Êðóãëûé ñòîë 1. ÂÎÑÒÎÊ Â ÎÁÙÅÑÒÂÅÍÍÎÉ ÌÛÑËÈ È ÊÓËÜÒÓÐÅ: ÈÑÒÎÐÈß È ÑÎÂÐÅÌÅÍÍÎÑÒÜ
O.B. Abdimuminov
On the third leg of the five-country tour to Central Asia, the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon visited Uzbekistan on April 4-5, 2010. The visit started in Nukus included the helicopter flight over the Aral Sea with the stop in Muynak. In a former port city, Secretary-General encountered local community members who had spoken of life before the rapid shrinkage of the Aral Sea and that at present. Speaking to journalists in Nukus upon return from the visit to the Aral Sea region, including the ship cemetery, Secretary-General said he was
«shocked» at the sight, and termed it as «one of the worst environmental disasters of the world»2.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon met the Uzbekistan President Islam Karimov on April 5 to discuss issues of regional security and cooperation, environment, development and human rights. The meeting was followed by the signing ceremony of the joint declaration between the United Nations and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization which Uzbekistan currently chairs.
Kazakhstan and UN: The Republic of Kazakhstan became a member of the United Nations on 2 March 1992 (GA resolution 46/224). The United Nations system started its country-based operations in Kazakhstan in early 1993 after the conclusion of an agreement between President N.Nazarbayev and then Secretary-General of the United Nations Boutros Boutros-Ghali on 5 October 19923.
Over the past more years, the UN Agencies have provided significant support to Kazakhstan. They supported the drafting of a wide number of strategies, programmes and legislation dealing with macro-economic reform, social issues, improvement of health and environmental management. The most prominent of them is the long-term development strategy Kazakhstan 2030. The UN Agencies also carried out pilots and projects at local level4.
Working within the United Nations System every agency has its own area of expertise, focus and mandate.
The heads of these agencies form the UN Country Team (UNCT) led by the Resident Coordinator. The UNCT, drawing on the collective strengths of all agencies, funds and programmes, aims to make a strategic contribution to the achievement of national development priorities. In 2000 in New York, together with other world leaders, the President of Kazakhstan added his signature to the Millennium Declaration.
The Millennium Development Goals, set forth in the Declaration, in many ways are harmonious to Kazakhstan national priorities and objectives, which are in the process of being realized. Political, economic and social reforms have been successively implemented. Our achievements in the areas of institution building and democracy development are considerable.
Further, Kazakhstan is now acknowledged as a state with a market economy. Our country is a full member of the international community and a recognized leader of global integration processes. Kazakhstan has entered the new millennium with confidence. The economy has been experiencing growth over the last number of years. We are fully aware that economic success must be felt by every citizen of our nation5.
Kazakhstans presence in the Organization is steadily increasing. Today there are 17 missions, programs, funds and specialized agencies of the UN in the republic, half of which has a sub-regional and regional status, covering the states of Central Asia, the CIS and Eastern Europe. These structures provide significant support to the government of Kazakhstan in addressing social, environmental and other issues6.
UN in Kazakhstan will be further guided by the national priorities outlined in national development strategies, by the Millennium Development Goals and other international commitments undertaken by Kazakhstan. Looking into the future, the UN Country Team is committed to work towards implementation of its mission: to work in close partnership with the Government, civil society, the private sector and other actors to improve the lives of the people of Kazakhstan.
Turkmenistan and UN: Turkmenistan became a member of the United Nations in March 1992. As cooperation with Turkmenistan was initiated, different UN agencies established their offices in the country in the early 90s to provide support in a variety of areas envisaged by their respective mandates7.
Since 1995, after the UN General Assembly recognized and supported Turkmenistans status of permanent neutrality through its resolution, the foreign policy of Turkmenistan has become grounded on the principle of
2 UN Secretary-General visits Uzbekistan. Newsletter UN in Uzbekistan. January April 2010. P. 12.
3 United Nations in the Republic of Kazakhstan. United Nations Office, Astana 2008. P.2.
4 http://www.un.kz/en/pages/2.jsp 6 January 2013 year.
5 Millennium development goals in Kazakhstan. Printed in Taimas Print House in 2002. p.1.; Millennium Development Goals in Kazakhstan. 2005 y; Millennium development goals in Kazakhstan. Office of the United Nations in Kazakhstan. Astana, 2007.
6 Natalia Valuiskaya. 20 years of Kazakhstan-UN cooperation to be marked in 2012.»Êàçàõñòàíñêàÿ ïðàâäà» îáùåíàöèîíàëü-íàÿ åæåäíåâîáùåíàöèîíàëü-íàÿ ãàçåòà ¹ 3 (27277) 5.01.2013.
