The Hill,
22.06.2016
By Erlan Idrissov
No organisation has a greater global responsibility
than the United Nations Security Council. The Council has the solemn task of
maintaining international peace with the power to intervene if threats put it
or the safety of civilian populations at risk. Its effectiveness has a huge
impact on our world and the lives of millions of people.
The Council’s authority stems from the UN Charter and
the support of the international community. But it is strengthened when its
membership is as representative as possible. Its decisions, too, benefit when
drawing on differing global perspectives. It is why from the beginning, the
Council’s membership included not just the great powers but a rotating group of
countries elected on a regional basis.
When the Council first met 70 years ago, Central Asia
did not figure high on the global agenda. Its territory was largely part of the
Soviet Union, one of the five permanent members. It was regarded as remote, far
away from areas of importance or influence.
But neither is any longer true. The former Soviet
republics are now thriving independent countries. The rise of China as an
economic power and the growth of trade between Asia, Europe, the Middle East
and Africa have put it at the centre of the global economy. Sadly, too,
extremism and conflict have taken root on the fringes of the region.
So while it is understandable why no country from
Central Asia has yet to sit on the UN Security Council, the continued lack of a
voice from the region is in no one’s interest. It is to end this oversight and,
more importantly, to bring our contribution to the common good that Kazakhstan
has put its name forward for election at the end of this month to the Council
as a non-permanent member for 2017 and 2018.
But we are also very confident that, if elected, we
will make a distinctive and positive contribution to the UN’s work which goes
well beyond our geography. Kazakhstan may only have been an independent country
for 25 years but as Foreign Minister I am proud to say that few nations can
match our support for the UN or promotion of peace, disarmament and dialogue.
It is a record which underlines our strong case for election.
Soon after independence, Kazakhstan voluntarily
renounced the world’s fourth largest nuclear arsenal. We closed the
Semipalatinsk test site and worked successfully with both Russia and the USA to
eliminate its infrastructure and make the material safe and secure.
Our country has worked tirelessly to encourage other
counties to follow our lead. As President Nursultan Nazarbayev rightly said
earlier this year when he launched his Manifesto “The World, The 21st Century”,
the cause of nuclear disarmament must be the top priority for the UN in the
coming decades.
We support practical steps to bring this goal closer.
We are in the forefront of the international campaign to end nuclear resting.
We worked closely with our neighbours to make Central Asia a nuclear
weapons-free zone.
Our track record has also made Kazakhstan a powerful
advocate for wider peace and dialogue. Our influence has been strengthened
because of our determination to forge good relations with countries right
across the world.
The trust we have built enabled us to help mediate,
for example, in the crises in Ukraine and Kyrgyzstan and to play our part in
breaking the deadlock of Iran’s nuclear programme. Along with our nuclear
experience, it also helps explain why we have been chosen to host the
International Atomic Energy Agency’s Low Enriched Uranium Bank.
We have put conflict prevention and resolution at the
heart of our foreign policy. The Conference on Interaction and Confidence
Building Measures in Asia – proposed by Kazakhstan at the UN – is today a
multi-national forum for enhancing cooperation for promoting peace, security
and stability which brings together 26 countries from Egypt and Israel to
Turkey and Russia to India, Pakistan and China.
Our foreign policy and approach to the world also
rests on the remarkably diverse background of our citizens. Kazakhstan is a
melting pot of people of different nationalities, faiths and cultures. This
can, as we have sadly seen in other countries, be a source of tension. But we
have worked hard to create a society where all are valued and live in harmony.
This experience has also shaped our determination to
bring cultures and other religions together internationally. We host the
increasingly influential Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional
Religions, attended last year by the UN Secretary-General. Last month it was at
our initiative that the UN General Assembly held the Religions for Peace forum
while Astana hosted the Religions against Terrorism conference in which dozens
of parliamentary and faith leaders from around the world adopted a message
urging believers and non-believers alike to fight the violent extremism and
ideologies nurturing it.
As we have become more prosperous as a country, we
have also recognised our responsibility to contribute more directly to the
global good. We are actively engaged with a wide range of regional and global
organisations such as the African Union, CARICOM, and SIDS (Small Island
Developing States). Our international aid programme is growing strongly while
we are an increasing participant in peace-keeping operations under the
authority of the UNSC.
In a nutshell, Kazakhstan has been a net contributor
to global security ever since our independence in 1991, and we are committed to
maintaining our responsible policies in the years to come.
If we are successful in gaining a seat on the Security
Council, we are determined to maintain our balanced and inclusive foreign
policy. We will continue to be guided by our strong belief that only collective
action can overcome global challenges.
We have made nuclear, water, food and energy security
the four pillars of our campaign. Each are issues of critical global importance
and require determined action. At our initiative, for example, the Organisation
of Islamic Cooperation has already established in Astana the Islamic
Organisation for Food Security to tackle food security challenges. EXPO 2017 in
Astana on the theme of Future Energy provides the opportunity for sustainable
energy solutions to be showcased and shared.
I recognise that we are a young country and that
membership of the Security Council is a heavy responsibility. But I believe
that what we have achieved and the way we have behaved over the past 25 years
shows what we can offer. We hope that the election of June 28 will finally give
Central Asia a voice on the Security Council and allow our country to step up
its contribution to global peace and progress.
Erlan Idrissov is Foreign Minister of Kazakhstan.
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