First of all, I would
like to congratulate you, Madam, on your election to
your high office and express confidence that, under
your skilful stewardship, the sixty-first session of the
General Assembly will be successful and fruitful.
Last year’s World Summit reaffirmed the role of
the United Nations as an indispensable and universal
forum for taking important action on today’s burning
issues. The Summit’s decision to carry out United
Nations reform, the most radical in its history, is a case
in point. We are now in a position to give a preliminary
assessment of the work in that area. The results,
unfortunately, are mixed.
On the one hand, helpful decisions have been
taken to establish new elective bodies within
the United Nations system — the Peacebuilding
Commission and the Human Rights Council. They
were set up thanks to the intensive efforts of all
delegations, which were able to reach a compromise
through negotiations. On the other hand, the lack of
any progress on the issue of reforming the work of the
General Assembly and the Security Council is
seriously impeding the institutional reform of the
Organization. In our view, further delays in that
process might have a negative impact on the United
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Nations efforts in the areas of international stability,
security and development.
For the delegation of Kazakhstan, the current
session is, in a way, an anniversary session. We are
taking part in the work of this forum for the fifteenth
time. While consistently advancing its national
interests in the international arena, my country is
firmly committed to the purposes and principles of the
United Nations Charter.
The establishment in Asia of a mechanism of
cooperation to enhance regional security and stability,
known as the Conference on Interaction and
Confidence-building Measures in Asia (CICA), was
one of Kazakhstan’s first initiatives, put forward from
this rostrum in 1992. We can safely claim that the
initiative has proved its viability and has become an
important factor of international relations at this
juncture, as evidenced by the outcome of the second
CICA Summit, held in Kazakhstan last June. The
documents adopted by CICA, such as the Catalogue of
Confidence-building Measures and the Agreement on
the Establishment of the CICA Secretariat, have
created propitious conditions for regional cooperation
and multilateral dialogue in Asia.
Kazakhstan has consistently called for an
enhanced nuclear-weapons non-proliferation regime.
That position is rooted in the sufferings of our people,
who are still reeling from the negative effects of
nuclear explosions at the Semipalatinsk nuclear testing
ground, shut down exactly 15 years ago by decree of
President Nursultan Nazarbayev. The position was
bolstered by the historic decision of my country to
voluntarily renounce its nuclear arsenal, which used to
be the fourth largest in the world.
We want that step to serve as a commendable
example in the light of the ongoing large-scale crisis
that has struck the global security system. Regrettably,
the lack of any result at the last Review Conference of
the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of
Nuclear Weapons (NPT) and the United Nations
Disarmament Commission remains a major challenge
for the international community.
It is time to make coordinated efforts to overcome
that crisis. The process to that end has already made a
good start. The Treaty on a Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone
in Central Asia, signed on 8 September in
Semipalatinsk, is a demonstration of the political will
of five Central Asian States: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan,
Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. The signing
of that milestone instrument could become a catalyst
for the process of enhancing the NPT. We believe that
tangible progress in that area is possible if all Member
States comply with their obligations regarding nuclear
disarmament and the vertical and horizontal
proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. The
Central Asian States are ready to continue
consultations with the permanent members of the
Security Council on the issue of that Treaty’s entry into
force.
In our view, the States concerned should strictly
comply with their commitment to a moratorium on
nuclear test explosions and work to ensure the entry
into force of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban
Treaty. All peaceful nuclear programmes should be
carried out in a transparent manner under the control of
the International Atomic Energy Agency.
It is a matter of great concern that the crisis has
extended not only to strategic, but also to conventional
weapons. Regrettably, Member States have so far failed
to devise common approaches to the Programme of
Action in that area. We have to step up efforts to
tighten national export-control mechanisms. I refer
first and foremost to dual-use materials and
technologies, as well as to missiles and the means of
delivery of weapons of mass destruction, with full and
strict compliance with the provisions of the Security
Council resolution adopted in 2004.
The possibility of weapons of mass destruction
falling into the hands of terrorists is a matter of grave
concern. To prevent such a scenario, we have to push
for the accession of all United Nations Member States
to the International Convention for the Suppression of
Acts of Nuclear Terrorism.
We live in a world where tensions between States
and armed conflicts are still very much a part of
everyday life. The crisis in Lebanon has highlighted
yet again the need to use effectively the United Nations
capacity to maintain international peace and security.
Since the early days of the conflict, Kazakhstan has
called for the strengthening of the Security Council’s
role in the settlement of that crisis.
The deployment of a strengthened contingent of
United Nations peacekeepers in the conflict zone was
the only viable solution to that large-scale crisis.
Regrettably, the lack of an effective mechanism to
prevent the break-up and spread of armed conflicts
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remains a serious problem. In our view, the
establishment of a United Nations preventive
diplomacy and conflict prevention centre in Central
Asia remains a relevant proposition. That Centre would
focus on the provision of advice and expertise to the
countries of the region, taking into account their
national interests and security considerations.
It is vitally important to identify how the belated
adoption of the Security Council resolution on
Lebanon is consistent with the process of United
Nations reform. The inefficiency of the institutional
system of the United Nations and the lack of broad
understanding among Member States negatively affect
global and regional stability and security.
Kazakhstan has decided to run for a seat on the
Economic and Social Council. We express our
appreciation to those Member States that have
supported our nomination. If elected, we intend
actively to participate in the work of that important
United Nations organ on all substantive items on its
agenda.
