UN calls for special envoy to the region

In a new report published this week, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has called for the creation of the post of Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Central Asia in an effort to boost regional cooperation and reduce poverty in the region. “The report has thoroughly highlighted all the major problems in the region, many of which appeared as a result of the Soviet Union’s collapse, when all [regional] countries started pursuing their own paths of national identity,” Jerzy Skuratowicz, UN Resident Coordinator in Kyrgyzstan, said in the Kyrgyz capital, Bishkek, on Wednesday at the launch of the report. “Many countries [in the region] are introducing their own laws, their ways of development and the structure of international standards, which is a challenge,” Skuratowicz added. Regarding the proposal to appoint a UN envoy to the region, “This person should be respected by all Central Asian leaders and the role should be to support efforts on cooperation, economic relationship and security,” Skuratowicz noted. The report entitled, “Bringing Down Barriers: Regional Cooperation for Human Development and Human Security”, is a comprehensive analysis of the many challenges that confront Central Asia, including high trade costs, environmental devastation, increased inequality, rising migration, the rapid spread of HIV/AIDS and poor governance. According to the report, there has been recent progress towards regional cooperation, but ongoing squabbles over borders negatively affect peoples’ lives. The report contends that increased cooperation among the Central Asian republics - Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan - would produce substantial political and economic gains, including income increases of up to 100 percent over the next 10 years. The document was presented on the same day in all Central Asian capitals, as well as in Geneva, Moscow and Tokyo. "This report clearly identifies the immense potential economic and human benefits of regional cooperation for Central Asia and its neighbours," said Kalman Mizsei, UN Assistant Secretary-General and UNDP Director for Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), when he presented the report in Tokyo. "Improved trade, transport and transit, and better water and energy management on a region-wide basis would bring the biggest gains. But cooperation to deal with natural disasters, drug trafficking and epidemics, such as avian flu, is also essential," Mizsei added. The five Central Asian republics are home to almost 60 million people. Located at the centre of the Eurasian continent, these landlocked countries became independent with the end of the Soviet Union in 1991. One of the poorest regions of the world, Central Asia has been the focus of intense international attention in the post-9/11 era because of the region’s geopolitical importance and long-term economic potential, including large hydrocarbons reserves and other natural resources. To access the UNDP report go to: http://europeandcis.undp.org/