7 Turkmenistan and United Nations: partners for change. Ashgabat, 2007. P.3.
neutrality. The General Assembly resolution specifically welcomed the desire of Turkmenistan to play an active and positive role in developing peaceful, friendly and mutually beneficial relations with the countries of the region and other States of the world.
The neutrality status bestowed on Turkmenistan by the UN General Assembly obviously comes with the responsibility for the country to effectively demonstrate its commitment to the UN charter and conventions and to become proactively involved in the promotion of peace and regional security. Moreover, the country has contributed as a mediator towards the settlement of disputes. For example, Turkmenistan initiated the holding, under UN auspices, of a continuous round of inter-Tajik talks in Ashgabat which advanced the establishment of peace in Tajikistan. In 1999, Turkmenistan also laid the ground for political dialogue in Afghanistan by providing a forum in Ashgabat for the first negotiations between the Taliban and the Northern Alliance. The wars in Tajikistan and Afghanistan created an influx of refugees to Turkmenistan and the countrys willingness to accept thousands of refugees and provide them with humanitarian assistance was notable.
23 September 2011 Turkmenistans President called for the creation of new mechanisms for Central Asian countries to cooperate on energy and transportation during a speech to the General Assemblys annual general debate in New York today8. G.Berdimuhamedov also pointed to transport as a crucial component to the regions sustainable development and called for UN support to study and expand transit and transport opportunities among the countries in the Caspian and Black Sea basins, Central Asia, and the Middle East.
Kirgizstan and UN: In 1992, shortly after independence, Kyrgyzstan became a member of the United Nations. The Permanent Mission of the United Nations in Kyrgyzstan opened in 1993.
The goal of the United Nations in Kyrgyzstan is to assist the Government in implementing country development reforms and to support the achievement of international development goals, including the MDGs.
At present, 16 UN organizations funds and programmes listed below operate in Kyrgyzstan under the coordination of the United Nation Resident Coordinator9.
Tajikistan and UN: The UN has been present in Tajikistan since 1992, commencing with the UN Tajikistan Office for Peace-building (UNTOP), which ended its mission in October 2007. Since 1993, the UN has increased its presence to 21 specialized agencies, funds and programmers of the UN and World Bank.
UNDP has been on the ground in Tajikistan since 1994. Today, Tajikistan is a peaceful and stable country, with a developing economy. Nonetheless, it is simultaneously facing the challenges of transition from a post-conflict state and of poverty reduction. UNDPs programme in the country consequently represents a broad spectrum of activities, within all five practice areas. UNDPs initial years in Tajikistan were focused on supporting the United Nations efforts to secure a durable peace. Since the signing of the Peace Agreement in 1997, UNDP has played an active role in social and economic recovery, building confidence at the community level and stabilizing the post conflict environment. These priorities continue to be addressed through projects implemented in partnership with the government, local and international organizations and NGOs, donors and financial institutions10.
UNDP promotes close partnerships between the government and civil society. With a balanced focus between building capacities of communities and the government, UNDP moved forward from humanitarian assistance to concentrate its energies on sustainable development and the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals11.
In Central Asia the matter of safety, peace and the matter of stable development that bringing into to the world society, among the UN with peace way the President of Uzbekistan Islam Karimov stepped the n first step in 1993 on 48 session and in 1995 on 50- sessions and he spoke his ails.
The President of Uzbekistan Islam Karimov made a speech and adjust to the World the difficult matters of Central Asia. By the way, In Central Asia live nearly 100 billion people including in different ethnographic people and religious groups. The latest years this region collected nuclear weapons and ordinary weapons.
That region happened manycrashes those we cant say beforehand. Except it, in the region the eighty years of twenty century appeared economic and moral tightness, the ninety years some countries for example, in
8 http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=39738&Cr=Turkmenistan 6 January 2013 year.
9 We are the UN pursuing development, shaping the future UN House/ Bishkek 2010. P.7.
10 United Nations development programme in Tajikistan. Dushanbe, 2010. P.1.
11 http://www.untj.org/un-in-tajikistan/un-in-tajikistan January 2013 year.
Tajikistan was Civil War, in Afghanistan was more active, deeply economic and public matters happened. It is important to save except this country from nuclear weapons, to stop wars in Tajikistan and Afghanistan. It cant solve without doing cooperation with large companies, including UN: religious extremism and fundamentalism, international terrorism, narcobusiness and narco traffic and ecological problems. Thats why, including head matters were making between countries of Central Asia and UN.
