Tajikistan

Allow me first to congratulate Mr. Razali Ismail on his election to the post of President of the General Assembly at its fifty-first session. We consider this to constitute recognition by the community of nations of the growing role being played by Malaysia on the world political and economic scenes. The Republic of Tajikistan’s accession to full United Nations membership five years ago marked a new page in the history of my country’s relations with the Organization. Five years is, of course, a short period in history, but for our country they have been crucial. For the Tajik people, whose history over the past millennium has been full of tragic events, they were fraught with serious ordeals. These years saw both our breakthrough to sovereignty and one of the most tragic periods of our modern history: the civil war. Indeed, the question was whether one of the newest Member States was to continue to exist on the world map. The people of Tajikistan answered this question themselves, but the historical cost of the survival of the young State, which became the object of massive aggression from united extremist forces, including attacks carried out from the southern borders of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), was very high. It is already clear today that the conflict imposed on the Tajik people — an enormous human tragedy — was aimed at undermining the newly emerging foundations of the State and interfering with economic growth and market reforms and hence the country’s independent development along a general democratic course. The scale of the conflict and the degree of involvement of forces from the territory of a neighbouring State posed a threat to peace and security on the Asian continent as a whole. Fortunately, in its difficult struggle for political survival, Tajikistan was not left to fend for itself. The CIS States — primarily Russia and the central Asian countries, as well as the United Nations and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, supported the Republic and continue to do so. 23 Today, the Government of the Republic of Tajikistan is concentrating its efforts on tasks whose successful accomplishment will make it possible to reconstruct the social and economic infrastructure of the southern part of the Republic, which was devastated by the civil war; to reintegrate the disrupted regional sectors of the national economy on a new basis; and to convert the distorted centralized national economy that we inherited into a modern market economy. These tasks, difficult enough in their own right, are all the more complex because of a chronic shortage of our own financial resources. Thanks to the donor States, the United Nations specialized agencies and other international and regional organizations, Tajikistan continues to receive humanitarian support. The overall volume of the assistance received, however, is insufficient, while the economic situation inside the country continues to be very complicated. We note with satisfaction that, given these circumstances, authoritative international financial institutions have been understanding about our growing needs. As a result, the Government of Tajikistan, supported by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, is making deliberate efforts to intensify the reforms, create a market economy in the country and integrate the national economy into the world trade and economic system. A solid basis for progressive and sustainable development is being created in the country step by step. That is why the Government of Tajikistan is particularly interested in the adoption by the General Assembly at this session of decisions dealing with assistance to countries with transitional economies, taking into account the relevant provisions of the Agenda for Development. We also hope that the decisions of the most recent special session of the Commission for Social Development will be fully implemented. As the Assembly may know, the Commission emphasized once again the necessity for United Nations financial organizations to mobilize resources in support of the national efforts of the developing countries to implement the Copenhagen Declaration on Social Development and the Programme of Action of the World Summit for Social Development. This important Declaration acquires special significance on the eve of the first United Nations Decade for the Eradication Poverty (1997-2006). The stabilization of Tajikistan’s economy is not only the key to satisfying the pressing social and economic needs of our people, but would without a doubt promote the process of national conciliation, social consolidation, and the strong and healthy formation of democratic institutions in the country as a whole. As a post-socialist State at the very beginning of its democratic rejuvenation, the Republic of Tajikistan values highly the international experience it has accumulated within the United Nations. Such experience helps Governments to develop and strengthen new democracies. Drawing upon this rich international experience, my Government is purposefully taking important constitutional steps towards creating an open society. Firmly and consistently committed to the course of democratic development pursued by the President of the Republic of Tajikistan, Mr. Emomali Rakhmonov, the Government of my country promotes the involvement of the broad mass of the population in social, political and economic reform processes through such mechanisms as referendums, national elections to representative bodies, renovation of the judicial system and every possible encouragement of openness. An important practical step towards the further democratization of society was taken with the adoption of the treaty on national reconciliation in Tajikistan, initiated by the President and social organizations of the country. This treaty was signed by the leaders of the absolute majority of political parties, public movements, national associations and religious communities. We consider