The future is taking shape today. OSCE with its vast territory that stretches from Vancouver to Vladivostok has to resolve the most complex and urgent global issues.
I consider our chairmanship of the OSCE as our strategic national project and opportunity to give it a new breath, a new impetus and a new sparkle. Kazakhstan fully realizes that a 12 month period is not enough to address the whole range of issues that the OSCE faces.
Today’s OSCE challenges include, among others, modification of military and political balance in the Continent, ‘frozen’ and ‘protracted’ conflicts, and the status of the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe among others.
The global financial economic crisis highlighted the ongoing need for the OSCE and the necessity to bring together efforts from all countries for creating of a new, fairer and more stable world order with G-8 and G-20 to reinforce such a positive message.
Today, the OSCE is considered one of the most authoritative platforms to represent a vast geographical and political space and to evolve through collaboration with new, ambitious and dynamically developing regional organizations.
Active collaboration with such organizations and projects as CIS, CSTO, EurAsEC, SCO, and CICA can give a new impulse to OSCE activity and open new horizons and map out new goals.
I firmly believe that through the Kazakhstan chairmanship of the OSCE a foundation can be laid for enhanced relationship between East and West whilst strengthening mutual trust. OSCE is an optimal platform to bring the Corfu process to the fore whilst opening a forum for strategically important initiatives including the European Security Treaty.
As a trans-national organization that unites Europe, Asia and North America, OSCE is responsible to comprehend and offer support for cross-border security issues. We cannot treat security issues of our states separately from those of our neighbors and Kazakhstan cosponsors anti-terrorist projects for strengthening of the borders.
We strongly believe that stabilization in Afghanistan can be implemented through active involvement and closer cooperation of regional organizations. OSCE acts as a link to support humanitarian projects. We already allocated USD 50 million to teach 1,000 Afghans at primary Kazakhstani universities and colleges. Under auspices of the OSCE chairmanship, we will encourage the other OSCE member countries to develop similar programs.
During its chairmanship, Kazakhstan will focus on environmental security issues, including the Aral Sea and the former Semipalatinsk nuclear test range issues. Development of the OSCE’s transport and communications potential will also be among the priorities of Kazakhstan’s chairmanship. Due to geographical, historical and economic juncture, Central Asian countries possess a huge trade and transit potential. Central Asia is a vast and promising region that can turn into a stable and secure bridge between the West and the East. Successful implementation of the Path to Europe state program to focus on urgent issues of transit, transportation and logistics, is of critical need.
Up to date, Kazakhstan has taken decisive steps to modernize its legislation on elections, political parties, mass media and local administration for securing of its commitment to adhere to democratic values; it adopted the National Human Rights Action Plan for 2009-2012, passed the law on Gender Equality; and raised awareness of domestic violence including protection of children’s rights.
Today, the issues of inter-ethnic and inter-faith relations as well as illegal labor migration stand high in the OSCE agenda. As a multi-national and multi-religious state Kazakhstan is fully committed to the ideas of inter-cultural and inter-civilization dialogue and intends to use the OSCE’s influence to overcome nationalism, religious intolerance, racism, xenophobia and anti-Semitism. Kazakhstan aims to achieve these objectives in collaboration with CICA, SCO, EurAsEC, OIC and TURKSOI.
OSCE Summit provides member states with a unique opportunity to define the most important priorities of the Organization for the foreseeable future. Next OSCE summit in Astana will discuss development of common security architecture, implementation of the Corfu process, rehabilitation and reconstruction of Afghanistan. Kazakhstan proposes including of progress of the Action Program to ensure inter-ethnic and inter-faith harmony.
Kazakhstan has carefully appraised its ambitious goals and objectives, and considered them critical for achieving of more developed international and legal status of the OSCE.
Kazakhstan calls on all OSCE states to show their readiness to act in favor of common interests and for the sake of collective goals and priorities, implementation of which will support and strengthen the OSCE and foster trust and respect for the Organization.