Kyrgyzstan

First of all, I would like on behalf of the delegation of the Kyrgyz Republic to congratulate Mr. Theo-Ben Gurirab on his election as President of the General Assembly for the current session. We hope that, as a result of his great experience, our work during this session will be successful. At the threshold of the third millennium a most pressing issue is facing humanity: the establishment of the new world order, which will affect the nature of the world in the future. The issue concerns all members of the international community, regardless of their place or the role they play in international relations. The continuing threat of the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction; problems involving the protection of the environment; technological and natural disasters; unresolved conflicts, terrorism and all forms of extremism, illegal trafficking in narcotics; the arms trade — these are serious sources of tension throughout the world. Recent events related to the settlement of the problem of Kosovo are another reminder of the huge price that continues to be paid in human suffering. Kyrgyzstan is striving to make a positive contribution to the achievement of the global goal of establishing a new world order founded on security, stability and prosperity. We wish to demonstrate to the international community our commitment to such universal principles as democracy, respect for human rights, support for market economies, the pursuit of good- neighbourly relations, stability and security — not only in our region but throughout the world. The years since our independence have convinced us that for Kyrgyzstan there is no more rational foreign policy than a balanced, multipolar approach focusing on the development of friendly, consistent relations both with States that play an important role in regional and world affairs and with those in which our country shares pragmatic interests. 29 Among the major international events for the Kyrgyz Republic in recent years I wish to mention the admission of our country into the World Trade Organization; the adoption, at the fifty-third session of the General Assembly, of a resolution — resolution 53/24 — proclaiming the year 2002 as the International Year of Mountains; and the elaboration by Askar Akayev, President of the Kyrgyz Republic, of the Silk Road diplomacy doctrine. President Akayev's Silk Road foreign policy is based on the ideas of global interdependence and of reviving the Silk Road as a bridge joining countries and civilizations so as to develop in the third millennium an intensive, multilevel, multifaceted system of communication between civilizations. It is no accident that the philosophy behind the Silk Road diplomacy doctrine carries over to the Republic's other foreign policy initiatives of recent years. These include the holding in Kyrgyzstan, under the auspices of the United Nations, of an international conference on Afghanistan; the proclamation of the year 2002 as the International Year of Mountains; and the active participation of Kyrgyzstan in the establishment of a Central Asian nuclear-weapon-free zone. In particular, enshrined in the doctrine is the idea that, given the current situation, reliable and dynamic political and commercial relations cannot be established without the strengthening of multilateral relations of mutual cooperation and trust between all the States of the region. The Silk Road policy requires Kyrgyzstan to establish and develop as fully as possible such relations with the countries of Central Asia in all sectors and cooperative areas, including the maintenance of regional and global security. The mutual cooperation of China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan within the framework of what is called the Shanghai Five is one of the most positive factors for the maintenance of security in Central Asia, and for Central Asia's development, and for its transformation into a region of peace, good-neighbourly relations and prosperity. Since the first meeting of the heads of State of the Shanghai Five and the signing of the agreement on confidence-building in connection with military activities in the border areas, the countries involved have, through friendly consultations, been able to generally settle border issues and reduce the armed forces present in the border areas. We have established and strengthened cooperation and with it increased security, peace and calm along the borders. From 24 to 25 August 1999, in Bishkek, the fourth summit of the heads of State of the Shanghai Five took place. As participants pointed out, we are now seeing a transformation among the Shanghai Five. Whereas in the past the group focused on military and political cooperation, now it is defining major directions for trade and economic cooperation. The role of the Bishkek summit in this context was to transform these understandings into practical actions. It is necessary specifically to point out the unique format of the five in the context of which countries of varying size, with different state systems, levels of economic development and military strength are cooperating. A concrete demonstration of this was the signing in Bishkek of an additional border agreement between China and Kyrgyzstan, which effectively removed from the agenda the question of inter-State demarcation and established a real basis for the transformation of the Kyrgyzstan-China border into a border of peace and mutual cooperation in the twenty-first century. Kyrgyzstan continues to participate actively in the process of creating a nuclear-weapon-free zone in Central Asia. An important role in the successful implementation of this initiative is being played by the consultative meeting of experts of regional countries, held under United Nations auspices. We feel that the rapid conversion of Central Asia into a nuclear-weapon-free zone is becoming a multidimensional issue, since the achievement of this goal will favour profound positive progress on the global, regional and subregional levels, as well as in the area of bilateral relations between the countries of our region. It will also be in harmony with the world community's aspirations to establish a safe nuclear-free future. As is well known, dramatic events have recently taken place in southern Kyrgyzstan in connection with the incursion into