Kazakhstan, 2004

First of all, Sir, let me

add my voice to the congratulations on your election to

the high office of President of the General Assembly at

its fifty-ninth session and express confidence that,

under your leadership, it will be successful and fruitful.

I would like to begin by supporting the statement

of Secretary-General Kofi Annan concerning the

crucial importance of fostering the rule of law, both at

home and in the framework of international relations,

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for the solution of the topical issues of the modern

world.

Today, the whole system of international relations

is under vicious attack. We are witnessing the growing

reach and brutality of international terrorism and

organized crime, the alarming degradation of our

environment and the spread of poverty, misery and

disease.

Every year, we keep repeating that the challenges

and threats to humanity have become global and that

the international community should make joint efforts

to address these challenges effectively and with

determination. But, with our words still resonating in

the air, these problems continue to place a heavy

burden on human beings.

For years, the international community has been

ignoring the most burning problems of social and

economic development and has failed to address

poverty, misery, illiteracy and various forms of

discrimination. As a result, we are faced with an

unprecedented threat of international terrorism, which

undermines the pillars of the world economy and

security. Nevertheless, we have not yet done anything

meaningful to get a detailed analysis of the ideology

behind international terrorism, its institutional base and

its sources of financing. In other words, the central

nature of international terrorism remains terra

incognita for all of us; we are familiar only with its

ugly manifestations.

Recent alarming developments in the world,

especially the massacre in Beslan, have again

highlighted the urgent need to reform the United

Nations. We cannot meet new challenges and address

today’s acute problems if we continue to rely on old

approaches. The central issue of international security

is turning the United Nations into an effective tool

designed to strengthen regional and global security

systems, the regime of non-proliferation of weapons of

mass destruction and management of globalization

processes.

As a matter of principle, we consider it important

to ensure balance in the functioning of the General

Assembly, the Security Council and the Economic and

Social Council, as envisioned in the Charter of this

Organization. We insist on the need to strengthen the

role of the General Assembly in the settlement of the

most important issues facing humanity today. In our

view, the international community’s efforts to combat

terrorism and to settle armed conflicts can be more

effective only on the basis of such an approach.

Kazakhstan has supported the Secretary-

General’s decision to establish a high-level panel on

United Nations reform. We believe that this panel, with

its broad mandate and wide-ranging powers, should

arrive at an acceptable solution to this present crucial

issue. Kazakhstan holds the view that, in its current

form, the Security Council no longer reflects the

realities of our world. I share the opinion of the Prime

Minister of Japan, Mr. Junichiro Koizumi, that the

“enemy State” clauses in the United Nations Charter

are obsolete. The Security Council should be

revitalized by the addition of new permanent and non-

permanent members. Asia, Africa and Latin America

should have a wider representation in the Security

Council and should be directly involved in the search

for solutions to the important problems facing the

international community.

Kazakhstan calls for the establishment of a

council of regional organizations under the auspices of

the United Nations Secretary-General. Close attention

should be paid to the proposal to establish an economic

and social security council. We believe that these

proposals reflect the need to strengthen global

multilateral cooperation.

Our country continues to believe that the United

Nations is the only genuinely universal international

organization responsible for the issues of war and

peace, acting as a guarantor of international law.

It is encouraging that the reform of the United

Nations Security Council Counter-Terrorism

Committee is gaining momentum. With the current

escalation of international terrorism, the role of this

Committee should become more important; otherwise,

global counter-terrorism efforts to address new

challenges and threats will not be so effective, and this

runs counter to the wishes of the peoples of the world.

Mr. Belkhadem (Algeria),Vice-President, took the

Chair.

Our country supports the United Nations

peacekeeping effort and the continued strengthening of

its capacity in this area. With escalating humanitarian

crises and armed conflicts, as effectively demonstrated

by the developments in Darfur, the United Nations

should pay special attention to the possibility of

broader participation by authoritative regional and

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subregional organizations in peacekeeping operations,

which would allow a more effective and timely

response to emerging threats.

Yet, one key issue is the prevention of conflicts

and crises. For this reason, Kazakhstan is a firm

supporter of preventive diplomacy and continues to

believe that the establishment of a Central Asian

preventive diplomacy centre is a timely initiative.

In our view, there is an urgent need to coordinate

the efforts of the entire international community in the

area of disarmament and arms control. We call for an

early entry into force of the Comprehensive Nuclear-

Test-Ban Treaty and urge the Governments of those

States that have not yet ratified this instrument to

display political will and genuine commitment to

nuclear disarmament.

