STATEMENT BY MR. KONSTANTIN ZHIGALOV, DEPUTY MINISTER FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF THE REPUBLIC OF KAZAKHSTAN, AT THE ANNUAL NATO CONFERENCE ON WMD ARMS CONTROL, DISARMAMENT AND NON-PROLIFERATION
24-06-2010
(Prague, 24 June 2010)
Mr. Chairman,
Distinguished participants,
First of all I should like to thank NATO and the Government of the Czech Republic for organizing this important event and inviting me to speak at it on behalf of the Chairperson-in-Office of the OSCE.
The OSCE and NATO bring together countries whose joint activities are aimed at dealing with the common task of ensuring the security of their peoples. In this connection, for the Kazakh Chairmanship it is not simply the existence of common tasks; it is the similarity of the most important priorities of the OSCE and NATO/EAPC.
Kazakhstan regards as extremely useful the practice of holding these events, which are of considerable practical benefit to the member countries of the EAPC, and for the most part supports the idea of stepping up NATO’s activities to strengthen the regime for the non-proliferation and control of weapons of mass destruction (WMD).
As the OSCE Chairmanship we also attach great importance to political and practical efforts by the Organization in support of global initiatives in this area. The OSCE’s mandate in this sphere enables it to avoid duplication and effectively supplement the work of other international bodies.
An important step in reaffirming the adherence of the 56 participating States of the OSCE to their international commitments on the non-proliferation of WMD was the adoption of a declaration on this subject at the Ministerial Council meeting in Athens in December of last year.
The OSCE participating States declared their commitment to promoting full and effective implementation of measures concerned with WMD disarmament, non-proliferation and arms control.
The declaration reaffirms the commitment of the OSCE participating States to seeking a safer world for all and to creating conditions for a world without nuclear weapons in accordance with the goals of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT). In this context, the historical decisions taken by States in the OSCE area to renounce voluntarily nuclear arsenals and to establish nuclear-weapon-free zones were welcomed.
The declaration also underscored the need for the universalization of the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) safeguards system and verification regime as a most important condition for preventing the proliferation of nuclear weapons.
The implementation of the OSCE Ministerial Declaration on Non Proliferation, which has already drawn a positive response on the part of the IAEA, may become a serious contribution by the OSCE to the strengthening of international security.
Distinguished participants,
The year 2010 is a landmark year for the development of the non proliferation system. Of particular significance was the holding in May of this year of the 2010 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. We are pleased that the Review Conference concluded with the adoption of a final document and avoided the failure of 2005. Kazakhstan, for its part, is ready for joint work on the implementation of that document.
The signing by the United States and Russia of a new Treaty on Measures for the Further Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms (START), along with a protocol to the agreement of 2000 on the disposal of weapons-grade plutonium, provides further grounds for optimism.
As you know, Kazakhstan renounced the fourth most powerful nuclear arsenal in the world and closed the Semipalatinsk nuclear test site for good. During a visit to Kazakhstan and the Semipalatinsk test site in April 2010, the Secretary General of the United Nations called on the leaders of all nations, especially the nuclear powers, to follow Kazakhstan’s example in the sphere of disarmament and non-proliferation.
A major result of the Global Summit in the United States, in which the President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev took part at Barack Obama’s invitation, was the decision to secure all vulnerable nuclear material in the next four years.
The statement by President Nazarbayev, in which he put forward a number of important measures aimed at reducing the nuclear threat on a global scale, received much praise and broad support from Heads of State. In particular, he proposed that discussions should begin on the adoption of a Universal Declaration of a Nuclear-Weapon-Free World. This would serve as confirmation of the steadfast nature of our intentions and as a first step towards the adoption in the future of a legally binding convention on the complete and universal prohibition of nuclear weapons.
The participants in the Global Summit in Washington focused their attention on the problem of the increased threat of nuclear weapons falling into the hands of terrorist organizations. In addition to the “nuclear” aspect, other manifestations of terrorism involving chemical, bacteriological or other forms of WMD also pose an enormous threat.
The task of combating acts of terrorism involving WMD is taking on extraordinary relevance in the efforts to maintain and strengthen international security. In these circumstances maximum co-ordination of collective action at a global, regional and national level must be a priority.
