On 20 October 2023, the Permanent Representative of Kazakhstan to the United Nations Akan Rakhmetullin delivered an address at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) open debate on "Maintenance of international peace and security: Contributions of regional mechanisms for peace and security" in New York.
The Kazakh Permanent Representative emphasized the importance of regional and sub-regional organizations in understanding the root causes of conflict and fostering sustainable peace and security worldwide.
Kazakhstan took the opportunity to highlight the emerging role of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA), which it had established in 1992, as an essential partner of the United Nations. The principles enshrined in CICA's founding document, the Almaty Act, were noted to converge with those of the UN Charter, emphasizing respect for sovereign equality, territorial integrity, peaceful conflict resolution, and economic, social, and cultural cooperation.
Furthermore, Akan Rakhmetullin underscored the significance of the Catalogue of Confidence-building Measures within CICA. This document is continually updated to address emerging tensions, encompassing issues like epidemiological security, climate change, information and communication technology, money laundering, and counterterrorism, among others. This alignment in goals and direction between CICA and the UN was deemed mutually reinforcing.
A distinctive feature of CICA lies in its membership, which unites 28 countries across a vast territory from the Pacific to the Mediterranean and from the Urals to the Indian Ocean. Notably, CICA is the only pan-Asian organization where Israel and Palestine hold full and equal membership, even as it bonds together countries with no diplomatic relations.
The Kazakh Permanent Representative also noted the growing engagement of member states as a positive force in CICA's transformation into a full-fledged international organization capable of contributing to continental mediation and peace-making. The recent endorsement of the Road Map for CICA Transformation with eight areas of reforms at the CICA Ministerial Council meeting in New York on 21 September was seen as a significant step in this direction.
In conclusion, Akan Rakhmetullin stressed the importance of the dynamic synergy between the UN system and regional organizations, particularly with pan-continental organizations like CICA.
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Akbota Batyrkhan
Email: a.batyrkhan@s-cica.org
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