The UN General Assembly unanimously adopted a resolution on environmental threats to Central Asia put forward by Uzbekistan.
The UN General Assembly unanimously adopted a resolution “Central Asia in the face of environmental challenges: strengthening regional solidarity for sustainable development and prosperity,” initiated by Uzbekistan and developed on the initiative of Shavkat Mirziyoyev.
As Dunyo reported, the intergovernmental negotiation process to develop and agree on the text of the resolution took place over two months, namely in October-November at the UN headquarters in New York. Experts from countries from all continents of the world, including the USA, Russia, China, France, Great Britain, Germany, Canada, Australia, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Argentina, Brazil, Mexico and others, actively participated in the consultations. As a result, representatives of more than 100 countries made numerous proposals to fill the text with specific content and achieve universal consensus.
The text of the document highlights a number of initiatives of the President of Uzbekistan, including the “Green Agenda for Central Asia” and its role in promoting sustainable development in the region. In the resolution, UN member states also welcomed the initiative of Uzbekistan to hold an international climate forum in 2024 in Samarkand.
Attention is focused on efforts to mitigate the consequences of the drying up of the Aral Sea, with particular emphasis on the activities of the UN Multi-Partner Trust Fund for Human Security for the Aral Sea region, created on the initiative of the head of Uzbekistan. An appeal was made to the international community to continue to support this fund.
The document notes the importance of introducing innovative methods and new technologies in the fight against desertification and land degradation.
The resolution identifies specific tasks for sustainable agriculture, landscaping, rational use of water resources, energy efficiency, waste recycling, development of sustainable tourism, creation of “smart cities” and sustainable transport in order to effectively counter climate and environmental threats in Central Asia.
The General Assembly recommended that the UN system, international and financial institutions, the private sector, investors and donors continue to mobilize resources, build capacity and provide assistance to address environmental problems in Central Asia.
The resolution also sets out the initiatives of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan in the field of environmental protection.
The document was presented on behalf of all Central Asian states.
The co-sponsors of the resolution also included countries such as Germany, Switzerland, Turkey, China, Singapore, Hungary, Vietnam, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Malaysia, Indonesia, Egypt, Jordan, Paraguay (covering representatives of all UN regional groups).
