UN Security Council reaffirms importance of preventive diplomacy in Central Asia

The UN Security Council on Tuesday reaffirmed the importance of preventive diplomacy in assisting the Central Asian states to overcome challenges to peace, stability and sustainable development. The Security Council on Tuesday received a briefing by Miroslav Jenca, who is the head of the UN Regional Center for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia (UNRCCA), on the work of the UNRCCA over the past six months. After that, the council issued a statement here in which the members "reaffirmed the importance of the use of preventive diplomacy and early warning mechanisms by the United Nations to assist in the peaceful settlement of disputes in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations and in this context acknowledged the role of UNRCCA in assisting Central Asian countries, in accordance with its mandate and through regional cooperation, to respond to domestic and transnational threats to peace and in supporting the sustainable development of the region." The 15-member council stressed the need for further cooperation and coordination between the Central Asian states, UNRCCA, and regional organizations to strengthen the region's capacity to overcome challenges to peace, stability and sustainable development in Central Asia through the mechanisms of preventive diplomacy and dialogue. In this regard, the council members welcomed UNRCCA's specific focus on "supporting the cooperation among the Central Asian states in the area of counter-terrorism and religious extremism and encouraged the realization of the Joint Plan of Action agreed upon for implementing the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy in the region." The press statement specifically recognized the threat posed by illicit drug production, trade, trafficking to international peace and stability in the region. "Members emphasized the importance of close coordination between Afghanistan and its neighbors, in particular the Central Asian states, in combating drug trafficking, " it said. In 2007, the UNRCCA was established at the initiative of the five Central Asian countries -- Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. Headquartered in Turkmenistan, it is a special political mission tasked with dealing with threats of terrorism, drug trafficking, organized crime and environmental degradation facing the region.