Afghan deputy PM Hanafi meets with UN delegation in Kabul

The Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations, Amina Mohammed, along with a UN delegation, met with Abdul Salam Hanafi, the deputy prime minister of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) this week and shared concerns about the recent decisions banning women from education and working for NGOs.

Also at the meeting was the head of the United Nations mission in Afghanistan, Roza Otunbayeva.

She said at the meeting that Afghan women living abroad told her that if they are provided with work and opportunities in Afghanistan, they will return home.

Amina Mohammed said that there is a need for women to work and that this should be addressed through dialogue.

“We want to increase aid to Afghanistan and make this country an active member of the international community,” she added.

Meanwhile, the Executive Director of the United Nations Women’s Division, Sima Bahous, said there was a direct correlation to aid distribution and women working. They have to find ways to work in light of Afghan values and culture, she said.

She added that “11.6 million Afghans are in dire need of humanitarian assistance at the moment.”

For his part, Hanafi, welcomed the UN delegation, thanked them for assistance in the sectors of health, education, and agriculture, and said that the United Nations has taken steps to remove IEA members from the blacklist, and recognize the Islamic Emirate.

Hanafi said that the UN has not, however, paid the necessary attention to handing over the seat of the permanent representation of Afghanistan to the United Nations.

Hanafi said that due to the long war in Afghanistan, millions of Afghans migrated, and five million became addicted to drugs, where one million of them are women and children.

Many Afghans need international aid due to long wars, poverty, and droughts in the country, Hanafi added.

Citing the general amnesty by the Islamic Emirate, Hanafi said that security has been ensured, corruption eradicated, drug cultivation and smuggling have been stopped, and Daesh suppressed.

Hanafi said that the Islamic Emirate has made achievements in the health, education, and security sectors among others.

He stated that humanitarian aid should not be linked to political issues, and that problems should be resolved through dialogue.