Tajikistan

First of all, allow me to congratulate Mr. D’Escoto Brockmann on his election to the office of President of the General Assembly and to express the hope that, under his leadership, the General Assembly at its sixty-third session will achieve its goals, the most important of which are the further strengthening of the United Nations system for the sake of peace and international security and addressing the global issues that are becoming the challenges of the twenty-first century. This year, humankind has faced a number of interrelated crises, including the energy, food, climate and financial crises that have combined to cause a general development crisis. The consequences of those newly emerged challenges have had the most severe impact on the social conditions of millions of people in the developing countries and on States with transitional economies, my country among them. However, people have not lost their hope for a more just and fruitful world. They pin their hopes on a powerful and efficient United Nations capable of mobilizing and focusing its resources on solutions to the most urgent issues of the day. We believe that there is an urgent need to efficiently develop dialogue and cooperation among all the entities of this multipolar world and to avoid applying double standards in international relations. It is equally important not to allow people of different races, religions, continents and regions to be set against one another. No single country in the world, not even the most powerful, is capable of meeting single-handed the challenges of our time, which range from climate change to the necessary uncompromising fight against international terrorism. Today more than ever before, the new generation of global issues requires a collective response and the United Nations, entrusted with a broad mandate, is the only existing instrument capable of addressing them. One example of the new generation of global issues is the human right to an adequate food supply. The dramatic rise in the cost of food and energy has 08-51845 2 called into question the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The food crisis has affected the poorest populations in the most negative way. In Tajikistan, 93 per cent of whose entire territory is mountainous and only 7 per cent suitable for agriculture, the food crisis has affected two thirds of all households. Additional coordinated efforts and efficient measures are called for if we are to avert a further degradation of the situation of global food security. In the present circumstances, the use of food for biofuel production is inhumane and immoral. Our hope is that donor States will undertake all the necessary political, financial and economic measures to prevent a worsening of the food crisis. If they do not, millions more could suffer further impoverishment. We also expect that official international assistance will be increasingly allocated to the development of agriculture and that artificially created barriers in trade will eventually be removed. It is quite obvious that the United Nations should play the key role in addressing the food crisis and related world agricultural policy. Tajikistan supports the activities of the United Nations High-level Task Force on the Global Food Security Crisis mandated to design urgent response measures to the food crisis. The efforts of the Task Force should also be focused on assistance and on developing joint agreed long-term approaches to ensuring food security throughout the world. The High-Level Conference on World Food Security in Rome and the resulting adoption of a declaration were important steps in that direction. Within the Food and Agriculture Organization, it is necessary to revitalize activities in the transfer of advanced technologies and seeds and in the provision of financial and technical assistance to developing countries. We call for enhanced support for the assistance programmes being implemented through the World Food Programme. The lives of millions of men, women and children on Earth depend on their ability to exercise their human right to an adequate food supply. That issue requires not protracted discussions, but resolute practical action, since the food crisis, which deprives human beings of their dignity, is no less of a threat than terrorism itself. We believe that the world’s leading countries should act more responsibly to mitigate the consequences of the global energy, food, climate and financial crises, particularly with regard to the poor and developing States, which are most affected by the devastating consequences of those phenomena. Tajikistan, which has fertile soil and is rich in water resources, can make its own contribution to the resolution of that problem. More than 55 per cent of all water resources in the Central Asia region originate in Tajikistan. Not only is that amount of water sufficient to meet the freshwater needs of agricultural irrigation and related economic sectors in the region; it can also serve as a major source for the generation of ecologically sound electrical energy. Tajikistan’s hydropower capacity, in particular, is estimated at 525 billion kilowatt-hours, and only 5 per cent of that capacity is currently being utilized. It is only by taking a comprehensive and mutually beneficial approach to the use of hydropower and other natural resources that the States of Central Asia can ensure sustainable development in the region and help to resolve its food and environmental problems, notably through the efficient use of those resources. Only mutually beneficial cooperation aimed at such use can bring well-being to the peoples inhabiting that vast region. We hope that our plans will be supported by the Bretton Woods institutions and by United Nations partners in the private sector. I believe that we need to create an economic mechanism for the transfer of water and energy resources, which would serve the interests of both upstream countries, which are rich in water resources, and downstream countries, most of which are rich in hydrocarbon raw materials. The problem of climate change is already affecting our region, in particular its water resources. As a result of global warming, Tajikistan’s glaciers have diminished in size by more than 30 per cent. That has produced low water levels in our rivers over the past three years, which in turn has caused grave social and economic problems by triggering drought, a locust invasion and other difficulties. Without the implementation of hydropower projects, our country will be unable to achieve the MDGs or arrive at sustainable growth, as shown clearly last winter, when weather of unprecedented severity revealed all the difficulties of the transitional period. Next winter and summer are expected to be even more challenging. Obviously, water is an essential resource, because it is needed not only to sustain human life, but also for industrial purposes, environmental protection and the 3 08-51845 entire development process. Addressing urgent water- related issues and promoting international cooperation in meeting the water challenge are the goals of the International Decade for Action, “Water for Life”, 