As one of the few States that have voluntarily

given up their nuclear weapons, Kazakhstan is

concerned by the current status of the Nuclear Non-

Proliferation Treaty. This important treaty has been

seriously eroded because of destructive actions on the

part of a number of known States. We should recognize

that the non-proliferation regime faces a formidable

threat, and there is a real possibility of an uncontrolled

spread of weapons of mass destruction and, most

important, of terrorists getting hold of them. In view of

this, we consider the establishment of a nuclear-

weapon-free zone in Central Asia to be a very

important and timely proposal.

We believe that the negotiation process within the

Conference on Disarmament in Geneva should be

reactivated. In our view, the potential of this important

forum is far from being tapped to its full extent.

The Government of Kazakhstan attaches great

importance to the consistent implementation of the

Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat and

Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light

Weapons, as discussed at a regional conference in

Almaty in March of 2004.

For us, it is very important that the Iraqi issue is

again in the political realm of the United Nations.

Emphasizing the need to ensure the independence,

sovereignty and territorial integrity of Iraq, Kazakhstan

welcomes the transfer of authority and responsibility

for the administration of the country to the Interim

Government of Iraq and calls on the Iraqi people to

come together in the name of national unity and

conciliation.

The participation of a unit of the armed forces of

Kazakhstan in the multinational force in Iraq is a

demonstration of our country’s commitment to the

implementation of its obligations towards the

maintenance of international peace and security.

Continued instability in the Middle East is a

matter of grave concern to Kazakhstan. From our point

of view, the resumption and advancement of the peace

process, on all tracks, and the implementation by all

parties to the conflict in the Middle East of their

commitments, as reflected in the road map and relevant

Security Council resolutions, should remain the main

goal of all those concerned.

Kazakhstan supports the efforts of the current

Government in Afghanistan to consolidate peace and

security in the country and address social, economic

and humanitarian issues. We expect that the

international community, starting with all the

developed countries, will live up to their commitments

with regard to the rehabilitation of Afghanistan. As for

our country, we are ready to contribute to the process,

within our means.

We believe that the well-being of the Central

Asian region is largely dependent on the normalization

of the situation in Afghanistan. We have every reason

to be concerned by such problems as the increasing

spread of drugs, illegal migration and surging religious

extremism. Together with poverty, ecological

degradation and the lack of water resources, these

phenomena provide a breeding ground for international

terrorism, which is gaining force in our region.

In view of that, Kazakhstan supports the activities

of the United Nations Office on Drug and Crime in

Central Asia, particularly the adoption of a regional

plan of action to control the illicit spread of drugs in

the States neighbouring Afghanistan and the

establishment of a security belt around that country.

We believe that the deployment in Afghanistan —

under the auspices of NATO — of the International

Security Assistance Force is an important factor in the

restoration of peace and security in the country.

Kazakhstan’s initiative regarding the Conference

on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in

Asia (CICA) — already a fact of international life — is

an effective tool designed to strengthen confidence and

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security in Asia. The first CICA summit, held in June

of 2002, became a milestone in that process and paved

the way for practical efforts to institutionalize the

Conference.

The draft catalogue of confidence-building

measures and the draft rules of procedure have already

been agreed and are expected to be adopted at a

ministerial meeting of the CICA countries, scheduled

to be held in October 2004 in Almaty. The adoption of

the catalogue will create a unique document

encompassing a range of measures in the military,

political, economic, cultural and environmental areas

designed to strengthen security and confidence in Asia.

As a newly independent State, Kazakhstan wants

to contribute to global harmony and stability. The fact

that our multi-ethnic State enjoys a large degree of

inter-confessional and inter-ethnic accord says a lot;

first of all, it is a confirmation that Kazakhstan has

become an integral part of the civilized community. We

categorically reject the concept of the clash of

civilizations and consider it to be counterproductive

and harmful, because it serves as a justification for

international conflicts and the barbaric actions of

international terrorists.

Kazakhstan firmly believes that dialogue and

harmony among civilizations are not only possible but

also necessary. For that reason, our head of State

initiated a congress of world religions, held in Astana

in September of 2003. The success of that forum has

strengthened our conviction that it is absolutely

essential to establish a dialogue and ensure peaceful

coexistence between religions and civilizations, in the

interests of peace and global security.

