Uzbekistan

In my statement, I should like to dwell on those questions, which, in our opinion, demand special attention. First among these is the issue of security and the maintenance of regional and global stability. Today, we are forced to recognize that terrorism is one of the principal challenges and threats to international security and stability in the twentieth century. Should the United Nations react to this most daunting challenge? Yes. The coordination of the efforts of the international community in the search for legal mechanisms to fight terrorism at the global level has become urgent. The struggle against terrorism transcends the problems of one country or even groups of countries. I take this opportunity to emphasize in particular the serious threat of terrorism facing the States of Central Asia. In this respect, I wish to say the following. First, terrorists, using Islam — one of the world’s most peaceful religions, founded on the greatest cultures of civilization — as a cover, are seeking to attain the broadest of political goals: the creation of a new regional and ultimately global order. The terrorists’ methods of assassinating peaceful civilians and creating diversions radically contradict the principles and values of Islam. Secondly, terrorism is undergoing an intensive process of internationalization. Extremists working in Central Asia are consolidating their ranks with recruits from throughout the world. Terrorism has neither nationality, borders nor any particular belief. Attempts to give terrorism, and international terrorism in particular, a national or ethnic character do not reflect reality and have their own dangerous consequences. Thirdly, the fight against terrorism requires coordinated international efforts and wide recognition of the legitimate rights of States to protect their citizens from terrorist assaults. Terrorists casually and most insolently attack peaceful populations and deprive human beings of their fundamental right to life. Fourthly, the global danger of terrorism is obvious today. There is an understanding at the international level of the need for coordinated action. At the same time, we do not fully understand the rather subdued reaction of the international community and the major States to the most dangerous spread of terrorism in Central Asia, posing the threat of regional and global destabilization. Finally, the contemporary wellsprings of terrorism, where it is born and nurtured, are the theatres of military conflict. In our region, that means Afghanistan. A working meeting of the “six plus two” group in the special format, with the participation of representatives of the two main parties to the Afghan conflict, was held in Tashkent two month ago. The discussion resulted in the signing of the Tashkent Declaration, defining the fundamental principles for the peaceful settlement of the conflict in Afghanistan. Uzbekistan supports increased international efforts to further assist the stabilization of the situation in Tajikistan and the rapid elimination of new hotbeds of tension in southern Kyrgyzstan, which has become a new target for invasion by international terrorists and extremist forces. In this regard, I would propose the adoption of a resolution by the General Assembly to consider the problem of terrorism in the framework of the Security Council, as well as the establishment of an informal group to coordinate efforts aimed at fighting terrorism and extremist crimes. We also support the proposal to convene an international conference on the fight against terrorism. We believe that the international community, in 29 preparing for the Millennium Assembly in the year 2000, should show its determination by defining extremist crimes and drafting its explicit understanding of the threat of terrorism. The Republic of Uzbekistan is recognized around the world as an authoritative supporter of the non-proliferation of the nuclear weapons. Uzbekistan is party to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) and the Convention on Physical Protection of Nuclear Material. The Republic was among first countries to sign an Additional Protocol to its agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency on the application of safeguards in connection with the NPT. These actions revealed not only a deep understanding of the importance of these international documents, but also our desire to make a real contribution to solving the problem of the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons, improving the planet’s ecology and strengthening global security and regional stability. The issue of establishing nuclear-weapon-free zones is firmly established on the disarmament agenda. It is already widely recognized that the creation of such zones is a unique instrument in the process of nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament, which undoubtedly strengthens international and regional peace and security. Let me express the conviction that this topic will be considered as one of the major issues in the work of the 2000 NPT Review Conference. The value of this step is of special importance in the light of nuclear testing in South Asia and the clear tendency towards a global arms race. Substantial progress has been achieved towards the realization of the Central Asian initiative to establish a nuclear-weapon-free zone. The Central Asian countries, through their common efforts and with the support of the United Nations, have come considerably closer to concluding a treaty on the establishment of a Central Asian nuclear-weapon-free zone. I hope that, at the meeting to prepare the draft treaty to be held in Japan in few days, the experts of the Central Asian countries will be able to finalize the draft. The Republic of Uzbekistan supports the measures proposed by Secretary-General Kofi Annan to reform the United Nations. The implementation of the reform programme will go a long way towards adapting the United Nations to the demands of the modern world. The Secretary-General’s proposal to convene the Millennium Assembly and the Millennium Summit in the year 2000 must be implemented. The year 2000 is a unique symbolic moment to affirm the position of the United Nations and to strengthen its role as a leading force in the twenty-first century. The Republic of Uzbekistan continues to consider Security Council reform to be a necessary and urgent process. Any delay in this process will prevent the United Nations from adapting efficiently to the dynamics of the coming millennium. We are convinced that Germany and Japan can rightly claim permanent membership of the Security Council. We are also in favour of an increase in the number of new non-permanent members