Speaking from this high rostrum, I feel obliged to
express serious concern about the resurgence of
international terrorism. Recent explosions in Iraq and
Turkey and the aborted London terror plot indicate that
this global threat is clearly growing. It is impossible to
counter the threat without consolidated efforts on the
part of the entire international community to speed up
the implementation of relevant counter-terrorism
conventions and Security Council resolutions. We have
to strengthen cooperation between Member States at
the United Nations. The early conclusion of a
comprehensive convention on international terrorism is
very much on our agenda.
With illegal routes for the delivery of Afghan
drugs from Asia to Europe running through its territory,
Kazakhstan makes every effort to address that threat,
yet it is clear that no country in the world can address
it effectively on its own. The fight will be effective
only if we join our efforts and mobilize the resources
of the United Nations and its specialized agencies. It is
precisely for that reason that Kazakhstan has supported
the United Nations initiative to set up in Kazakhstan a
Central Asian regional information and coordination
centre to fight illegal drug trafficking.
We welcome the results of the General
Assembly’s High-level Dialogue on International
Migration and Development. We believe that those
discussions have helped to lay the groundwork for a
regular dialogue on that issue among all parties
concerned. As a country of destination, transit and
origin for migration, Kazakhstan is willing to take an
active part in the search for solutions to the problems
of illegal migration, labour migration and the
protection of the rights of migrants.
In our view, development issues should remain
the focus of attention of the international community.
The timely and effective achievement of the
Millennium Development Goals will grow in
importance as we approach 2015. Kazakhstan supports
decisions on development issues taken at major
international conferences and United Nations summits,
and calls for their timely and effective implementation.
As the largest landlocked country, Kazakhstan
urges the international community — above all the
developed countries — to make every effort to meet
the needs of the least developed and developing
landlocked countries.
The structural reforms carried out since its
independence have totally transformed Kazakhstan.
Today, it is one of the most dynamic States of the
world and has set ambitious goals to promote further
development. The average growth of our gross
domestic product over the past five years is 10 per
cent. The World Bank has included Kazakhstan in the
top 20 most attractive economies for investment. The
Government works to ensure that Kazakhstan will join
the ranks of the most competitive economies. To reach
that target, we have developed an innovative industrial
economic development programme and finance
relevant projects through a special national fund. All
the basic development institutions have been
established. Negotiations on Kazakhstan’s admission to
the World Trade Organization are in their final stages.
Programmes are being implemented to use the
transport and transit capacity of the country, and large-
scale projects are being carried out to integrate the
country’s transportation infrastructure into the Eurasian
transportation system.
Kazakhstan renews its commitment to the
Millennium Development Goals. The United Nations
Development Programme report issued on the eve of
the 2005 World Summit demonstrates that our country
has made great strides in that area.
As a major exporter of energy resources,
Kazakhstan will continue to pursue its policy to ensure
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their delivery to world markets through multiple
routes. With the growing economy, the Government is
consistently increasing social spending, primarily in
health care, education, employment and other areas.
Our efforts have made it possible for the World Bank to
rank Kazakhstan as a successful State with a
dynamically growing economy.
We pay close attention to the promotion of
democracy, the building of civil society and the
enhancement of inter-ethnic and inter-faith accord
within the country. Our accomplishments are evident.
My country, home to more than 100 ethnic groups and
practically all religions, is a model of tolerance, accord
and stability.
It is no accident that Kazakhstan has hosted a
forum of leaders of world and traditional religions. The
second congress has just completed its deliberations in
Astana, at which religious leaders adopted a
declaration calling for an active dialogue among
religions. We cannot allow the use of religious
differences as an instrument of hatred and strife, and
we have to save humanity from a global clash of
religions and cultures. The congress has become
Kazakhstan’s contribution to global dialogue among
religions.
Kazakhstan carries out a balanced foreign policy
based on our long-term national interests and aimed at
the development of friendly ties with neighbouring
countries and all interested countries of the world.
As the current Chair of the Commonwealth of
Independent States, my country has devised a plan to
reform that organization in order to enhance its
capacity. Kazakhstan has been working actively in the
Shanghai Cooperation Organization and the Eurasian
Economic Community and supports the Collective
Security Treaty Organization.
Ahead of the other post-Soviet countries in many
areas, Kazakhstan has always assumed responsibility
for the implementation of international initiatives,
whether it be the decision to shut down the
Semipalatinsk nuclear testing ground, or to voluntarily
renounce nuclear weapons, or its initiatives to convene
a regional security forum in Asia, or to hold a congress
of leaders of world and traditional religions or to host
the first global conference on transit-transport
cooperation or to host a special meeting of the Security
Council Counter-Terrorism Committee. In 2007,
Kazakhstan will host the sixty-third session of the
United Nations Economic and Social Commission for
Asia and the Pacific.
We express our appreciation to all States that
have supported Kazakhstan’s candidature for the
chairmanship of the Organization for Security and
Cooperation in Europe in 2009. Kazakhstan will
continue to be active on all key items of the global
agenda.
In conclusion, I would like to quote a popular
saying in my country: “Nothing can be farther than
yesterday and nothing can be closer than tomorrow”. A
year ago, at the World Summit, we agreed to take
action to reform the United Nations. We should not
forget that humanity pins its hopes for a better future
on the United Nations as an indispensable
Organization. It is high time to take specific and
effective action to raise the prestige of our
Organization.