2005-2015, which was initiated by the Republic of Tajikistan. I invite Member States to designate representatives to participate in the International Freshwater Forum, to be held in Dushanbe in 2010, to review the practical implementation of the internationally agreed water agenda. Despite the many water-related events held throughout the world at various levels in recent years, the issue of water remains urgent. For that reason, in order to ensure that water issues are comprehensively addressed and that efforts taken at the national, regional and global levels are strengthened, the Republic of Tajikistan proposes that a special session of the General Assembly be convened to review progress made in achieving the goals set for the Water Decade and identify areas for further action. Today, in addition to the general debate, a high- level event on the Millennium Development Goals is being held at United Nations Headquarters. My country regards timely achievement of the MDGs as a priority issue. The Government of Tajikistan has been implementing its national development strategy up to 2015. The strategy, developed at the initiative of the United Nations and with its direct involvement, reflects a largely new approach to development. It takes into account global experience in the area of development, the implementation of similar strategic documents, lessons drawn and conclusions reached during the previous stages of the country’s development, current realities and development prospects. However, I must note that the federal financing of the country’s social progress is limited by the growth rate of our economy. It is obvious that, in many respects, achievement of the MDGs depends on the approach taken by the international community to the provision of assistance to developing countries and the timely mobilization of internal and external resources. In that respect, Tajikistan associates itself with the appeals made to the donor community to double its development assistance, which is vital for the support of sustainable growth and for the achievement of internationally agreed goals. The proposal that debts accrued by developing countries be relieved in exchange for the implementation of national projects in the area of sustainable development remains relevant. The soaring costs and, in many cases, artificially inflated prices of hydrocarbon raw materials and food have considerably worsened and complicated the financial situation of poor and developing countries. Even partial cancellation of their debt would help, since it would release funds that could be invested in education and the entire social sector, environmental protection, the fight against HIV/AIDS and other areas. The forthcoming Follow-up International Conference on Financing for Development to Review the Implementation of the Monterrey Consensus, to be held in Doha, will provide a good opportunity for the further development of effective measures to provide the resources needed to achieve the MDGs. Our hope is that the Doha Conference will provide new impetus for the implementation of the Monterrey Consensus and that it will enhance the spirit of global partnership and solidarity. The situation in Afghanistan, which has been devastated by a long period of conflict and violence, is a source of grave concern. Afghanistan needs not only a larger military presence on its territory, but also targeted economic, technical and humanitarian assistance. Experience has shown that military action against terrorist groups is often far less effective than carefully thought-out non-violent political and economic measures. We must, as a matter of urgency, realistically consider involving other influential regional actors, including the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, in resolving the Afghan issue. Strengthening international cooperation in the fight against terrorism is inseparable from counteracting the trade in illicit drugs. It is essential that we assist the Government of Afghanistan in destroying the technological and financing links of the modern illicit-drug industry. Consolidated efforts to that end will enhance the achievement of the goals set out in the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy and the Paris Declaration. The global system of fighting terrorism, transnational organized crime and illicit drug trafficking which is currently being shaped cannot be built without support from regional organizations. In this regard, Tajikistan salutes the efforts of the United Nations to expand its cooperation with relevant regional organizations. These are powerful structures, and involving them in addressing global issues will 08-51845 4 prevent modern challenges and threats from taking on undesirable dimensions. The United Nations and peacebuilding are inseparable. We appreciate the devotion of those who selflessly worked at the United Nations Tajikistan Office of Peacebuilding and pay tribute to those who lost their lives while performing their professional duty. The settlement model for the inter-Tajik conflict, involving assistance from the United Nations and guarantor States, has been acknowledged as a unique example of both peacebuilding and preventive diplomacy. We support the Secretary-General’s initiative to reform the peacekeeping machinery, and we believe that it is essential to continue providing the relevant political, financial and logistical support to peacekeepers in order to help them cope with their difficult missions. Tajikistan endorses the priority attention given by the United Nations to enhancing the effectiveness of assistance to countries that have endured internal conflicts and supports the activities of the Peacebuilding Commission, which is mandated to contribute to ensuring coordination and enhancing the effectiveness of international assistance to such countries. In order to strengthen peace and stability, countries that have suffered internal conflicts need not only humanitarian assistance but also concrete help in dealing with their economic and social problems, along with support for their efforts to establish the foundation that is essential for a transition to sustainable development. This year the international community celebrated the 1,150th anniversary of the birth of Abuabdullohi Rudaki, the founder of Tajik-Persian literature. The essence of his moral philosophy can be described as praise for such eternal spiritual values as kindness, beauty, tolerance and mutual assistance. Centuries later, the poetry of Rudaki continues to call for strengthening friendship among nations and expanding dialogue among civilizations; it sings a hymn to humanism and harmony. As noted by the Secretary- General, “Rudaki’s timeless and profound writings provide an inspiration for the Alliance of Civilizations, our initiative to counter extremism and heal the divisions that threaten our world”. (Press release SG/SM/11646) I am confident that the common human values praised by Rudaki are in harmony with the objectives pursued today by the United Nations worldwide. I am very optimistic about our ability to make the world a better place and to meet the aspirations and hopes of our peoples.