UZBEKISTAN

ADDRESS BY
H.E. Mr. Abdulaziz KAMILOV
Minister of Foreign Affairs
General Debate of the 57th session of the United Nations General Assembly
New York, 19 September 2002

Distinguished Mr. President,Your Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

At the outset, allow me to congratulate Mr. Jan Kavan on his election as President for the current session of the General Assembly. I would also like to express appreciation to Mr. Hang Seung-soo for an excellent organization of the work of previous session of the General Assembly.

A year ago the world confronted the acts of terror, unprecedented in scale and barbarity. We all remember the September 11th events and mourn the lives lost.

The events of the last autumn, first of all, show that the security threats take new dangerous forms. The phenomenon of terrorism has become more complex. At the current stage the world has contended with organized international terrorism.

The UN devotes much attention to the fight against international terrorism. We welcome the UN Security Council Resolution 1373, which stipulates the establishment of the Counter-Terrorism Committee to coordinate and increase the efficiency of the international community's efforts to fight this most dangerous threats of the XXI century. 1 would like to recall in this regard that

Uzbekistan strongly urged establishment of a such committee within the UN back in 1999.

Uzbekistan is one of the few countries that are parties to all 12 conventions on combating terrorism. We sincerely hope that the appeal by the Secretary-General Kofi Annan to the UN member states to join and ratify these documents will be followed and put into practice.

Uzbekistan supports the international counter-terrorism coalition as a matter of principle and stands ready to make its contribution to enhance global and regional stability.

Distinguished delegates,

The September 11th events made the world face up to the situation in Afghanistan and opened the eyes of the international community to the fact that terrorism has no borders and that only through join efforts we can defeat this perilous challenge to the humanity. In a strict and, I would say, categorical way the September 11th events reminded everybody that 20 years of war turned Afghanistan into breeding ground and hotbed of international terrorism that threatens not only the neighboring countries and nations, but entire humanity.

We are gratified by the positive developments in that country, we welcome the convening of the Loya Jirga, and the transitional government led by President Hamid Karzai.

Despite the successful completion of the military phase of the counter terrorist operation, today there could be no room for complacency.

Firstly. Huge amount of weapons accumulated during the long years of war still remain in the possession of militant groups. Moreover, in this context, there could be no justification for the attempts of certain states to supply ever more weapons to this long-suffering land.

To ensure stability and prevent military confrontation it is important to resolve a problem related to reduction and collection of huge mass of weapons accumulated in Afghanistan. Clearing the Afghan territory from weapon arsenals belonging to criminal groups will also reinforce the activities of the UN and regional institutions to thwart the illicit arms trade.

Secondly. The post-war dislocation, economic disaster, as well as the lack of resources to rebuild Afghanistan may become a catalyst for social unrest that could be used by certain militant forces inside and beyond Afghanistan to spiral up a new round of military confrontation.

Thirdly. On the territory of Afghanistan there are still different groups, the remnants of Taliban, still capable of conducting subversive actions and guerrilla warfare. Confrontation remains among various warlords-leaders of different ethnic groups.

Fourthly. The situation on drug trafficking remains almost unchanged. Afghanistan is still the world's main supplier of opium and heroin. According to many international experts, the removal of the Taliban regime does not mean yet the elimination of the criminal narcotics business in Afghanistan. Today the whole world is seriously concerned about this problem. There is a need for adequate measures and assistance by the entire international community, as well as the Afghan authority's support of efforts against narco aggression.

Drug trafficking has recently been transformed into a global phenomenon. We have to deal with massive and ever increasing penetration of narcotics mafia into different spheres of the political, social and economic life. We have to deal with one of the most perilous threats to humankind - narco aggression.
The number of narcotic addicts runs into hundreds of millions. Proliferation of drug addiction undermines both the health of living generations and gene pool of nations. It brings degradation and extinction. Populations in both the developing world and highly developed countries are equally exposed to this threat.

Making great efforts to fight drugs production, abuse and trafficking, the Republic of Uzbekistan fully supports the measures undertaken by the United Nations and international community to confront these threats.

I would like underline that it is much easier and more effective to fight drugs trafficking where it is launched. Therefore, we have to block huge flow of the Afghan drugs directly at the boundaries of the Central Asian states, rather than `hunt' for bits and pieces, small grams and kilograms, in Europe and other developed countries.

In this regard, it is deemed advisable to shift from numerous counter narcotics program of small efficiency to the concrete solution of this acute problem by allocating the UN-controlled resources and means to nip the narcotics trafficking in the bud, i.e. on the spot.

Mr. President,

Today the attention of the entire international community is riveted to the issue of Iraq. In this regard we support the statement of the United States President George Bush delivered from this very rostrum.

The measures towards resolution of the current situation proposed by the President of the United States deserve a thorough consideration and may be taken as a basis for the elaboration of the UN Security Council's position.

Mr. President,

Uzbekistan attaches great significance to the strengthening of the global process of non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. Our country has already received credits for its activity in this field. Strategy of Uzbekistan in ensuring security is based on the country's participation in the UN-led process of disarmament, arms control and reduction.

Uzbekistan fully supports the principle of indivisibility of security and in this context, being an initiator of the Nuclear- Weapon-Free Zone in Central Asia, acknowledges the responsibility for strengthening the nuclear nonproliferation regime and takes active part in elaboration process of international instruments in this field.

Uzbekistan proposes to sign the practically finalized and agreed draft of the document on Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone in Central Asia in Semipalatinsk, the former site for hundreds of nuclear tests, in the presence of the UN Secretary General Kofi Annan during his upcoming visit to the Central Asian Region.

Distinguished Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen,

The Republic of Uzbekistan supports proposals made by the SecretaryGeneral Kofi Annan on the United Nations reforms. This is necessary for an appropriate adaptation of this Organization to the dynamic changes in the international arena. Uzbekistan considers the UN Security Council reforms to be a part and parcel of the entire UN system evolution.

The current structure of the Security Council reflects the realities of the past era. The world has changed since then. We believe that Japan and Germany have the legitimate rights for the permanent membership in the Security Council. All necessary grounds for this are available in this regard.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

In conclusion, I would like to recall that it has been 10 years since Uzbekistan became the UN member. Yet it is very gratifying to see the UN family expanding. We congratulate Switzerland and the Democratic Republic of East Timor on their decision to become the fully-fledged parties to the multilateral co-operation and dialogue. It should mean that the idea of peace and noble principles of the global security system are the order of the day.

Thank you for attention.