Tajikistan

It gives me great pleasure to join in the warm congratulations to Sheikha Haya Rashed Al-Khalifa upon her assumption of the office of President of the General Assembly at its sixty-first session. We are confident that her extensive professional and life experience will be instrumental in addressing the issues faced by the General Assembly. Tajikistan also welcomes the accession of Montenegro to the United Nations. On this occasion, on behalf of the Government of our country, I would like to extend our sincere congratulations to the Government and people of that friendly State. A year has passed since the historic Summit confirmed the common views of the international community on the key issues of our time and on the United Nations as the universal international Organization whose goals and objectives are focused on the collective search for answers to the questions of concern to the entire international community. The leaders of our States declared that only strict compliance with the United Nations Charter, a comprehensive collective approach and mutual trust can ensure international security and development. The latest developments in the Middle East have proved once again the need to enhance the coordinating role of the United Nations in addressing global and regional issues. Tajikistan is in favour of further strengthening the United Nations and lends its overall support to the process of its ongoing reform. As for Security Council reform, it should be undertaken by consensus, with due consideration for the interests of all Member States. We believe that it was broad consensus that made possible such major accomplishments as the holding of the first session of the Human Rights Council, the launching of the Democracy Fund and the establishment of the Central Emergency Response Fund. Of special importance was the establishment of the Peacebuilding Commission, whose objective is also to sustain peace and development in post-conflict countries. The Government of Tajikistan was among those that actively advocated the establishment of an efficient United Nations body of that kind — one that would focus on issues of coordination and targeted support for countries emerging from armed conflict. Tajikistan’s painful but ultimately successful transition from civil war to peace convincingly demonstrated the need for an international peacebuilding agency to assist the Security Council and other United Nations bodies 06-53341 12 in their efforts to accelerate the rehabilitation of countries emerging from crisis and to create guarantees for the non-recurrence of such conflicts. Stable peace prevails in Tajikistan today, and national accord and respect for political pluralism have been achieved. The complex process of establishing democracy is under way, and all political forces involved are aware of their ever-increasing responsibility for the fate of our country. In compliance with the Constitution and valid legal procedures, new effective Government institutions are being successfully built. Respect for the law is increasingly the rule rather than the exception. Civil society is developing at an accelerated pace. Citizens determine their own destiny through active participation in the life of the State. The forthcoming presidential elections, scheduled for November 2006, will be an important milestone on the road towards peace and will open a new page in the history of the establishment of Tajik statehood. In Tajikistan, as in the majority of United Nations Member States, the issue of sustainable development ranks among our top priorities. Today, we are fully aware of how instrumental the United Nations agenda has been in enhancing sustainable development and eradicating poverty, epidemics, famine and illiteracy the world over. At the same time, the implementation of a large-scale programme to achieve the Millennium Development Goals will require not only extra effort, but also considerable financing. In that regard, we expect tangible results from the work of the Commission on Sustainable Development and the High-level Dialogue on Financing for Development. In that connection, we highly value the outcome of the United Nations High-level Dialogue recently held in New York, which helped States concerned with issues of migration to reach constructive mutual understanding. Migration has been an issue of vital importance to our country since the outbreak of the civil war, when a part of the Tajik population had to leave the country. I would like to emphasize the special role and capacity of the United Nations in strengthening international cooperation in the field of migration and development. In this regard, Tajikistan is resolved to achieve as much progress as possible in implementing the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). In recent years, tangible progress has been achieved in the implementation of a number of goals, and the foundation has been laid for enhancing efforts in this area. But long-term stability in Central Asia in the years to come is inseparable from the development of regional integration. Currently, vast opportunities are emerging in the Central Asian region for the implementation of large- scale economic projects, the creation of a unified market of commodities and services and the establishment of conditions for attracting capital investment. Potential foreign investors see Central Asia as a single entity; and, primarily, as a common market. Economic integration will become a powerful factor in the sustainable development of the region and will bring about the reduction of poverty and the improvement of well-being. For this reason, Tajikistan will continue to stand for strengthening of ties and the expansion of mutually advantageous cooperation among the States of the region. The current positive processes in Afghanistan also create favourable conditions for regional cooperation in implementing transportation and communication projects which will provide the region with access to the southern seaports. The creation of new multi-modal transport corridors and the revival of the Great Silk Road routes will form a unified interconnected system of communications and make it possible for Central Asian States to gain access to promising markets. It is also obvious that in many respects the attainment of the MDGs depends on assistance rendered by the international community to developing countries. Tajikistan joins the request addressed to the donor community to at least double the amount of assistance provided for the purposes of long-term development. The process of exchanging the debts of developing countries for national