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New constitution in Afghanistan should be adopted following national dialogue: Rome meeting
A new constitution for Afghanistan should only be adopted following a transparent, inclusive, and meaningful national consultative dialogue, envoys of eight countries and the European Union said in a meeting in Italy’s capital Rome.
The meeting of Special Representatives and Envoys for Afghanistan from Canada, the European Union, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Norway, the United Kingdom, and the United States was held on October 18, according to a joint statement released by the US State Department on Tuesday.
They noted with regret that the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) has taken “no serious steps to initiate an inclusive political process with fellow Afghans regarding the future order of the country; and affirmed that legitimacy is derived, first and foremost, from the Afghan people.”
They emphasized that “a new constitution for the country should only be adopted following a transparent, inclusive, and meaningful national consultative dialogue and urged the Taliban and other Afghans to seek advice from the UN and OIC in this regard.”
Participants of the meeting also expressed “grave concern for the human rights situation in Afghanistan; and reiterated their firm belief that the Taliban’s policies excluding women and girls from social, economic, political and cultural life in Afghanistan, including restrictions on education and employment, violate the rights of Afghans and international obligations, deeply undermine the economy and affect the prospect of the country’s development and long-term stability.”
They called on the IEA to “reverse their restrictive educational policies immediately; and affirmed that education is a human right and that equal access to quality education, based on curricula that meet international standards and that cover various areas of knowledge, should be ensured for all.”
Participants of the meeting acknowledged IEA actions to tackle terrorist threats from ISIS-K but “expressed concern that some terrorist groups still reside safely inside Afghanistan and are able to plan and carry out cross-border terrorist strikes.”
They urged all States, including Afghanistan’s neighbors, to uphold their applicable obligations with respect to the protection of refugees, to promote the right to seek asylum, and to ensure individuals, and called on these States to put in place measures to develop a system of registration for undocumented Afghans, while ensuring protection for vulnerable Afghans in need of international protection, according to the statement.
This comes as the Islamic Emirate has repeatedly said that it is committed to ensuring the rights of Afghans according to Sharia.
A tripartite meeting between the delegations of Afghanistan, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan was held in Kabul with the aim of connecting North Asia to South Asia and reducing transit and transportation costs among these three countries, the Ministry of Trade and Commerce said in a statement.
In this meeting, an agreement was reached on the creation of a joint technical committee to continue the talks.
This tripartite meeting was held under the leadership of Nooruddin Azizi, the Acting Minister of Industry and Commerce, Vice President of Turkmenistan and Srik Zhumangarin, the Deputy Prime Minister of Kazakhstan.
Earlier, a bilateral meeting was held between the delegation of the Islamic Emirate and Turkmenistan. The ministry of commerce said the participants of the meeting discussed the construction of a large joint logistics center in Torghondi, the trilateral transit agreement between the IEA, Turkmenistan, and Kazakhstan, the expansion of Afghanistan’s railway, solving issues related to Afghan transit and export goods, and a number of other commercial issues.
Acting Minister of National Defense Mohammad Yaqub Mujahid has said that no destructive groups including Daesh have physical presence in Afghanistan, adding the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) will not allow anyone to pose threat to any country in the region from the Afghan soil.
Mujahid made the remarks in a meeting with a delegation from Malaysia in Kabul on Thursday.
According to a statement released by the Ministry of Defense, Mujahid highlighted Malaysia’s “good treatment” of Afghan refugees and its long-standing relations with Afghanistan, and said that Malaysia is a powerful Islamic country and visits should increase.
He added that with the establishment of the Islamic Emirate, occupation and war ended in Afghanistan, and the country is fully secure.
Based on the statement, the Malaysian delegation called Afghanistan a friendly country and while emphasizing on comprehensive cooperation, it assured that what they have seen in Afghanistan will be shared with the authorities of their country.
The European Union signed an agreement worth 17 million euros with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) to improve access to basic services, increased economic opportunities and protection for Afghans on the move and their host communities in Afghanistan.
The needs of women and girls are a particular focus of the programme, EU said in a statement released on Thursday.
The statement noted that from January 2023 until April 2024, over 1.5 million Afghans returned from Pakistan and Iran.
“I am deeply moved by the hardship returnees face when being deported to Afghanistan. In a country suffering from poverty and climate change, and in a city that just saw devastating earthquakes, this truly is a crisis within a crisis.”, said Peteris Ustubs, Director for the Middle East, Asia and Pacific of the European Commission’s Department for International Partnerships during the signing ceremony at the IOM transit centre in Herat.
Raffaella Iodice, EU Chargée d’Affaires a.i. to Afghanistan, added “The solidarity of the Afghan people towards their brothers and sisters is an inspiration. We must assure that communities hosting and helping new arrivals are supported. The partnership with IOM ensures access to essential services and provides protection for Afghan returnees and their host communities. As women and girls can be particularly affected, we make sure that all members of society can benefit”.
“IOM’s continued partnership with the EU has been critical in enabling our teams to reach hundreds of thousands of Afghan returnees and other vulnerable communities in the country”, said IOM Afghanistan Chief of Mission, Maria Moita. “Thanks to this renewed commitment, we will be able to focus on addressing the immense challenges in the areas of return and contribute to reintegration, social cohesion, and longer-term solutions for those communities.”
This additional contribution is part of a 5-year programme that is being implemented across Afghanistan and in four countries in the region. It builds on the EU’s previous support to IOM to improve the wellbeing of Afghans forced to return to the country, EU said.
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