Kazakhstan

Let me congratulate you, Sir, on your election to the high office of President of the General Assembly at its fifty-fourth session. We are confident that under your able leadership we will be able to address successfully the items on our agenda. Please allow me also to convey our appreciation to your predecessor, Mr. Didier Opertti, for his considerable contribution to the work of the General Assembly at its fifty-third session. We pay a tribute to the Secretary-General for his efforts to meet the unprecedented and complex challenges facing the United Nations. On the threshold of the third millennium — as at the beginning of this century — the world community must deal with substantive issues of war and peace. On the one hand, the process of globalization, which is unfolding before our eyes, has triggered a rich flow of ideas, capital, technologies, goods and services all around the world, having profoundly transformed our societies. Philosophically, mankind has taken a big step forward towards qualitatively new dimensions of existence. On the other hand, the world continues to be rocked by conflicts rooted in causes that have become compounded despite the advent of global technologies and communications. First among the causes of conflict is ethnic, national and religious intolerance. It is absolutely unacceptable that this most dangerous virus is spreading rapidly throughout many regions of today's world, giving rise to terrorist acts and bloody conflicts. The danger is that people affected by conflicts look for the sources of their troubles among other nationalities and religions. As a result, we face a vicious circle wherein death and desperation reign unchecked. We are confident that civilized society, by pooling its resources, will eventually be able to break out of this vicious circle, having convinced people of the benefits of a conflict-free existence. If we talk about the antagonism between war and peace, then we have every right to demand the use of means to enforcing a sustainable peace, including military means. At the same time, it is impossible to ignore the fact that the present world order is in desperate need of reliable measures to ensure balance between the essential elements of its support structures. Kazakhstan shares the view of those States which believe that in the next century the world should be multi-polar and free of centres of power and dividing lines, confrontations and showdowns, interference in the internal affairs of others and imposition of policy directives. Cooperation and mutual understanding, democracy and sustainable development will define the core of the coming world order. We believe that the United Nations remains a unique intergovernmental institution that ensures a positive trend in the development of international relations. Kazakhstan calls for a strengthening of the United Nations, the only forum that is universal both in terms of its composition and in terms of the comprehensiveness of its agenda. Only the United Nations has the right to address fundamental issues of peace and security. The Yugoslav crisis has clearly demonstrated how urgent the issue of strengthening the authority of the United Nations has become. We are becoming increasingly convinced of the need to enhance the responsibility of the Security Council for the maintenance of international peace and security and to make authorization of certain actions its exclusive prerogative. The nature of many conflicts makes this an especially challenging task. That is why we believe that to be able to adapt to new political realities, the Security Council should enter the twenty-first century renewed and strengthened through the admission of new permanent members, first of all Japan and Germany, as well as non- permanent members representing different regions of the world. The efforts to consolidate the international regime for the non-proliferation of all weapons of mass destruction and put in place effective controls over the production of fissile material remain at the centre of our policy for achieving global security and stability. Kazakhstan has made an important contribution to non-proliferation and to putting an end to nuclear-weapon testing. We consider the decision to admit Kazakhstan to 21 membership of the Conference on Disarmament as adequate recognition of our actions in this direction. Renunciation of nuclear weapons and accession to the Non-Proliferation Treaty and the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty have become natural choices for our country, which has felt the full brunt of the harmful effects of nuclear testing. Kazakhstan vigorously advocates further consolidation of the non-proliferation regime, and supports the initiative to establish a nuclear-weapon-free zone in Central Asia. Our country has consistently called for the creation of security structures in Asia. As is well known, at the Assembly's forty-seventh session, the President of Kazakhstan, Mr. Nursultan Nazarbaev, put forward an initiative to convene a Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA). On 14 September, the opening day of the current General Assembly session, after seven years of negotiations and discussions, Almaty hosted the first meeting of the Foreign Ministers of the Asian States members of the Conference. Government officials responsible for foreign policy signed a Declaration of Principles Guiding Relations between CICA Member States which confirmed the Asian States' strong commitment to and goodwill towards efforts to ensure security and stability in the region. Thus, for the first time in history, a legal foundation for an Asian security system has been laid. It is difficult to overestimate the significance of this development in the context of the international community's efforts to strengthen international security. We are talking here about a region that is home to more than 3.5 billion people and that accounts for more than 40 per cent of world trade. We are grateful to all the States participating in the CICA process for their support for our initiative and for their genuine willingness to work together to build a security system for Asia. I take this opportunity to express our appreciation to Secretary-General Annan, for his close attention to and support for the initiative by Kazakhstan. Recent political developments attest to how urgent the need is to create a security system in Asia. I refer here to terrorist incursions in southern Kyrgyzstan and to terrorist acts in the Northern Caucasus in Russia. From the point of view of security in our region, we believe that the outcome of the latest summit of the “Shanghai Five” is very important. Its participants created a mechanism of confidence providing for transparency in military activity and reduction of those activities in border areas, settlement of border issues and a regular exchanges of information