With all the major indicators for Afghanistan’s security and development looking “negative or stagnant” as international troops withdraw, the threats that lie ahead cannot be overstated, the top UN official in the country told the Security Council on Tuesday.
Amidst a period of “heightened intensity”, the UN Special Representative told the Security Council on Tuesday that the killing, displacement and suffering of the Afghan people “must end now”.
President Ashraf Ghani of Afghanistan told the 75th session of the UN General Assembly on Wednesday that his country was moving into the next five years “with a clear plan for progressing the values of the UN”, which are enshrined in its own constitution.
The UN’s top official in Afghanistan has warned that with the formal launch of direct peace negotiations imminent, near-record violence in the country is creating an atmosphere of mistrust that risks derailing long-sought talks between the Government and the Taliban.
The search for peace will remain of “paramount importance” to Afghanistan as the country awaits the outcome of the recent presidential election, the top UN official in the country told the Security Council on Monday.
The long Afghan conflict can only be resolved by “direct talks” between its own people, the chief of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) told the Security Council on Tuesday, underscoring that they must be inclusive and represent “the whole spectrum of Afghan society”.
Afghan women have “paid a high price” during their country’s nearly four decades of conflict, the United Nations deputy chief said on Friday, addressing the Security Council a day after Kabul had been hit with a fresh round of “horrific” bomb attacks.
The UN deputy chief issued an impassioned plea on Sunday for Afghans to reconcile with the past and put “women at the centre” of all efforts to forge a durable peace, and a truly inclusive political process where women’s voices are truly heard.
The presidential election scheduled for 28 September will be a “key moment to reaffirm the legitimacy of Afghanistan’s democratic political structure”, the United Nations mission chief in the country told the Security Council on Wednesday.
The UN Special Representative in Afghanistan, Tadamichi Yamamoto, hailed on-going efforts made towards peace and the engagement of women and youth across the country, but warned the Security Council on Monday that “daunting challenges” remain.