projects in the field of sustainable development remains an urgent issue. One of our planet’s major assets is the fresh water indispensable for sustaining life. Our common goal in this respect is to develop qualitatively new patterns for the sustainable management of water resources and for addressing water-related economic issues at the national, regional and international levels. This can be achieved through a combination of appropriate support from the international community and national efforts, 13 06-53341 with the leading role being played by countries and regions faced with the water-resource problems. In this regard, Tajikistan hopes for the continued active involvement of the Member States in the activities of the International Decade for Action, “Water for Life”, 2005-2015, including the successful holding of the International Freshwater Forum in Dushanbe in 2010. In order to coordinate activities in this area the Government of Tajikistan is establishing the National Water Committee. It will monitor progress and develop effective ways of attaining the goals of the water Decade at the national, regional and global levels through cooperation with the countries and international organizations concerned. Our efforts in the area of water are part and parcel of the strategic programme for the attainment of the MDGs. It is well known that international terrorism, transnational organized crime and illegal drug trafficking obstruct sustainable development. Tajikistan believes that the United Nations and its Security Council provide a unique opportunity for the development and implementation of joint measures to confront international terrorism and the narcotics threat. We entirely support the report of the Secretary- General entitled “Uniting against terrorism: recommendations for a global counter-terrorism strategy”, and we view the outlined principles for confronting new challenges and risks as major instruments for counteracting those threats. The response of the international community to the complex strategic threat of terrorism must also be comprehensive. The community of nations must intensify its efforts to counteract the instigation of acts of terror, the spread of terrorism ideology, extremism and separatism, religious and ethnic intolerance and hostility, and the financing of terrorism. Universalizing and improving an international legal framework to counter terrorism remains an urgent issue. The speedy approval of the draft comprehensive convention on international terrorism will serve the interests of all countries and peoples in the United Nations community. Tajikistan will continue to support the strengthening of the United Nations as the core institution in this area. The global system for counteracting terrorism currently being shaped cannot be established without the involvement of regional and subregional organizations. This should be taken into account when adopting measures aimed at combating any manifestations of extremism and violence at the regional and global levels. We regard participation of regional structures in this process as one of the major prerequisites for ensuring collective security. Among the structures of this nature in our region are the Commonwealth of Independent States, the Collective Security Treaty Organization and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. We believe that long-term success in combating terrorism and religious extremism depends on the elimination of the deep-rooted causes of these negative phenomena, generated by social and economic problems in the society. Prevention of illegal drug trafficking, which, to a certain extent, serves as a breeding ground for terrorism and international crime, must become part and parcel of our common struggle against terrorism. In this regard I would like to reiterate that Tajikistan is prepared to continue a constructive dialogue and cooperation with the aim of establishing an efficient global partnership to counteract the narcotics threat. It must be said that current efforts at counteracting the narcotics threat are not sufficiently effective. For this reason, we believe that financial and technical assistance to Afghanistan, to be rendered within targeted programmes, and the creation of a modern, efficient and capable Afghan border service to safeguard the external borders, including the Afghan- Tajik border, would be a worthy application of the efforts of the international community in this area. Also, within the anti-narcotics partnership, we suggest enhanced interaction with the Afghan structures with the purpose of adopting joint measures to prevent drug trafficking across the Afghan-Tajik border. We are convinced that these measures could serve as a basis for the proposed establishment of the first section of the security belt around Afghanistan. Involvement in the constructive process of Afghanistan’s neighbours and factoring in the regional aspects of the post- conflict rehabilitation of that country may well be key to the success of the efforts undertaken by the international community. Today, the regional dimension becomes one of the key factors of long-term development. Broad and constructive regional economic cooperation in Central Asia, which possesses considerable natural resources, is of particular importance at the present juncture. We believe that achieving that goal could enable Central 06-53341 14 Asia to become self-sufficient in terms of energy, fuel and food supply and a dynamic, developing region of the world. Therefore, we believe that the achievement of the MDGs should hold a place in the new structure of global security currently being shaped, and become one of the tools for addressing new challenges and threats. Today, as never before, it is becoming increasingly obvious that a security policy needs to be integrated into development. The scale of the challenges facing the international community dictates the need to further strengthen our Organization. There is no doubt that we must do everything we can to make the United Nations more effective in dealing with issues of international security. The collective approach should keep us from making hasty and emotional decisions, since we are dealing with the Organization responsible for collective security, sustainable development and protection of human rights. It is with the United Nations, despite some of its imperfections, that humanity places its hope for a peaceful and just world order, for tangible achievements in the fields of combating poverty and natural disasters. A responsible attitude towards the United Nations is in the interests of each and every Member State.