Kyrgyz territory of well-armed bandit groups of international terrorists with many years of experience fighting in Afghanistan and Tajikistan. As a result of the illegal actions of these terrorists, who are members of the implacable radical wing of Islamic extremism, a tense situation has emerged in the Batken and Chon-Alai areas of Osh Province. International terrorists have behaved barbarically, taking foreign hostages and murdering peaceful citizens. The bandits and the forces behind them have made brazen, arrogant and far-reaching attempts to impose their extremist views on the country and have decisively and irrevocably chosen the path of attacking peaceful democratic States and economic and social reforms. They have threatened the 30 security and destroyed the tranquility of each and every State of Central Asia. We are deeply concerned at having to confront such phenomena as the internationalization of Islamic extremism. Among the terrorists invading our country, we have observed not only representatives of States of Central Asia, but also foreign mercenaries. Events in southern Kyrgyzstan and in Dagestan, Russia, are links in the same chain, forged by international Islamic extremists seeking their own criminal objectives. These international bandits seek refuge behind the noble values of Islam, which they roughly flout, sowing death and suffering among peaceful populations. I wish to stress in particular the staunch and committed support of our friendly neighbours — including Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Russia — for Kyrgyzstan's efforts to eradicate these bandit groups. The States of the region have shown the international community their firm desire to work together and to coordinate their efforts in confronting international terrorism. In turn, Kyrgyzstan expresses its deep-seated hope for reciprocal support from the world community in its struggle against international terrorism, which is a worldwide threat. In this context, Kyrgyzstan highly commends the support and solidarity of the States members of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-building Measures in Asia, meeting at the level of Foreign Ministers in Almaty on 14 September. The Conference adopted a joint declaration on the situation in Kyrgyzstan in which it condemned the criminal activities of terrorists and expressed solidarity and support for my Government's fight against terrorism. The criminal acts of international terrorists in southern Kyrgyzstan have reinforced the need for a speedy settlement of the armed conflict in Afghanistan. It is becoming ever more apparent that the designs of the Islamic extremists based in Afghanistan and of the forces behind them are spreading their destabilizing influence throughout Central Asia through terror, murder, hostage- taking and drug and weapons trafficking. In this connection, I wish particularly to point out that the ongoing illegal transshipment of narcotics from Afghanistan across the territories of the Central Asian countries is a primary source of financing for the criminal activities of the Islamic extremists. We feel that the world community must take the most decisive measures to prevent these Islamic extremists from sowing violence, chaos and triumphal obscurantism in Central Asia. Kyrgyzstan intends broadly to support the efforts of the international community in the context of the “six plus two” group. In turn, striving to make our own contribution to the early settlement of the internal Afghanistan conflict, which has become a breeding ground for Islamic extremism in the region, our country is ready to provide facilities for the convening, under United Nations auspices, of a conference on peace in Afghanistan. Highly appreciating the importance to the international community of the United Nations as a universal Organization, Kyrgyzstan is profoundly interested in the successful reform of its work. We support comprehensive reform, which should encompass all the organs of the United Nations, including the Security Council, which must vigorously address all aspects of human development. The Kyrgyz Republic confirms its view of the need to expand Security Council membership and is also in favour of equitable geographical representation in both categories. There is no doubt that the process of reforming the United Nations should reflect upon the work of all its agencies. In our country today, we are seeing the successful work of such United Nations specialized agencies as the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Children's Fund, the United Nations Population Fund, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and others. We feel that effectiveness and results are the main criteria in assessing their work. It is necessary to give heightened attention to the work of those agencies from which we can obtain maximum output. In this connection, there needs to be more active efforts to enhance the quality of work to implement concrete measures designed to resolve socio- economic, cultural, humanitarian and legal issues. In this respect, I wish to highlight the important role played by UNDP, as the Organization's basic financing and coordination agency, to strengthen United Nations development efforts in such countries as Kyrgyzstan. In 1998, Kyrgyzstan became a pilot country in UNDP's new result-based approach. The results of the work of this system, which have been mainstreamed in all UNDP offices and headquarters, are being planned for use in a multi-year funding framework. We hope that this system will become an effective means of attracting additional funding. In this connection, we cannot fail to be concerned by the reduction in and unpredictability of UNDP core resources. We wish to appeal from this rostrum to the Governments of donor countries to 31 undertake to study closely the possibility of increasing, through UNDP, their assistance to States with economies in transition. In this difficult period for countries such as my own, assistance rendered through UNDP and other specialized agencies is an important factor in the strengthening of our independence, stability and progress. In conclusion, I wish to stress Kyrgyzstan's readiness to cooperate with all Members of the United Nations in achieving progress on a broad number of issues on the agenda of this final session of the millennium.