Kyrgyzstan, 1998

Allow me to congratulate Mr. Didier Opertti on

his election to the important post of President of the

General Assembly at this session. This is a testimony to the

widespread recognition of the country that he represents. I

am convinced that his rich experience and diplomatic skill

will allow him to successfully conduct this session of the

Assembly and deal with the important tasks before it.

I would also like to express my sincere thanks to the

President of the General Assembly at its fifty-second

session, the former Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ukraine,

Mr. Udovenko, for his fruitful work over the past year.

It would be difficult to underestimate the importance

of the United Nations in the fields of peace and security,

development, human rights, ecology and economic

cooperation. Kyrgyzstan wishes deeply to see the

Organization successfully reformed. The SecretaryGeneral’s “quiet revolution” of institutional reforms, begun

a year ago, has given new strength to the United Nations

mechanism.

The first, most important steps towards making this

revolution a success have already been taken, but a great

deal remains to be done. As the previous session showed,

the process of reforming the Organization so that it is

prepared to respond to the challenges of the coming

millennium will require more time and more work than

expected.

The reforms of the United Nations will be

incomplete if they do not apply to all of its organs,

including the Security Council. We judge the Council by

its effectiveness. In that connection, we support the

Secretary-General’s proposal to expand the role of the

Council. We share his view that the Council should deal

with economic and social processes, which have an

impact on peace and security, just as energetically as it

works to resolve political issues. We also believe it

essential not only to improve the working methods of the

Council, but also to expand its membership. In our

opinion, the quantitative expansion of the Council should

take place in both categories of membership and provide

for equitable geographic representation. Further, the new

permanent members of the Council should have all the

privileges appropriate to their status.

The difficult reform process that all aspects of

Kyrgyz society have been undergoing during the seven

years of our independence has yielded certain results. The

main result has been the preservation of political stability,

further democratization of the society and the extension

of economic reforms.

Lacking access to the sea, Kyrgyzstan is seeking

new transport routes, which are essential for facilitating

the movement of goods, capital and services into the

region. It is acquiring new information technology and

electronic communications, which will help the country

modernize. Kyrgyzstan wishes to develop regional

cooperation within the framework of the Central Asian

economic community and the Commonwealth of

Independent States. It also believes in the necessity of

cooperation with other regions.

In that connection, I would like to mention the

timeliness and importance of President A. Akayev’s

doctrine of “Silk Road Diplomacy”. A revival of the idea

of the great Silk Road presupposes the transformation of

the area along the road into a zone of stability, security,

cooperation and equitable partnership. The idea of

reviving this road also represents a commitment to

creating favourable conditions for increased international

cooperation so that we can take joint action to solve the

global problems that confront mankind at the threshold of

the third millennium.

The national strategy of the Kyrgyz Republic

highlights sustainable development as the basis for stable

and secure human development as we enter the new

millennium. The implementation of the decisions adopted

at the World Summit for Social Development are of

29

immense importance for the Kyrgyz Republic. For countries

with economies in transition — countries seeking to find

their way to sustainable growth — it is especially important

that there be coordination and joint action within a

revitalized United Nations, the Bretton Woods institutions

and regional organizations in order to accelerate the

integration of these countries into the world economy.

A priority for Kyrgyz development is solving the

three-headed problem of modern times: how to promote the

economy, ecology and social development. I should point

out that ecology is the cornerstore of sustainable

development for Kyrgyzstan. The harmony of man and

nature is at the heart of the sustainable development

programme adopted by the Government of Kyrgyzstan last

year.

Kyrgyzstan is a mountainous country; most of its

territory — 95 per cent — is covered by mountains.

Mountains, as is well known, are an important source of

fresh water, biological diversity, mineral resources and

energy, as well as being extremely important for tourism.

At the same time, however, mountains means surprises and

dangers. Earthquakes, landslides, avalanches, floods — all

threaten human lives and require enormous financial and

material expenditures. In that connection, Kyrgyzstan is

deeply grateful to United Nations Member States for their

support of its initiative to declare the year 2002 an

international year of mountains, and we request them to

continue to support the initiative at this session of the

Assembly.

The Kyrgyz Republic’s policy of peace, which is

focused on the new trend towards a multipolar global

system, presupposes, inter alia, a safe, non-nuclear future.

The specific steps Kyrgyzstan has taken in the area of

nuclear disarmament and in strengthening the nuclear nonproliferation regime confirm its commitment to this policy.

Appropriately, the Central Asian countries’ initiative

to create a nuclear-weapon-free zone was on the agenda of

the fifty-second session of the General Assembly. During

that session a resolution on the establishment of such a

zone in Central Asia was adopted by consensus.

Today it is a pleasure for me to state that the

consultative meeting of experts of Central Asian countries,

nuclear-weapon States and the United Nations, which took

place on 9 and 10 July in Bishkek, laid the legal foundation

for the Central Asian initiative. This is a new stage in the

creation of the zone. In this connection, we believe it useful

to continue regular meetings between experts of the

regional working group and those of the nuclear-weapon

States, with the participation of representatives of the

United Nations and the International Atomic Energy

Agency.

This year’s session coincides with the fiftieth

anniversary of United Nations peacekeeping operations.

Kyrgyzstan completely supports the peacekeeping efforts

the Organization has undertaken in various global hot

spots. At the same time, we believe that, along with

peacekeeping operations, more attention should be paid to

the early prevention of conflicts — so-called preventive

or quiet diplomacy aimed at preventing disputes from

turning into conflicts.

Kyrgyzstan is seriously concerned by the armed

conflict that has lasted for almost two decades in

Afghanistan. We are also seriously alarmed at the military

confrontation and the grave humanitarian situation in

Kosovo, the situation in Africa and the absence of

progress in the Middle East, Cyprus and the Korean

peninsula.

However, we are equally concerned about the

financial crises in South-East Asia, Russia and Latin

America and the nuclear- weapons tests conducted by

India and Pakistan. For, as history shows, the sources of

conflict, despite being very different, are at the same time

very similar. Armed conflicts are accompanied by

violence, mass exodus of refugees, illegal trafficking in

drugs and weapons and flagrant disregard for and

violations of human rights. The territory of countries

experiencing armed conflicts is often utilized to train

professional mercenaries and terrorists.

Terrorism long ago crossed national borders and

became international in nature. Thousands of innocent

people have become its victims, including children,

women and elderly people. Particular phenomena of the

past century have been terrorist bombings and nuclear

terrorism. We support the proposals for accelerating work

on a draft convention to combat acts of nuclear terrorism.

Kyrgyzstan firmly opposes any form or type of terrorism

and calls on the international community to pool its

efforts against this global threat.

Kyrgyzstan’s six years as a Member of the United

Nations have been a good training ground for

participation in the United Nations family. Together with

other countries, we have striven to establish a world of

greater justice, to achieve social progress in the interest of

humankind and to assert human dignity and equal rights for

all.

As the twenty-first century draws closer, what the

world becomes will depend primarily on our joint efforts —

the efforts of all United Nations Member States.