Mr. Chairman,

Allow me first of all to congratulate you on your election to the post of the Chairman of the Special Political and Decolonization Committee and to wish us all successful and fruitful work under your leadership at the fifty-third session of the General Assembly.

Mr. Chairman,

The problems associated with the effects of atomic radiation are close to Kazakhstan, because for almost half a century our country had nuclear weapons deployed on its territory, and was the scene of a large number of nuclear tests. The history of the Semipalatinsk nuclear testing ground, where these tests were carried out, began on 29 August 1949, when the Soviet Union conducted the first explosion of a plutonium bomb. The nuclear tests at the testing ground continued for 40 years, up until the President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbaev closed the testing ground by his Decree No. 409 of 29 August 1991.

The explosions of about 500 nuclear devices, combined with the development of the political situation, environmental problems and damage to the health of the population which has not yet been fully studied, in the final analysis undermined the economy of the Semipalatinsk region, creating a substantial additional need for humanitarian and social assistance. During the period over which the nuclear tests were conducted at the testing ground, the necessary measures were not taken to protect the population. In Kazakhstan, 1.6 million people were subjected to radiation as a result of the nuclear explosions that were conducted. As of now, this figure has been reduced to 1.2 million, taking into account the birth and mortality rates, as well as emigration.

The underground tests destroyed ecological linkages, and this in turn accelerated the process of desertification over the territory of the region, which is continuing to take place up until the present time. Large areas of land and water resources were subjected to radiation contamination, and economic activity in the territory located around the testing ground was considerably reduced.

Kazakhstan continues to make enormous efforts to overcome the acute socio-economic, humanitarian and environmental consequences of the nuclear weapons tests that were conducted. The first step in this direction was the closing of the nuclear testing ground, and this was commended at the time by the world community as a truly unprecedented step and a historic contribution by Kazakhstan to the cause of strengthening the non proliferation regime.

A National Nuclear Research Centre of the Republic of Kazakhstan has now been established on the basis of the former testing ground, comprising the Institute of Radiation Safety and Ecology, the Nuclear Power Institute, the Institute of Geophysical Research and the Republican Treatment and Diagnostic Centre. A Law on rehabilitation of the population-victims of nuclear tests has been adopted, a medical rehabilitation programme has been drawn up for the population of the Semipalatinsk region, a charitable Fund "Polygon- August 29" has been established and there are plans for the construction of an Interregional Medical Rehabilitation Centre in Semipalatinsk.

Mr. Chairman,

At the special session of the General Assembly of June 1997, the President of Kazakhstan rightly emphasized that nuclear weapons are a tragedy not only for the people of Kazakhstan, but for all peoples of the world. He stated that global problems exist which many countries are not able to solve on their own. The assistance of the world community is required in this respect.

Kazakhstan's voluntary renunciation of nuclear weapons and our firm devotion to the non-proliferation regime afford clear evidence that Kazakhstan is a consistent supporter of the strengthening of regional and global security and resolutely opposes undermining of the non-proliferation regime.

Last year and this year, two international conferences were held in Kazakhstan on issues relating to the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons at which, among other issues, there was discussion of the problem of radiation safety and rehabilitation of the territory of the former testing ground. During a conference which concluded just recently, the last strategic missile launching silo was closed down.

On 16 December 1997, the General Assembly adopted resolution 52/169 M "International cooperation and coordination for the human and ecological rehabilitation and economic development of the Semipalatinsk region of Kazakhstan", which recognized the seriousness of the situation in the Semipalatinsk region. The resolution urged the international community to provide assistance to the Government of Kazakhstan in its efforts to overcome the consequences of the nuclear tests at the Semipalatinsk testing ground.

The adoption by the General Assembly of that resolution, which was sponsored by 47 Member States, testifies to the firm support expressed by the international community for Kazakhstan in overcoming the consequences of the nuclear tests that were left to it as a heritage of the past. In implementation of the resolution, this year an inter-agency United Nations mission was organized at the United Nations Headquarters, with participation of representatives of the United Nations specialized agencies and programmes and of experts from Member States, who last summer visited the Semipalatinsk region, where they conducted a comprehensive study of the consequences of the many years of nuclear tests.