of the Security Council. The deteriorating problem of the Aral Sea requires me once again to call on the Assembly for support. With the help of international organizations, the opinion that the Aral Sea crisis can be resolved only through humanitarian intervention has gradually taken root in the perception of the international community. But this is not the case. Measures of this kind have not given positive results on any continent where mankind has been faced with ecological catastrophes. In this connection, it is necessary to develop and implement, with the assistance of the United Nations specialized agencies and donors, a specific, long-term strategy and programme of revitalization for the Aral area, that would affirm the principles of sustainable development, prevent a deterioration of quality of life for people living in the region and ensure a dignified standard of living for future generations. We are hoping for the effective support of such international financial and economic institutions as the World Bank, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and others, as well as donor countries, in the normalization of the ecological situation and in meeting the pressing needs of the population living in the affected area. The problem of Aral Sea can be solved only with the help of an adjusted financing mechanism and the conscientious work of experts. The Republic of Uzbekistan comprehensively supports efforts of the United Nations and the international community aimed at counteracting the illegal cultivation, transportation and consumption of narcotic substances. The problem of drugs should be considered a danger in that it gives rise to terrorism, international crime and money-laundering. 30 The illegal sale of drugs is the most profitable shady activity in the modern world. The transnational structures controlling global trade in drugs appear in most cases to be more mobile than the structures opposing them. Today, as has been pointed out by previous speakers, more than 90 per cent of the drugs in some European countries are of Afghan origin. According to a 1998 annual report on international drug control, starting in 1995 Uzbek customs employees halted the attempted illegal export from Europe to Afghanistan of 72 tons of raw chemical material used for heroin manufacturing. This reaffirms the conclusion about the internationalization of the narcotic business and the emergence of international terrorism, which is no less dangerous. During the twentieth special session of the General Assembly, devoted to the fight against the illegal manufacturing, sale, purchase, transport, trafficking and spread of narcotic substances, we advanced many concrete proposals, including the establishment of a regional coordination centre to fight drug-trafficking and the drug business. Concrete forms of cooperation between Central Asian countries and the European Union were defined. We call for more work by the United Nations International Drug Control Programme (UNDCP) in the region of Central Asia. The conclusions of experts show that the Central Asian region is considered by the criminal world an important transit area for the transport of drugs to Europe and North America. Specific UNDCP projects aimed at the development of technical possibilities to control the transit of goods by providing border services with up-to-date methods of drug detection could contribute to this fight, which can hardly be regarded as the problem of one region alone. In this regard, we welcome the establishment, on the initiative of the Secretary-General, of the United Nations Office on Drug Control and Crime Prevention’s regional office operating in Uzbekistan. The process of democratization is long and complicated, especially if it runs parallel to large, extensive economic reforms. However, the real threat to democracy, security and stability in the region stems from the sphere of transnational crime. In this respect, we state our firm support for the work of the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice. For this reason, the Republic of Uzbekistan has expressed its intention to present its candidature for membership of the United Nations Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice for the period of 2001-2004. We hope that the tenth United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and Treatment of Offenders, to be held from 10 to 17 April 2000, in Vienna, will be devoted to the search for answers to the challenges of the twenty-first century, as indicated in a number of its main topics. We would like to focus on the work of UNDP in Uzbekistan. As the largest United Nations programme rendering assistance to developing countries in their process of development, UNDP, together with the Government of Uzbekistan, is carrying out a number of useful projects. We hope that such cooperation will be continued in the future as well. Nevertheless, I would like to say a few words about one problem that has emerged in our cooperation with UNDP and that, in our view, must be explained. The proposed regional UNDP Programme for development of the Fergana Valley has not received the support of our Government. In our opinion, the substance of the project has not been sufficiently considered and could entail negative consequences. Despite the exhaustive and comprehensive substantiation by our Government of the unacceptability of this project, which interferes with the security of the region, attempts to involve our country in the participation of the programme by distributing erroneous information throughout the international community have been undertaken during the last three years by UNDP and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. We sincerely hope that the new UNDP Administrator, Mr. Brown, will take note of Uzbekistan’s assessments. At the same time, we note with satisfaction the new style of work at the UNDP mission in Uzbekistan, which was recently headed by Mr. Kral. In conclusion, I wish to refer to the book written by the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan, His Excellency Mr. Islam A. Karimov, Uzbekistan at the Threshold of the Twenty-first Century: Threats to Security, Conditions and Guarantees of Progress, which says, “As we enter the new millennium, we extend to everyone the hand of friendship and mutual 31 understanding, symbolizing this with the words security, stability and sustainability of growth and development. For we believe that the realities these words signify constitute the most solid foundation for global geopolitical balance, and for the peace, prosperity and well-being of every individual country, which will enable every human being to face the future with confidence”.