on military activities. The heads of the five States believe that multipolarity reflects a general trend in the development of the contemporary world and contributes to the long-term stability of the international situation. Kazakhstan calls for a lasting and just peace in Afghanistan within the negotiation process, according to the “six plus two” formula. At the same time, we believe that the Afghan peace process should involve all the States concerned. For this reason, Kazakhstan supports the proposal to convene a representative international conference in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, on the settlement of the conflict in Afghanistan. Kazakhstan highly appreciates the United Nations efforts to promote the integration of the economies in transition into the world economy. Our country counts on continued cooperation with the United Nations on the issues of consultative services and technical assistance. We are firmly committed to the policy of deepening regional economic cooperation and actively using for this purpose the capacity of the United Nations. Our country is satisfied with its cooperation with the Economic Commission for Europe and the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific in the elaboration and implementation of the Special Programme for the Economies of Central Asia. We support the revival of the Silk Road. Geographically, Kazakhstan, along with other Central Asian States, plays the role of a bridge connecting the two continents. During the era of the Roman Empire trade routes between Rome and Shanghai passed through the region. The revival of the Silk Road will boost the economic development of the Central Asian region. In current conditions it is envisioned that the Silk Road will be revived by building on three pillars: energy, a transcontinental transportation system and telecommunications. The thrust of this project — which reflects global, regional and local interests — is to develop the natural resources of the region, first of all its large oil and gas fields. One has to bear in mind, however, that no large-scale pipeline project can be realized without the hydrocarbon resources of Kazakhstan. In view of the increased competition in the world energy-carriers markets, Kazakhstan is giving priority attention to the construction of oil and gas pipelines. The northern Caspian pipeline consortium project, scheduled for completion in 2001, is a top priority for our country, 22 because when it is operational Kazakhstan will be able to double, at a minimum, both its oil production and its export deliveries to foreign markets. We pin many of our hopes on the development of the hydrocarbon resources of the Caspian Sea shelf. For this reason we believe that the issue of the legal status of this sea is of fundamental importance. Kazakhstan commends a breakthrough agreement with Russia on the delimitation of the seabed in the northern part of the Caspian Sea on the basis of a modified median line. The issues of sustainable development, environmental protection and rehabilitation of ecological disaster areas have become especially pressing at the end of this century, and demand immediate action. Kazakhstan is interested in the mobilization of the international community to solve environmental problems, because it has disaster areas, such as the region of the former Semipalatinsk nuclear testing ground, the dying Aral Sea and other zones. Our country, which suffers from desertification and floods, is also directly affected by global climate changes. On behalf of the Government of Kazakhstan, I would like to express our great appreciation to the States concerned for their support for the efforts to overcome the serious social, ecological and humanitarian problems of the Semipalatinsk region. The adoption of two General Assembly resolutions on international cooperation and coordination for the human and ecological rehabilitation and economic development of the Semipalatinsk region has undoubtedly contributed to an interest in and reflection on the outstanding issues. Special words of appreciation are due to the Government of Japan and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) for sponsoring an international conference convened at the beginning of September in Tokyo. The outcome of this representative forum reverberated throughout our country. We consider this conference a practical contribution by the Government of Japan and the UNDP to the implementation of the relevant General Assembly resolutions. In this regard, I cannot miss this opportunity to recognize important work by the International Atomic Energy Agency, the United Nations Children's Fund, the United Nations Population Fund and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, as well as by the donor countries that acted as cosponsors of the conference. Kazakhstan is taking concrete steps to democratize its society and to deepen its political reforms. Kazakhstan's head of State has introduced a programme that covers such important areas as elections, political parties, the Parliament, the judicial system, the status of women and the mass media. Earlier this year the first open and contested presidential elections were held in Kazakhstan. The refinement of the election process continues. The law on elections has been amended to reflect the recommendations of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. Its provisions will be used in the parliamentary elections scheduled for this October. The election process is becoming more representative, encouraging active involvement of candidates and voters. A programme of phased transition to holding elections for local and regional governments is being developed. The role of non-governmental organizations, an important element of a civil society, is being enhanced. The judicial system and the mass media are steadily becoming more independent. Achieving an open society, with a market economy, is the course for Kazakhstan's further development. The process of democratization in our country is gaining momentum and has become irreversible. Along with political reforms, Kazakhstan is taking vigorous actions to protect the long-term interests of foreign investors. Our objective is to ensure — through the creation of a favourable investment climate in the country — its full integration into the world economic system of today. Kazakhstan expresses support for the efforts of the Secretary-General to reform the Organization in order to enhance its effectiveness and capability to respond adequately to emerging problems and challenges. We believe that concrete results in the renewal of the Organization can be achieved only through joint efforts of all Member States. That is why all States should continue their coordinated efforts to strengthen the role of the United Nations in the promotion of global stability and security in the next century.