central Asia, know at first hand

what these threats are and what they can bring to the

world, if timely steps are not taken to prevent and

eliminate them at their very core. In this context, it is

difficult to overestimate the significance of the actions

of the international anti-terrorist coalition led by the

United States of America and of the International

Security Assistance Force, which are doing so much to

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revive and restore peace and stability in long-suffering

Afghanistan.

In the meantime, despite the prerequisites for a

full-scale peace process in Afghanistan and sustained

development of the region, the peace in the country is

still fragile. We believe that the resources of the

international community, major international

organizations and donor nations, as well as the

capabilities of neighbouring countries, should be more

intensely engaged, as they are essential to post-conflict

reconstruction.

Afghanistan should become a harmoniously

integrated part of Central Asia, and this will positively

contribute to the enhancement of stability and security

in the country and region. In view of the exceptional

importance of the socio-economic rehabilitation of

Afghanistan, Uzbekistan is rendering assistance to the

Afghan people in the reconstruction of damaged roads

and the construction of new ones, as well as supplying

electricity to the northern provinces of Afghanistan.

Uzbek specialists have built eight large bridges along

the road from Mazari Sharif to Kabul. Uzbekistan is

also delivering humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan.

More than 1 million tonnes of humanitarian cargo have

been shipped through our country’s territory. We will

continue to cooperate with international organizations,

foremost with the United Nations, in this regard.

The lessons learned in recent years have

confirmed that overcoming the consequences of

terrorism and extremism is more difficult than their

timely prevention. Moreover, the aggressive drive of

terrorists to acquire weapons of mass destruction has

become a new reality. The international community

should confront these far-reaching plans using an

effective and streamlined system of measures to

prevent access by terrorists to arms, new technologies,

and dual-use material.

Uzbekistan welcomes the progress made in the

development of legal instruments aimed at combating

international terrorism. Tangible results, however, can

be achieved only by creating a global system of

comprehensive cooperation. That is why we support

the work of the Security Council Counter-Terrorism

Committee. We are confident that the regional anti-

terrorism centre of the Shanghai Cooperation

Organization, established to collaborate with other

similar centres, will prove to be an important

component of the global anti-terrorist system.

To combat the threat of international terrorism

and extremism, it is important to confront the hotbeds

all over the world of extremism and the dissemination

of the ideology of fanatical ideologies. Despite current

measures to isolate them, these centres still possess

substantial financial resources and the capacity to

influence the hearts and minds of young people and

mobilize them for their far-reaching objectives. In

addition to the measures being implemented today, it

would be desirable to establish a special United

Nations programme to promote education and

awareness among young people and develop in them a

strong aversion to extremist ideology.

Uzbekistan maintains that the United Nations can

and must play a more significant role in resolving the

most urgent issues of today’s world. For this purpose,

first and foremost, United Nations programmes must

become more concrete and effective so that they can

better target the real needs of regions. In this regard, I

would like to present the following views.

First, Uzbekistan unequivocally supports further

development of regional integration and considers the

Organization of Central Asian Cooperation (OCAC) as

a crucial mechanism of multilateral collaboration

among the States of the region. We consider the

Organization’s economic component, as well as the

establishment of water, energy, transport and

communication consortia within its framework, as a

priority.

The need to overcome the isolation of the region

in terms of transport and communication is of utmost

importance among the objectives vital for sustainable

development of the Central Asian States. In this

context, I would particularly like to draw Members’

attention to the multilateral initiative to establish a

trans-Afghan transport corridor, which would provide

landlocked nations that encounter difficulties in

accessing world markets with new access to seaports.

Undoubtedly, the implementation of this project would

boost trade and economic ties and fundamentally

change geopolitical and economic realities in the

region.

We believe it is high time for relevant United

Nations agencies, above all the United Nations

Development Programme, United Nations Industrial

Development Organization and the Economic and

Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, to develop

programmes aimed at increasing the volume of aid to

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the region’s States and Afghanistan for the purpose of

developing transport infrastructure and providing real

support in communications projects.

Secondly, Uzbekistan calls for strict compliance

by all nations with a global nuclear non-proliferation

regime. Today, in our view, the significance of the

initiative of Uzbekistan and other countries of the

region to establish a nuclear-weapon-free zone in

Central Asia has become paramount. We greatly

appreciate the efforts of Secretary-General Kofi Annan,

and the United Nations Department for Disarmament

Affairs in supporting the expert group, which is

currently working on a draft treaty.

The establishment of the zone is nearly complete,

and, to legitimize it, Uzbekistan calls on all permanent

Security Council members to develop a consolidated

position with the region’s States on the provisions of

the draft treaty and its protocol.

Thirdly, Central Asia is facing a wide-scale

assault by international drug cartels, which are using

the destructive power of international terrorism to

protect drug routes. Under these conditions, there is a

need for concerted efforts and effective international

programmes under the auspices of the United Nations

Office on Drugs and Crime.

We believe that the establishment in Tashkent of

the regional information and coordination centre to

combat transboundary crime, proposed by President

Islam Karimov during the visit of Secretary-General to

Uzbekistan last October, could become a tangible

contribution by the United Nations. We count on the

support of the United Nations and donor countries in

making this initiative a reality.

Today, the United Nations faces the need to adapt

its mechanisms to the realities of the new world,

which, we think, is dependent upon the prompt

completion of the process of reform of the

Organization. There is an urgent need to reorganize the

Security Council so that it reflects current realities. An

expanded Security Council should include both

developed and developing nations. We reiterate our call

for inclusion of Germany and Japan in the Security

Council as permanent members.

In conclusion, I would like to note that the

principally new approaches taken by the United

Nations to the realities and prospects of Central Asia

will ultimately meet the fundamental interests of the

entire world community. I am confident that this

session will give new momentum to the joint efforts of

Member States to counter the threats and challenges of

global and regional security.