United Nations General Assembly A/RES/55/44 Distr.: General 18 January 2001 Fifty-fifth session Agenda item 20 (b) Resolution adopted by the General Assembly [without reference to a Main Committee (A/55/L.16 and Add.1)] 55/44 International cooperation and coordination for the human and ecological rehabilitation and economic development of the Semipalatinsk region of Kazakhstan The General Assembly, Recalling its resolutions 52/169 M of 16 December 1997 and 53/1 H of 16 November 1998, Welcoming the report of the Secretary-General, 1 Recognizing that the Semipalatinsk nuclear testing ground, inherited by Kazakhstan and closed in 1991, remains a matter of serious concern for the people and Government of Kazakhstan with regard to its consequences for the lives and health of the people, especially children and other vulnerable groups, as well as for the environment of the region, Conscious that the international community should pay due attention to the issue of the human, ecological and socio-economic dimensions of the situation in the Semipalatinsk region, Recognizing the need to coordinate national and international efforts aimed at the rehabilitation of the health of the affected population and the environment in this region, Bearing in mind the need for know-how in minimizing and mitigating radiological, health, socio-economic, psychological and environmental problems in the Semipalatinsk region, Recalling the Almaty Declaration 2 of the heads of the Central Asian States of 28 February 1997, proclaiming 1998 as the Year of Environmental Protection in the region of Central Asia, Taking into consideration the results of the international conference on the problems of the Semipalatinsk region, held in Tokyo in 1999, which have promoted the effectiveness of the assistance provided to the population of the region, 1 2 00 56203 A/55/212. A/52/112, annex.