Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

And thank you, Mr. Secretary-General, for your presentation and your explanation of the range of work that the OSCE is currently undertaking in Central Asia.

As you pointed out in your report, the problems facing Central Asia are complex and multi-dimensional. Issues such as regional instability and environmental resource management represent prime examples of how security, economic and human dimension issues intersect and reinforce the need for coordinated efforts in all three dimensions in order to secure lasting progress.

We noted your reference in your report to water and energy resource management as a vital issue for the region. In both the OSCE economic fora and in our considerations of regional problems, we invariably encounter the fact, as our Tajik colleague just mentioned, that economic security is a vital element of regional stability and political development. Like our colleagues in the Central Asia, many states within the OSCE area face daunting and interrelated problems of environmental cleanup, resource allocation, and transition to market economies. We believe that the OSCE can help assist the Central Asian states in this respect in a positive and constructive way.

Your report, Mr. Secretary-General, also highlights concerns the United States shares with respect to security and stability in Central Asia. In particular, we are also concerned about the threat of terrorism by the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) – a group which the United States has legally identified as a foreign terrorist organization.

While designating the IMU as a terrorist organization, we also wish to make clear that our policy clearly distinguishes between terrorism and political opposition. We strongly urge all the OSCE states to make this same distinction, and not to use the legitimate battle against terrorism as a pretext for restricting political and religious freedom.

Mr. Secretary-General, you – along with representatives of all five Central Asian countries – participated in the Washington conference on counter-terrorism in Central Asia this June. A key theme throughout that conference was the lesson that development of a healthy civil society, strict safeguarding of rule of law, and the fair and impartial treatment of all citizens is essential for a successful counterterrorism campaign.

We appreciate the ongoing, coordinated efforts of the Central Asian states to address the threat of violence in the region, and urge them to develop a coordinated strategy, which addresses not only the military, but also the economic and social aspects of this serious challenge.

Mr. Secretary-General, like you, we also believe that the OSCE must carefully consider what more it can do in the economic-environmental and political-security areas – but without reducing the OSCE’s current strong emphasis on the human dimension.

We believe firmly that the OSCE must remain engaged in human dimension issues throughout the OSCE region, emphasizing them in their own right, but also factoring them into engagement on other related aspects of security. To this end, we appreciate and support the work of ODIHR in the region, including its effort to promote electoral reform and strengthen civil society.

As your report has shown, the problems arising – and indeed the solutions to be found – in the Central Asian region, come as a result of intersecting and overlapping economic, security and human dimension issues. It is our hope that the OSCE, along with its partners in Central Asia, will work together on the interlocking issues of stability.

Thank you again for your insightful report and your continuing service.