UN General Assembly
2002

Uzbekistan strongly urged establishment of such a committee within the United Nations as early as 1999. Uzbekistan is one of the few countries that are parties to all twelve conventions on combating terrorism. We sincerely hope that the appeal by Secretary-General Kofi Annan to the United Nations Member States to join and ratify these documents will be followed and put into practice. Uzbekistan supports the international counter- terrorism coalition as a matter of principle and stands ready to make its contribution to enhance global and regional stability. 17 The events of 11 September made the world face up to the situation in Afghanistan and, one can say, opened the eyes of the international community to the fact that terrorism has no borders and only through joint efforts we can defeat this perilous challenge to humanity. In a strict and, I would say, categorical way the events of 11 September reminded everybody that twenty years of war turned Afghanistan into a breeding ground and hotbed of international terrorism that threatened not only neighbouring countries and nations, but all of humanity.