The international terrorism is a global threat to peace and safety of people. This illness does not know limit, and terrorism is living in Central Asia. The problem of Central Asia was at that time this region was active international terrorism. Thats why they needed source of people. In consequence of developing international terrorism in Central Asia depended on inside and outside matters. In 2000 a seminar took place against international terrorism. In 2000, on September The previous secretary of the UN Kofi Annan conducted this problem. The president of Uzbekistan Islam Karimov took into his consideration international terrorism and against terrorism. Islam Karimov admitted Uzbekistan was ready solve the problem12. The international terrorism was the most difficult problem among the country of Central Asia. But the UN had many chances, organizations for settled this matter.
The initiative on creation Nuclear Free Zone in Central Asia was put forward by the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan I.Karimov from a rostrum of the United Nations at the 48-th session of the General Assembly of the United Nations in 1993.
Performance of the President of Uzbekistan I.Karimov at the 48-th session of the GA of the United Nations.
Tools of the initiative were the Almaty Declaration of the Presidents of the Central Asian (CA) states in 1997, the Tashkent Declaration of Ministers for Foreign Affairs of five Central Asian states (C-5) dated on September 17, 1997 and the Communiquå of an advisory meeting of five CA states and the countries of the Nuclear Five (P-5) in Bishkek on July 10, 199813.
International Conference «Central Asia nuclear weapon free zone» was successfully carried out in Tashkent on September 15-17, 1997. It became a «corner stone» of legal registration of the Agreement on Nuclear Free Zone in Central Asia.
The Regional Commission of experts on drafting the Agreement on Nuclear Free Zone in Central Asia, with an active assistance of the United Nations Department for Disarmament Affairs and MAGATE experts, has chaired some working meetings in Geneva, Bishkek, Tashkent, Sapporo, Ashkhabad and Samarkand within the last six years.
In order to ensure taking of obligations by the nuclear states within the framework of the Report to the Agreement on Nuclear Free Zone in Central Asia, the C-5 countries held consultations with them to discuss the draft of Agreement. After the last Samarkand meeting of the C-5 two advisory meetings were chaired in New York in C-5/P-5 format, which resulted in the nuclear countriesÒ presentation of the amendments and offers to the Agreement draft.
The international support to the Nuclear Free Zone in Central Asia initiative is getting stronger. Four resolutions have been adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations. The initiative was included in final documents of three sessions of the Preparatory Committee to the Survey Conference dated 2000 on consideration of action of the Treaty on the Non-proliferation of Nuclear Weapon (TNPNW) and in its Final document, and also in final documents of 2 sessions of the Treaty on the Non-proliferation of Nuclear Weapon Subcommittee dated 2005.
The war in Afghanistan, where tensions have a tendency to deteriorate, today is one of the main sources of concern of the world community and, first of all, of security threats in Central Asia.
This problem and ways of its settling are, without any exaggeration, in the focus of attention of the worlds largest powers and international community.
It is not a secret anymore that the Afghan problem, which has begun 30 years ago, has no military solution. The overwhelming majority of countries involved in settling the conflict agree with this.
It is impossible to improve and radically change situation in the country without solving such urgent issues as reconstruction of Afghanistans economy, communications and social infrastructure destroyed by war, without involving in this process of the Afghan people, without thoroughly considered and seriously organized
12 Karimov I. Za prosvetaniye rodini kajdiy iz nas v otvete. Tashkent: Uzbekistan, 2001. Ð.109.
13 http://www.un.int/wcm/content/site/uzbekistan/cache/offonce/pid/8908 January 2013.
process of negotiations and achievement of consensus between the confronting parties, without strengthening of the vertical power structure.
It is extremely important to pay full respect to the deep historical and ethno-demographic roots of the multinational people in Afghanistan, traditional values of Islam and all confessions. That should become the major condition and a guarantee for the negotiating process.
The settlement of the Afghan problem could be facilitated by creation under the auspices of the United Nations of the Contact Group «6+3» with participation of plenipotentiary representatives of the states neighboring on Afghanistan plus Russia, the United States and NATO. President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Islam Karimov has repeatedly emphasized that implementation of this initiative involving neighboring countries would allow achievement of an accord both in and around Afghanistan.
The Central Asian republics UN cooperation also covers the issues of ecology and environmental protection. The problem of the Aral Sea is the most important issue for Uzbekistan in this sphere. Uzbekistan supports the increased participation of UN agencies in mitigating of the consequences of the Aral Sea crisis.
Taking into account the seriousness of the ecological catastrophe of the Aral Sea, Uzbekistan hosted in March 2008 an international conference «Aral Problems: impact on the gene pool of population, flora and fauna and international cooperation on mitigation», during which UN representatives took an active part.