it to be a universal, basic document of national reconciliation that defines viewpoints for the formation of a State providing for the equal and full participation of all political and regional forces in national public life. The people of Tajikistan made a deliberate choice in favour of democratic reforms and they are not going to give them up voluntarily. However, the course is full of obstacles, which my Government is resolved to overcome in the interests of achieving the main goal: the formation of a civil society. One of the main problems hampering our building of a new society is an undeclared small war in the far south- east of Tajikistan and on the Tajik-Afghan border, which has been imposed on the Tajik people by the opposition Islamic Revival Movement of Tajikistan. The intransigent armed wing of the opposition is increasing tensions in the country by torpedoing the agreements reached at the inter- Tajik talks. By constantly and flagrantly violating the Tajik-Afghan sector of the southern border of the Commonwealth of Independent States, it is inflicting pain 24 and suffering on the civil population and causing irreparable damage to the unique wildlife of the Pamir region. The leadership of Tajikistan believes that the road to peace in the country lies through the continuation of dialogue and the resolution of existing differences through constitutional legitimacy and only by political means. The Republic of Tajikistan sincerely appreciates the active humanitarian mediation of the United Nations, which is searching for ways to resolve the conflict peacefully. My Government greatly values the personal contribution made by the Secretary-General, Mr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali, his Special Representative, Mr. Gerd Merrem, and the United Nations Mission of Observers in Tajikistan to the settlement of the conflict. We greatly appreciate the significant contribution made to the peace process by other international organizations, as well as by the States attending the talks as observers. In particular I would like to note the constructive role played by the Russian Federation. It has given us significant and considerable assistance in protecting Tajikistan’s border and ensuring security in general. We see this assistance as a strategic measure aimed at preventing the southern border of the Tajik part of the CIS from being violated. This task is being carried out by a group of Russian border patrol troops in Tajikistan, comprised for the most part of Tajik youths, and the collective peacekeeping forces with the participation of Uzbekistan, Kazakstan and Kyrgyzstan. It is appropriate to recall that the leadership of Tajikistan and the States whose military contingents are part of the collective peacekeeping forces of the CIS have repeatedly asked that these forces be granted the status of United Nations peacekeeping operation. I do not think this request is any less urgent today. We are well aware of the fact that the only prerequisite for effective dialogue is the moral willingness of the opposing sides to reach a possible compromise. The Government of Tajikistan has repeatedly demonstrated its good will by trying to meet the other side half-way and to breathe new life into the negotiating process whenever necessary. We will not tire of walking this, the only road to peace. At the same time, we consider the demands made by the opposition for an equal division of power and, particularly, the dismantling of existing State bodies as a condition for national reconciliation to be unrealistic and designed deliberately to lead to deadlock. The Government of Tajikistan is fully determined logically to finish what it has started and to find a mutually acceptable formula for peace in the country. And if the opposition takes a similarly constructive stance and strictly adheres to the Tehran ceasefire agreement, then there is hope that the Ashgabat agreements will lead to real political results and bring the long-awaited peace to Tajik soil. A striking illustration of this is the agreement reached on 16 September this year between the Government Commission and the opposition’s field commanders that brought peace, fragile though it may be, to this long-suffering land. The efforts of my Government to achieve peace would be even more fruitful were it not for the remaining tensions in neighbouring Afghanistan, where the situation is a humanitarian tragedy of a truly global scale. We would welcome efforts by United Nations Member States to find new ways to settle the conflict in Afghanistan. It is not only our geographical neighbour but also a country linked to Tajikistan by centuries-old historical and spiritual ties. While expressing grave concern at the latest developments in neighbouring Afghanistan, we support the steps taken by the Security Council and the General Assembly aimed at promoting a peaceful resolution of the Afghan conflict. The Republic of Tajikistan, for its part, is ready to join forces with other members of the international community and contribute to this constructive process, which may have a positive influence and help stabilize the situation along the Tajik-Afghan border. From this high rostrum, I cannot but express my gratitude to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) for its constructive and fruitful participation in solving a humanitarian problem: that of our refugees who have found themselves in Afghanistan as a result of the civil war. The three-year UNHCR operation in Tajikistan has ended with success. During this comparatively short period of time, with UNHCR assistance in finding a comprehensive solution to this issue, most Tajik refugees have returned to their homeland. With the support of UNHCR, the Government of Tajikistan renovated about 18,000 houses for the returned refugees. Programmes are being implemented, in cooperation with the United Nations Development Programme, to encourage the development of small enterprises, promoting social and economic conditions that can help repatriates gradually to adapt. 