The delegation of Kazakhstan is grateful to the experts of the United Nations mission, who during their stay in Kazakhstan conducted a vast amount of research work. The results unambiguously confirm the existing data to the effect that a persistently high background level of radiation remains in the region, and that there are serious negative consequences of the nuclear explosions. The experts from the United Nations and other international organizations also concluded that to overcome the consequences of the nuclear tests, Kazakhstan needs effective assistance from the international community. These conclusions and recommendations of the United Nations mission will be included in the report of the Secretary-General on Semipalatinsk and the Addendum to it.

We are sincerely grateful to the Secretary-General and all the representatives of the specialized agencies and bodies, especially the United Nations Development Programme, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the International Atomic Energy Agency, the World Health Organization, the United Nations Children's Fund, the International Labour Organization, the United Nations Environment Programme, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, and to the other international experts, for their support for the efforts to prepare a comprehensive and objective report on the true dimensions of the consequences of the nuclear tests at the Semipalatinsk nuclear testing ground.

I should also like to take this opportunity to convey to the Under-Secretary-General, Mr. Sergio Vieira de Mella, our sincere gratitude for acquainting himself with the consequences of the nuclear tests at the former testing ground in the Semipalatinsk region during his recent visit to Kazakhstan. As the President of Kazakhstan emphasized when he met the Under Secretary-General, we are grateful to the high-level United Nations delegation for this visit to Kazakhstan, and we hope that it will facilitate further understanding by the world community of the essence of the environmental disasters in Kazakhstan.

In drawing attention to the General Assembly resolution on the Semipalatinsk region and the above mentioned conclusions and recommendations of the international experts of the United Nations mission on the truly serious socio-economic and environmental in the region, I should like to request the delegations of Member States, and especially of donor countries, to provide Kazakhstan with the necessary financial and technical assistance to carry out programmes and projects for the rehabilitation of the Semipalatinsk region pursuant to that General Assembly resolution.

Mr. Chairman,

We greatly appreciate the activity and the noble goals of the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation. The report of the Committee prepared for this session covers a broad range of problems associated with the effects of atomic radiation. It clearly defines the prospects for the Committee's future work and the most important problems requiring solution. The relevance to Kazakhstan of the problems associated with the effects of atomic radiation objectively determines the need for us to cooperate closely with the Scientific Committee, and we have always stated our readiness to render every possible assistance to its work.

On the basis of the assumption that the real problems associated with the effects of atomic radiation which our country has encountered in practice could be of practical scientific interest to the Scientific Committee, in December of last year Kazakhstan, by agreement with the officers of the Committee, submitted to the Committee's Secretariat in Vienna comprehensive information on the consequences of the nuclear explosions at the Semipalatinsk testing ground for inclusion in the annual report. Unfortunately, however, despite this and our repeated telephone conversations with senior members of the Committee Secretariat on this subject, we found no reference in the report of the Committee which is before us to the impact of atomic radiation on the health of the inhabitants of Kazakhstan as a result of the nuclear tests conducted in its territory for many years. Recalling again the above-mentioned conclusions of the international experts on the radiation situation in the region of the Semipalatinsk testing ground and the General Assembly resolution, I once again request the Secretariat of the Scientific Committee to include information on the impact of radiation on the health of the population of the Semipalatinsk region in the Committee's annual report.

Mr. Chairman,

We believe that the obvious severe socio economic, humanitarian and ecological consequences, and also the serious harm by the negative impact to the environment of the many years of nuclear tests at the Semipalatinsk nuclear testing ground, are a convincing example of the need for united international efforts to overcome the extensive consequences of large-scale disasters of this kind. The artificial and technogenic disasters faced by many countries, regardless of their level of economic development, are a serious reminder to the international community of the vulnerability of many regions of the world to problems of this kind.

Thank you for your attention.