Kazakhstan reaffirms its strong commitment to

integration and multilateral cooperation at the regional

level. This approach, which promotes the sustainable

social and economic development of Kazakhstan, is

fully within our long-term interests. Such institutions

as the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, the

Eurasian Economic Community, the Organization of

Central Asian Cooperation and the Economic

Cooperation Organization play an ever-increasing role

in the efforts to strengthen security, develop economic

cooperation and create conditions for the prosperity of

our large region.

We have great expectations regarding integration

within the framework of the single economic space

made up of the territories of Belarus, Kazakhstan,

Russia and Ukraine. Our country also supports the

strengthening of the capacity of the Commonwealth of

Independent States (CIS) as a major and influential

international organization. Recently, President

Nursultan Nazarbaev has made concrete proposals

concerning the reform of the Commonwealth.

Kazakhstan reaffirms its commitment to the

implementation of its obligations towards the

Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe

and hopes that the upcoming ministerial meeting in

Sofia will develop new approaches to the reform of

that organization in order to adapt it to new challenges

emerging from our region. We also commend the

results of the cooperation with NATO within the

framework of its Partnership for Peace programme and

consider the possibility of increasing the level of our

cooperation with that alliance.

Kazakhstan continues to pay priority attention to

the development of its cooperation with Russia, the

United States, China, the countries of Central Asia, the

European Union and the Asian and Islamic countries.

We are now in a position to claim considerable

progress in that area, which has allowed us to create

favourable external conditions for liberal reforms in

the country. Having been given the status of a market

economy and enjoying a high rating in the financial

community, Kazakhstan has been recognized by the

international community as a leader among the post-

Soviet States in practically all economic indicators,

including direct foreign investments.

We welcome the start of a direct dialogue

between the Central Asian States and Japan and

consider that form of cooperation to be very

meaningful and promising. We also attach great

importance to the partnership between our region and

the United States in order to create a zone of free trade.

The Almaty Programme of Action, adopted by

the International Ministerial Conference of Landlocked

and Transit Developing Countries and Donor Countries

and International Financial and Development

Institutions on Transit Transport Cooperation, held in

August of 2003 in my country, has provided to the

landlocked Central Asian States an important tool for

the solution of their trade and transit problems. We

hope that the needs of inland States will be duly taken

into account in trade negotiations in order to provide

appropriate privileges and preferences to that group of

countries.

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It is a well-established fact that the transportation

policies of many countries, including Kazakhstan, are

closely linked to the delivery of hydrocarbons to world

markets. As a country with the potential to become a

major world exporter of oil and gas, Kazakhstan

attaches great importance to the determination of the

legal status of the Caspian Sea and to the signing of a

convention on that issue. An agreement by the littoral

States on the use of the Caspian Sea exclusively for

peaceful purposes has become an important

accomplishment in the negotiation process. Kazakhstan

holds the view that it is necessary to continue intensive

efforts in a five-party format, gradually overcoming

existing differences in the search for solutions that

would agree with the fundamental principles of

international law and promote the final determination

of the legal status of the Caspian Sea.

Kazakhstan is gravely concerned by the fate of

another sea — the Aral Sea. The continued degradation

of the environment of the region seriously affects the

health and livelihood of the population. The situation

in the Aral Sea region has acquired global dimensions;

the salt from its seabed has long been present in the air

in Europe and Asia, and even over the North Pole. Yet

the international community, unfortunately, is not fully

aware of the grave ramifications of this environmental

disaster. Technical assistance and financial aid to the

population of that long-suffering region have been

sporadic. We believe that a special General Assembly

resolution on the Aral Sea has long been overdue.

We also urge the international community to

reactivate fruitful cooperation in the solution of social

and economic problems facing the population around

the former Semipalatinsk nuclear testing ground. The

people of the region were the unwitting victims of

some 500 nuclear-weapons tests conducted in the heat

of the global arms race. We are grateful to the

Governments of Japan, the United States and other

donor States for the due attention being paid by them

to this screaming problem, yet we believe that, in this

particular case, multilateral cooperation would have

been more effective. The framework for such

cooperation is already in place in the form of a relevant

General Assembly resolution, whose potential has not

been used to the full.

In conclusion, I would like to emphasize that

Kazakhstan will continue to exert every effort to

strengthen global and regional stability, fight terrorism

and meet other challenges that we face today.