25 The United Nations Children’s Fund and the World Health Organization have made great and invaluable contributions to health care and disease prevention for women and children in Tajikistan. At the same time, we cannot but be concerned for the several thousand Tajik refugees still in Afghanistan. Their return to the homeland is being prevented by the armed opposition, which is linking their return to the resolution of political issues not directly related to this purely humanitarian act. We hope that, with the international community’s assistance and the support of the States concerned, a rapid and definitive solution can be found to this major problem. In this regard, I wish to express our support for the decisions of the Conference on Refugees, Returnees, Displaced Persons and Related Migratory Movements in the Commonwealth of Independent States and Relevant Neighbouring States held in Geneva in late May this year. It is very important that the decisions taken at this session of the General Assembly support the programme of action adopted at the Geneva conference. We are also concerned at the fact that military training bases of fighters belonging to the armed Tajik opposition continue to operate, without hindrance, on the territory of the Islamic State of Afghanistan, itself a country that has been plagued by civil war for almost two decades. This is where provocative cross-border sorties are carefully planned and new victims of terror and violence, including among the civilian population, are determined. Nor is it merely armed fighters that cross the Tajik-Afghan border. Beyond Pyandzh, drug manufacturing is out of control and drug trafficking and the sales of drugs to other countries, even to other continents, are consistently on the rise. Criminal elements and groups from certain regions in Afghanistan illegally circulate arms, thus undermining Tajikistan’s State security. It is well known that terrorists of every stripe have always fed off the drug trade and illegal arms sales. We, like other States, are particularly alarmed at the close relationship between some terrorist organizations and the illegal drug trade. Drug addiction has long been one of the most terrible social scourges on Earth. In Tajikistan, which has become one of the world’s “hot spots” in terms of the distribution of drugs coming from outside the country, we understand only too well the danger posed by drug abuse and illegal trafficking to people’s lives, health, dignity and economic prosperity, as well as to the political stability of a State. The consequences of these criminal acts can be felt not just in Tajikistan or the CIS, but far beyond the Commonwealth borders. All this poses a real threat to peace and stability throughout the Central and South Asian region, including Afghanistan. The Government of Tajikistan expresses its grave concern at terrorist activity around the world. We need a united front to curb the destructive wave of terror and drastically intensify the common struggle to prevent terrorism from emerging in any form. It is particularly necessary to create a reliable barrier against terrorists’ attempts to gain access to weapons of mass destruction. While unconditionally condemning all manifestations of terrorism, the Government of Tajikistan feels that the time has come to turn anti-terrorist cooperation under the auspices of the United Nations to practical action. In this regard, we must make full use of the resources of regional organizations. During the half a century of its existence, the United Nations has proved its viability; at the same time, however, it has reached the threshold of certain indispensable changes in its structure and activities. We feel that, in today’s unstable and transitional international conditions, the role of the United Nations should steadily grow. In our opinion, it is important to approach reform in a pragmatic way, concentrate on those issues that are ripe for resolution and maintain a reasonable balance between innovation and those mechanisms that have proved their efficiency. The most important thing is to enhance coordination within the framework of the United Nations; to focus efforts on such priorities as peacemaking, humanitarian crises, human rights, sustainable development and support to States with transitional economies; and to monitor strictly the use of limited available resources. The Government of Tajikistan feels that the integral element in comprehensive United Nations reform is the question of the further enhancement of the role of the Security Council as the most important instrument for maintaining and strengthening international peace and security. It is also our opinion that the expansion and renewal of the Council must be carried out in keeping 26 with Charter criteria for Council membership and the current status of its permanent members. We think that the Security Council would be made more representative by adding not only some candidates from among the industrial Powers, such as Germany and Japan, but also some representatives from Asian, African and Latin American countries. In this connection, the proposal made by the delegation of Italy is of great interest. In the autumn of 1995, when leaving United Nations Headquarters in New York, the leaders of the community of States once again affirmed the determination of their Governments to fight for the realization of our common ideals of peace and development, justice and sovereign equality and respect for human rights and basic freedoms, including the right to development. At that time, we adopted a historic Declaration as a commitment to the present and future generations of the Earth to exert our joint efforts to prevent a resurgence of both cold and hot wars and large-scale and small-scale conflicts in our global world. This is why we all have a great deal of creative work ahead of us — for the sake of all mankind and for the benefit of the future of our planet Earth.