Doha, Qatar: Secretary-General of the United Nations H E Antonio Guterres has said a meeting of special envoys on Afghanistan held in Doha has reached a consensus on proposals from an independent UN assessment on Afghanistan.
Guterres said the assessment recommended the appointment of a UN special envoy. He said he would hold consultations to see if there are conditions to create a UN envoy.
“The proposed envoy could have a coordinating role in the country and work effectively with the de facto authorities of Afghanistan,” he said, while addressing a press conference yesterday. “It was decided that I would initiate a serious process of consultations to see if there are conditions to create a new envoy that might be able not only to have a coordinating role in relation to the engagement that are taking place, but they also can work effectively with the authorities of Afghanistan. I will initiate, immediately, those consultations.”
Under the auspices of the United Nations, Qatar hosted the 2nd meeting of Special Envoys on Afghanistan with the participation of the UN chief.
“We want an Afghanistan in peace, peace with itself and peace with its neighbours, able to assume commitments and international obligations as the sovereign state.”
He said there had been discussion of a contact group with a limited number of states able to have a more coordinated approach in the engagement with the de facto authorities of Afghanistan. “This could include permanent members of the UN Security Council, neighbouring countries and relevant donors but it would be up to member states to decide how to create it”.
He said there is need for Afghanistan not to be the hot bed of the terrorist activities that impact any other country.
He said the envoys have a vision of Afghanistan with inclusive institutions having representation of diverse groups.
Guterres said there are also concerns about the respect for human rights and in particular the rights of women. “We can see that it is essential to revoke the decisions that do not allow girls to be in secondary and tertiary school and do not allow women to effectively work in the majority of the profession.”
He said some positive things were also happening on ground. “We recognise a number of aspects, a lot of things are happening on the ground. There is a very intense economic cooperation between Afghanistan and its neighbours, in trade, in infrastructure, in water, in other dimensions, and that is positive. “But we also recognise that there is an essential set of questions in which we are stuck. On one hand, Afghanistan remains with the government that is not recognised internationally and in many aspects not integrated in the global institutions and in the global economy. And on the other hand, there is a perception in international community that inclusivity has not improved.”
He said that one of all main objectives is to overcome the deadlock with the Taliban and to make sure that there is a road map in which things can move forward in a positive way to create the conditions in which the concerns raised by the international community are taken into account.
