Uzbekistan, 2013

The rapidly changing

situation, growing tensions, radicalization, security

challenges and threats in various regions of the world

today cannot but raise serious alarm and concerns

around the world. In this regard, needless to say, those

problems enjoy special priority on the agenda of the

General Assembly at this session.

The war in Afghanistan, which has been ongoing

for more than 30 years, remains a serious source of

threats to regional and global security. The situation

unfolding in Afghanistan, according to experts, is

generally uncertain and unpredictable overall. In

these conditions, the drawdown of the International

Security Assistance Force troops in 2014 may lead

to an escalation of confrontation in the country, stir

up terrorism, extremism and drug trafficking, and

aggravate the interregional standoff. Undoubtedly, it

will have a negative impact on the situation in the wider

region of Central Asia and contiguous regions.

It should be recognized that the world has adopted

the unambiguous view that there can be no military

solution to the Afghan problem. The only way out of the

Afghan crisis is a political process through negotiations

among the main parties involved, the achievement

of consensus regardless of how difficult it might be,

and active assistance provided by the international

community and the United Nations.

Uzbekistan adheres to an open and clear policy with

respect to Afghanistan on the basis of the principles

of good-neighbourliness and non-interference in the

country’s internal affairs. Uzbekistan shall further

develop mutually beneficial and friendly ties with

Afghanistan on a bilateral basis, and support the

Government elected by the Afghan people themselves.

We shall also continue to render practical assistance

in restoring the economy of Afghanistan, taking

into account the fact that economic well-being is

an indispensable condition for ensuring peace and

prosperity in that country. These principles and

approaches towards Afghanistan are enshrined in

Uzbekistan’s foreign policy concept, which has the

status of law.

Secondly, today a new global development

agenda is under consideration at the United Nations.

It must reflect the interconnection of human beings

with the environment and contribute to supporting

economic and social development while maintaining

ecological sustainability. Uzbekistan attaches priority

to sustainable development and ecological safety.

We have recently adopted an action programme on

environmental protection for 2013-2017, which serves

as confirmation of that priority. The Government of

Uzbekistan will allocate approximately $2 billion for

implementation of the programme aimed at further

maintaining decent conditions in the environment, the

reasonable use of natural resources, and the introduction

of the ecological basics of sustainable development in

the economic sectors.

The loss of the Aral Sea is one of the largest global

ecological catastrophes in contemporary history. Each

year, it becomes more evident that the problem of the

drying up of the Aral Sea and, above all, its impact on the

environmental, social and humanitarian situation, gene

pool and human health are assuming an increasingly

baneful and irreversible nature. We are grateful to

the United Nations, and to Secretary-General Ban

Ki-moon in particular, for the keen attention paid to the

problem of the Aral Sea. That enormous support gives

us the confidence that the countries of the region will

not be left alone in the struggle against that planetary

catastrophe.

I would like to draw public attention today, first,

to the issue of preventing the complete destruction and

protecting the remaining environmental system of the

Aral Sea region, ensuring minimum living conditions

for the people, and preserving the existing flora and

fauna. Those key issues are the focus of the message

of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Chair

of the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea,

and created as an official document of the General

Assembly (A/67/884, annex).

Secondly, we take this opportunity to call

upon international donors to extend assistance

in implementing the programme of measures on

eliminating the consequences of the drying up of the Aral

Sea and averting a catastrophe in the ecological systems

in the Aral Sea region (A/68/383, annex), which is fully

consonant with the Millennium Development Goals,

particularly, in achieving ecological sustainability,

combating diseases and improving motherhood and

childhood protections.

Thirdly, ensuring the reasonable use of water

resources is an acute problem leading to a worsening

ecological situation and shortage of potable water in

our region and on a global scale. It is an open secret that

the Amu Darya and Syr Darya rivers, the two major

transboundary rivers of Central Asia, have historically

been a common good and a source of life for the nations

of the region. The Aral Sea basin is supplied with water

from the flow of those rivers.

In that regard, we cannot but be concerned about

the plans of Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan to construct

new large hydropower stations with gigantic,

global-scale dams: the Rogun hydropower station with

a 350-metre-high dam upstream in the Amu Darya

River, and the Kambarata-1 hydropower station, with a

275-metre-high dam upstream in the Syr Darya River.

The implementation of such plans, according to many

competent specialists, would lead to the disruption of

the natural flow of the rivers, which is fraught with most

dangerous ecological and socioeconomic consequences.

The already fragile water and ecological balance in

Central Asia will be radically disrupted. Moreover, the

construction of these facilities is planned in areas where

there is a tectonic fracture with a potential seismicity

of not less than 9-10 points on the Richter scale, which

carries a high risk of man-made catastrophes.

Taking that into consideration, we firmly adhere

to our principled position of the unacceptability of

constructing hydropower facilities on international

watercourses without the preliminary endorsement of

all interested countries. It is necessary, in line with

international legal practice, to conduct a mandatory,

fair international expert examination of the Rogun

and Kambarata-1 projects, under the auspices of the

United Nations, to assess the possible impact of new

hydropower facilities on the natural water regime, the

environment, flora and fauna.

Uzbekistan’s position is based on the norms of

international law, in particular the provisions of the

United Nations Convention on the Protection and Use

of Transboundary Watercourses and International

Lakes of 1992 and the Convention on the Law of

Non-navigational Uses of International Watercourses

of 1997.

The year 2015 — the deadline for implementing

the Millennium Development Goals set in 2000 — is

approaching. In that regard, it should be underscored

that the achievements of the Republic of Uzbekistan

during its years of independence in the economic

sphere, social policy, addressing specific issues

related to improving the well-being of the population,

the quality of education, health-care services and

ecological sustainability have allowed our country

to ensure priority implementation of the Millennium

Development Goals. I can offer figures and facts that

reflect the current potential and development rates of

our country.

In comparison with the year 2000, the gross

domestic product (GDP) of Uzbekistan grew by a

factor of 3.1 and the GDP per capita by a factor of

2.6. The nominal salary grew by a factor of 22, the

average amount of pensions by a factor of 12.7, and

real income per capita by a factor of 8.4. During the

past six years, the economic growth of Uzbekistan has

steadily exceeded 8 per cent. The State expenditures

for the social sphere and civil protection in Uzbekistan

grew more than fivefold. About 60 per cent of all State

expenditures go towards funding social development,

including more than 34 per cent for education, and over

15 per cent is spent on public health care.

I am confident that Uzbekistan’s continued

participation in United Nations efforts in the sphere

of sustainable development shall contribute to further

raising the living standards of the people, achieving

the high goals of ensuring security and stability in the

entire region.