Statement bythe delegation of Kazakhstan
at the United Nation Security Council open debate
on the agenda item “Maintenance of international peace and security”
(21 August 2014)
Mr. President,
We need to strengthen the efforts of the United Nations to move from a culture of "reaction" to "prevention".The UN needs to agree on a collective toolkit to assess severity of arising problems, which should be based on International Law, UN Charter and multidimensional approaches of preventive diplomacy, conflict resolution, peacebuilding, reconstruction, rehabilitation and development.
It is of high importance that the political differences of the Security Council members should not hinder Council’s role in fulfilling its primary task of maintenance of international peace and security.
Since conflict, peace and development are interrelated,there is also lack of consensus on what falls under Council’s mandate. Furthermore, Security Council statements made, because members do not agree on resolutions, are ineffective for any action to be taken. We thus call for a united front in the Security Council.
The long-term work on conflict prevention of the Secretary-General, and his Special Envoys and Representatives should be strongly supported by the Council and Member States. We support the activities of UN regional offices in serving as platforms for good offices and preventive diplomacy. Kazakhstan proposes establishing in Almaty the Regional UN Hub on Development and Humanitarian Assistance which would complement the work of the United Nations Regional Centre for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia in a vast territory of the Eurasian region.
Besides UN regional organizations, we must also mobilize AU, EU, OSCE, the Arab League and other regional entities insupporting fragile states in resolving longstanding problems. Kazakhstan initiated the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures – a platform of cooperation and dialogue in Asian – which actively works in the region. To inverse its effectiveness and to further institutionalize it Kazakhstan proposed to transform it into Organization on Security and Development in Asia.
Our approaches must also be basically directed at protection of civilians, women and children, as well as humanitarian workers, who are increasingly becoming targets. At the same time, we must respect the right of governments to resolve their own internal crises.
The international community has to address the problems of inadequate financing,insufficient troopsand lack of adequate civilian personnel and capacity-building to handle multiple complex mandates of PKOs. Conflict prevention also implies measures after cease fires, when peace and stability are being brokered as an ongoing process.
Kazakhstan pursues its pragmatic independent foreign policy based on the balance of interests and protection of national interests. My country stands united with the international community to strengthen the work of the United Nations, Security Council and support Member States to constructivelytransform conflict into peace, security and development, protection of human rights and promotion of rule of law. One of the forms of such efforts of conflict prevention could be promotion of tolerance and understanding among various ethnic and religious groups, development of the dialogue among cultures and civilizations. We believe that international entities and initiatives such as the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations, Congress of the World and Traditional Religions, the Decade of Rapprochement of cultures should play consolidating role in conflict prevention and resolution.
Thank you.