Threats to the world’s security

Today several dangers threaten the peace of humanity. The first is regional conflicts: a dispute between two states or a civil war inside one state. In our neighbour Afghanistan conflict has continued for many decades; such wars increase the problem of refugees, drugs and illegal weapons trade. The second is terrorism: violence against peaceful people to spread fear. On 11 September 2001 in the USA aeroplanes were used to attack buildings in New York and thousands died. In 2004 a school in Beslan, Russia, was attacked and children were among the dead. In Uzbekistan too there were explosions in Tashkent in February 1999. The third is extremism: supporting reaching one’s aims by violence. All peace-loving states must fight such dangers together. The fourth is ecological problems. The hardest for Uzbekistan is the Aral Sea tragedy: until recently the Aral Sea was one of the world’s large lakes. From the 1960s much water of the Amu Darya and Syr Darya was taken, mostly for irrigation, and little reached the sea. The sea shrank greatly, split into northern and southern parts, and much of it dried up. Sand and salt spread on the wind, harming people’s health, crops and fishing. Many kinds of fish disappeared. To save the Aral, the Central Asian states set up an international fund and the UN is helping; saxaul and other trees are being planted on the dried seabed. Every person can help by saving water and protecting nature.