As its contribution to the Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism (GICNT), Kazakhstan proposed holding a GICNT conference in Astana this year.
Under the auspices of the Kazakh Chairmanship of the OSCE, a Conference on the Prevention of Terrorism will take place in Astana in October, during which we propose that we also examine the question of stepping up efforts to counter terrorism involving WMD. We attach great importance to the participation of all the countries of the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council in these meetings.
A situation of uncertainty and instability as regards the prevention of the nuclear threat and nuclear terrorism is created by the following factors:
– A lack of global trust among countries, particularly in matters concerning war and peace, nuclear disarmament or disarmament in general;
– The existence of problems in terms of ensuring the security of the storage, stockpiling and transport of existing nuclear weapons and materials to be used in their production;
– The appearance of a systemic weakness in inter-State co-operation, especially with regard to ensuring global security.
Against this background the bold proposal by President Nazarbayev to legitimize a new format of the “nuclear club” by admitting de facto nuclear powers is extremely timely and necessary. These countries should not take opposite sides. This club and every member of it must undertake to act only in co-ordination with the United Nations Security Council. And countries harbouring nuclear ambitions must abandon them completely. In return for this, they should receive from the entire “nuclear club” guarantees confirmed by the Security Council that nuclear weapons would not be used against them and that they would be defended in the event of an attack. The United Nations Security Council must take decisive action against countries that refuse to join this process, including sanctions and coercion.
From the important platform provided by the Washington Summit President Nazarbayev called on the participants to reflect on the experience of regional nuclear-weapon-free zones.
A crucial contribution to ensuring international and regional security was the entry into force in March 2009 of the Treaty on a Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone in Central Asia. Kazakhstan has initiated the development of a regional action plan for strengthening nuclear security, preventing the proliferation of nuclear materials and combating nuclear terrorism within the Central Asian zone. It would be useful to extend this experience to other parts of the world as well. This plan could serve as a model for similar co-operation within other nuclear free zones in different corners of the world.
We are in favour of the establishment of new nuclear-free zones, including in the Middle East. We are confident that this would provide a framework for the promotion of dialogue to establish peace, co operation and mutual trust throughout the Middle East.
We believe it is essential to adopt rules under international law for nuclear free zones, including negative guarantees of security for participating States.
For the people of Kazakhstan who have witnessed all the horrors of nuclear testing, the question of the complete prohibition of such testing is especially significant. Over a period of 40 years 450 nuclear tests were conducted at the Semipalatinsk test site, and half a million people suffered as a result of these actions. On 29 August 1991 President Nazarbayev took the decision to close the Semipalatinsk nuclear test site. It is highly symbolic that years later this day was, at Kazakhstan’s initiative, declared the International Day of Action against Nuclear Testing.
We urge all the States on whom the entry into force of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty depends to ratify it.
At the same time we support the legitimate and inalienable right of every State Party to the Non-Proliferation Treaty to develop and use peaceful nuclear technologies in compliance with all IAEA requirements. There should be no monopolistic approaches or double standards here.
As a major producer of uranium and as a country in possession of facilities for reprocessing highly-enriched uranium into its low-enriched form, Kazakhstan intends to make its contribution to the development of peaceful nuclear energy. To this end Kazakhstan is ready to accommodate an International Nuclear Fuel Bank on its territory.
Mr. Chairman,
In the context of non proliferation, it is important to remember that the OSCE must not duplicate the activities of the United Nations, which undoubtedly plays the leading role in this area.
Nevertheless, Kazakhstan, both from a national position and from the position of the OSCE Chairmanship, believes that there is an urgent need today to review and update the Principles Governing Non-Proliferation adopted in 1994 as part of the OSCE Programme for Immediate Action.
This basic OSCE non-proliferation document needs to be updated because of the new international security paradigm. The ability of international and regional organizations to deal with the growing threats and challenges to security is a real indicator of their effectiveness. For this reason the OSCE must equip itself with the necessary institutional and conceptual framework to enable its participating States
to respond appropriately to the rapidly changing conditions and emerging threats, including terrorism and its modern-day forms.
Thank you for your attention.
