Peace Is Impossible Without Preserving Republic System, Human Rights Values: FM

The Afghan Ministry of Foreign Affairs hosted the second Afghanistan-EU Special Working Group meeting on human rights, good governance and migration on Thursday.

Speaking at the event in Kabul, Acting Foreign Minister Salahuddin Rabbani warned that peace is impossible in the country without preserving the republic system and human rights values.

“In order to find a permanent solution to the conflicts of last decades, there is a need for respecting the rights of all citizens, the development of public welfare, the realization of social justice, and the implementation of rule of law. These items form our main conditions for peace negotiation,” Rabbani said.

At the same event, Paola Pampaloni, Director for Asia-Pacific at the European External Action Service (EEAS) said that the international human rights that Afghanistan has committed in the past years to observe should not be negotiable in the U.S.-Taliban peace talks.

“A peace agreement will be viable and accepted by the population if it supports and maintains the values and the achievements of the past two decades. In particular, the fundamental freedoms and rights of women, children, and minorities,” Ms. Pampaloni said.

These remarks come as the U.S. and Taliban representatives continue the sixth round of peace talks in Doha, the capital of Qatar, aimed at ending violence in Afghanistan.