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Afghanistan: UN envoy voices sadness after accidental death of peacekeepers

Afghanistan: UN envoy voices sadness after accidental death of peacekeepers

The United Nations envoy in Afghanistan voiced his sorrow today over a fatal munitions accident yesterday that had killed five international peacekeepers.

“The Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Afghanistan, Lakhdar Brahimi, is deeply saddened” by the tragic development, the envoy’s spokesman told reporters in Kabul.

Five German and Dutch peacekeepers serving with the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) had lost their lives while attempting to destroy a missile in a controlled manner.

Meanwhile, Afghanistan is gearing up to commemorate International Women’s Day for the first time in 11 years. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mary Robinson, is among those slated to attend commemorations in Kabul as part of her four-day visit to the country. While in the Afghan capital, Mrs. Robinson is scheduled to meet with a number of senior officials, including the Chairman of the Interim Administration, Hamid Karzai, as well as representatives of civil society and the human rights community.

In a related development, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) today announced that it had received high-level government backing for its efforts to matriculate female students.

“Yesterday we had a meeting with the Deputy Minister for Religious Affairs, Sayed Ahmad Mabarez, and we have secured his support for the nationwide [Back to School] campaign, through the Imam community and mosques, to endorse education for all, specifically education for girls, which we think is a major achievement,” UNICEF spokesman Eddie Carwardine told the press in Kabul. “The Deputy Minister reaffirmed his support specifically for girls education, and respect for girls’ and women’s rights.”