Kazakhstan, 2001

This session

that is taking place under extraordinary circumstances,

when the whole world is still reeling in shock from the

world’s most terrible terrorist attacks, carried out in

New York and Washington. This unprecedented action,

aimed against the civilian population, has provided yet

one more confirmation that terrorism poses a threat to

the whole world and has highlighted the relevance of

the proposals to join the international community’s

efforts in its common fight against terrorism, drug

trafficking and organized crime.

Our country calls for international legal norms to

be strengthened and for further mobilization of States’

efforts to counter international terrorism. Taking into

consideration the developments in the world that are

identified with this growing threat, we support the

initiative regarding the early adoption of a

comprehensive convention against international

terrorism.

Afghanistan’s transformation into one of the sore

spots of our planet was a matter of concern for

Kazakhstan well before the events of 11 September.

During the Millennium Summit, the President of the

Republic of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbaev, taking

into account the potential danger of a spillover of the

intra-Afghan conflict, proposed to convene a special

meeting of the Security Council devoted to the

consideration of the situation in Afghanistan and

Central Asia in order to devise comprehensive

measures to settle the situation in the Islamic State of

Afghanistan.

Welcoming Security Council resolution 1378

(2001), unanimously adopted on 14 November, we

share the Secretary-General’s view that the Security

Council should adopt a comprehensive approach to

settling the situation in the Islamic State of

Afghanistan and its political, military, economic,

humanitarian and human rights dimensions. Such an

approach, in his opinion, ought to be based on a careful

diagnosis of the current situation in Afghanistan, based

on the premise that no military solution to the Afghan

conflict is possible, or indeed acceptable, since

territorial gains achieved on the battlefield do not

constitute a basis for the legitimatization of power.

The issue of nuclear disarmament and non-

proliferation is of special significance to our country.

This year we mark the tenth anniversary of our

independence, as well as the tenth anniversary of the

shutdown of the Semipalatinsk nuclear testing ground,

which represented an important step towards a nuclear-

free, stable and safe world and its deliverance from the

spectre of global Armageddon. The harm that was done

first and foremost to the people of Kazakhstan was

acknowledged by the participants of the conference

entitled “The Twenty-First Century: Towards a

Nuclear-Weapon-Free World”, which was held from 29

to 30 August 2001 in Almaty.

Nuclear-weapon tests have caused the destruction

of the landscape, ecosystem, economic structure and

traditional way of life of the people in the affected

areas, which happen to be the historical centres of

Kazakh statehood and culture. We are grateful to our

partners who, in line with the three resolutions adopted

by the General Assembly, are helping to rehabilitate the

area of the testing ground, including the conversion of

infrastructure. Yet, much remains to be done. We

believe that the financial aid, experience and expertise

of international organizations, donor countries and non-

governmental entities play an important role in

addressing the problems of the affected region. The

outcome of the Almaty Conference has demonstrated

that the well-being of the planet, which is so cherished,

should be achieved not through threats and the use of

weapons, but exclusively through peaceful means such

as negotiation and dialogue.

Acknowledging the necessity of strengthening

stability and security at both the regional and global

levels, the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan,

Mr. Nursultan Nazarbaev, addressing the forty-seventh

session of the General Assembly, put forward an

initiative to convene a conference on interaction and

confidence-building measures in Asia. Leaders of 16

Asian countries are to meet for the first time in Almaty

in the first half of the year 2002 to discuss threats to

regional peace and security, to arrive at a shared vision

of forms and modalities of addressing such threats and

to agree on confidence-building measures and the

establishment of the structures and institutions of the

Conference. The work carried out so far shows that

compromise solutions are quite possible, even with

respect to differences that seem irreconcilable. In that

context, the Conference represents a forum based on

principles that are conceptually new for Asia, namely,

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trust and cooperation as a means to ensure security and

stability.

Globalization, which has become a dominant

factor in international life, opens up vast opportunities

for social and economic development. At the same time

the United Nations should actively help to solve

current global trends associated with serious problems.

We call for an increased contribution on the part of the

Organization to improving the global environment for

sustainable development and to bridging the gap

between developed and developing countries. The

development of a globalization model for the modern

world — beginning with its economic component —

that would fully take into account the interests of all

countries could become a priority objective of the

Organization within the framework of the current

reforms at the United Nations. More active efforts by

the United Nations to promote the integration of

economies in transition into the world economy are

becoming especially important for Kazakhstan.

Against the background of irreversible growth in

global interrelationship, regional integration, which is

actively supported by our country, is gaining

momentum. Kazakhstan attaches great importance to

cooperation within the framework of the Economic

Cooperation Organization, the Shanghai Cooperation

Organization, the Eurasian Economic Community, the

Central Asian Economic Community and other regional

economic organizations, and will contribute as much as

it can to building up their capacity and their

international standing. We consider it a priority to

develop cooperation with the United Nations in such

areas as strengthening the social security system

through efforts to fight poverty and unemployment;

developing transportation infrastructure by maintaining

and improving highways and railroads; solving the

problems of rivers in border areas; and supplying

drinking water in a number of regions.

We intend to take full advantage of the

geographical position of our country and of the

favourable location of continental transit routes. That

endeavour will be helped by an international

ministerial conference of land-locked countries devoted

to transit and transportation issues, which will be

convened in Kazakhstan in 2003 with the assistance of

the United Nations Conference on Trade and

Development.

A transition to environmentally sound and

sustainable development is a priority goal of the

strategy to ensure the economic growth of Kazakhstan.

Stabilizing and improving the quality of the

environment in the Aral Sea basin are of overriding

importance to our country. Kazakhstan has called, and

will continue to call, for an integrated approach to

solving the problems of the Aral Sea and for wider

participation in the effort being made by the

programmes of the United Nations system.

The participation of the United Nations is also

important in solving the host of problems related to the

development of the Caspian Sea region. The problem

of the Caspian Sea has outgrown its regional

boundaries and has become global. As an effective tool

of regional and global economic partnership, the

United Nations has a role to play to implement a policy

of preventive diplomacy in the region in order to work

out an agreed programme for the development of the

Caspian Sea.

The process of globalization, which is

characterized by growing interdependence among

States in all spheres of life, presents new challenges for

the international community. In those circumstances,

multilateral efforts by the community of nations to find

adequate answers to new challenges and threats play an

exceptionally important role. Kazakhstan supports

strengthening the central role and authority of the

United Nations in efforts to ensure global stability and

to build equitable relations between States and peoples

based on mutual respect and universal values. We call

for increased efficiency of the United Nations system

as a whole, including the Security Council, its principal

organ responsible for the maintenance of international

peace and security. In that regard, Kazakhstan fully

supports the need for adequate implementation of the

decisions taken at the Millennium Summit and fully

shares the development goals and objectives set out by

the international community in the Millennium

Declaration.

The recent decision to award the Nobel Peace

Prize to the United Nations and its Secretary-General is

a sign of recognition of the Organization’s contribution

to strengthening international cooperation —

cooperation aimed at the maintenance of peace and

security for the sake of succeeding generations and in

the interests of the prosperity of the peoples of all

countries. That award has demonstrated that the United

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Nations plays a special role in efforts to strengthen

global partnerships for international purposes.