United Nations Radio

A UN expert has welcomed progress made by the Kyrgyz Republic in addressing the problem of toxic waste.

Ibeanu Okechukwu

Okechukwu Ibeanu, a Special Rapporteur of the UN Human Rights Council, notes, however, that more needs to be done to improve the situation.

Mr. Ibeanu concluded a 10-day mission to the Kyrgyz Republic on Friday. While there, he traveled to three cities including the capital, Bishkek, to assess the dangers that radioactive and hazardous waste storage poses to humans and the environment. He also met with senior government officials, academics and representatives from NGOs.

In a statement, Mr. Ibeanu noted that the Kyrgyz Republic has made efforts to draw international attention to "the serious transboundary threats" caused by contamination of groundwater resources and rivers in the Central Asian region.

But he points out that more remains to be done "to minimize such threats," and he called for stronger co-operation between government ministries and agencies working on the management and disposal of radioactive and toxic products and wastes.

Dianne Penn, United Nations Radio
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