One of the most important documents that received overwhelming support at the 63rd session of UN General Assembly was the resolution A/RES/63/133 to give the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea an observer status in the General Assembly, which was co initiated by Uzbekistan.
On April 4-5, 2010 the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon personally visited the area of the Aral Sea. In the end of the visit he said about the necessity of undertaking of urgent measures to avoid the further degradation of the situation in Aral Sea area and mitigating of the consequences of Aral Sea disaster. He assured that he would inform the international community about the concern of population of the Republic and highlighted that UN was ready to assist the Uzbekistan in resolving of ecological problems: «After all I saw I undertook the commitments to assist in mitigating the Aral Sea disaster consequences».
Within the framework of the presidency in International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea (IFAS) Uzbekistan has elaborated «Program of measures on eliminating the consequences of the drying up of the Aral Sea and Averting the catastrophe of the ecological systems in the Aral Sea region», including implementation of the major projects aimed on stabilization and improvement of situation in the ecological crisis zone. This document was widespread as an official document of 68th Session of General Assembly of the Organization in September, 2013.
For all these reasons, Uzbekistan expresses its position on necessity for rational and efficient use of water resources in Central Asia on the basis of generally accepted international norms.
Central Asian republics support the UN reform, for ensuring its compliance to contemporary international realities.
Bibliography
1. Karimov I. Uzbekistan on the Threshold of the Twenty-First Century: Challenges to Stability and Progress.
Tashkent: Uzbekistan, 1997. P.128.
2. Treaty on a Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone in Central Asia. UN Office for Disarmament Affairs. 20 March 2009. P.1 3. Review of Donor Assistance in the Aral Sea Region (19952005) Tashkent: Published by the UN Officee in Uzbekistan, 2008. P.12.
4. Rakhimov M. Mejgosudarstvenniye integrasionniye prossesi v Sentralnoy Asii // Tashkent: Public opinion.
Human rights. 2008. ¹1 (41). P.1924.
5. Ðàõèìîâ Ì. Óçáåêèñòàí è ÎÎÍ: ñîòðóäíè÷åñòâî âî èìÿ ìèðà è ïðîãðåññà // Òàøêåíò: èñòîðèÿ Óçáåêèñòàíà.
1999. ¹4. Ñ. 5561.
6. Ðàõèìîâ Ì. Èñòîðèÿ ñòàíîâëåíèÿ è ðàçâèòèÿ ñîòðóäíè÷åñòâà Ðåñïóáëèêè Óçáåêèñòàí ñ ìåæäóíàðîäíûìè îðãàíèçàöèÿìè. Òàøêåíò, 2011. Ñ. 170.
7. Ðàõèìîâ Ì. Ìåæäóíàðîäíîå ñîòðóäíè÷åñòâî Óçáåêèñòàíà â êîíòåêñòå îáåñïå÷åíèÿ ñòàáèëüíîñòè è
óñòîé-÷èâîãî ðàçâèòèÿ â öåíòðàëüíîé Àçèè. Òàøêåíò, 2011. Ñ. 230.
8. Basic Facts About the United Nations. New York: Published by the news and Media Division United Nations Deparment of public information, 2004. 355 p.
9. Everything You always wanted to know about the United Nations. New York: Published by the Deparment of public information, 2008. 63 p.
10. UNESCO in Central Asia at the dawn of the third millennium. Paris, 2008. P.4
11. List of staff of the United Nations Secretariat as of 1 July 2009. Report of the secretary-General. New York:
Published by the Deparment of public information. 2009. 718 p.
12. Mayor F. UNESCO un ideal action. The continuing relevance of a visionary text. Paris: UNESCO, 1997. 124 p.
13. Rakhimov M., Urazaeva G. Central Asian Nations and Border Issues. Published by Defense Academy of the United Kingdom. Conflict Studies Research Centre. 2005, March.
14. The United Nations today. New York: Published by the Deparment of public information, 2008. 369 p.
15. Abdimuminov O. The partnership of the Republic of Uzbekistan with UN for the problems of Central Asian regional security. Young Scientist USA. USA: Lulu, 2014.
Í.Ò. Àáäóëëàæàíîâà
ÈÇ ÈÑÒÎÐÈÈ ÓÇÁÅÊÑÊÎ-ÐÓÑÑÊÈÕ ÍÀÓ×ÍÛÕ ÑÂßÇÅÉ Â ÎÁËÀÑÒÈ ÁÅÐÓÍÈÅÂÅÄÅÍÈß
N.T. Abdullazhanova