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UN defers decision to give IEA govt a seat in general assembly
A special UN committee has ruled that Afghanistan’s seat in the UN General Assembly should not be given to the new Afghan government for now.
Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan’s (IEA) Doha-based spokesman Suhail Shaheen, who is the IEA’s nominated UN ambassador, said in response to the announcement that “this decision is not based on principles and justice because it has taken away the legitimate rights of the Afghan people.
“We hope that in the near future this right will be handed over to the representative of the Government of Afghanistan at the United Nations so that the problems of the Afghan people can be solved more effectively and efficiently and we can have positive interactions with the international community.”
This comes after a UN committee on Wednesday deferred a decision on who will represent Afghanistan and Myanmar at the United Nations.
Rival claims were made for the seats of both countries with the IEA and Myanmar’s junta pitted against ambassadors appointed by the governments they ousted this year.
UN acceptance of the IEA or Myanmar’s junta would be a step toward the international recognition sought by both.
The nine-member UN credentials committee, which includes Russia, China and the United States, met at UN headquarters to consider the credentials of all 193 members for the current session of the UN General Assembly.
Several diplomats had told Reuters that the committee was likely to defer its decisions on the representation of Afghanistan and Myanmar on the understanding that the current ambassadors for both countries remain in those seats.
While the committee chair, Sweden’s UN Ambassador Anna Karin Enestrom, told reporters the decisions had been deferred, she declined to comment on whether the ambassador appointed by the former Ashraf Ghani government for Afghanistan would still represent their countries.
The United Nations has warned that around one million children in Afghanistan are suffering from life-threatening severe acute malnutrition and could die without urgent treatment.
UNICEF said on Tuesday that about 3.7 million children across Afghanistan are suffering from wasting, a condition caused by acute malnutrition.
Tajudeen Oyewale, UNICEF’s representative in Afghanistan, said around one million of these children are suffering from severe acute malnutrition, which is considered the most dangerous form of acute hunger.
“If there is no treatment and we are not able to act fast, that one million number are at risk of dying,” Oyewale said during a media briefing in Geneva, speaking from Kabul.
He said the nutrition crisis is worsening across the country, with more than 500,000 children requiring hospital care so far this year for moderate and severe wasting.
According to UNICEF, nearly 40 percent of children admitted to hospitals with severe wasting and medical complications are babies younger than six months. Children under the age of two account for more than 80 percent of severe acute malnutrition cases.
Oyewale said malnutrition is playing a major role in the increasing number of deaths among very young children in Afghanistan.
The situation has also placed growing pressure on hospitals. In July last year, around 6,000 severe malnutrition cases were recorded, while the number rose by about one-third to more than 8,000 cases by July this year.
“In parts of southern Afghanistan, some hospitals are now seeing three or four severely malnourished children for every available bed,” Oyewale said.
Kabul Municipality says the districts of Bagrami and Chahar Asyab will be incorporated into Kabul city as part of a broader plan to expand and develop the capital.
Nematullah Barakzai, a Kabul Municipality official, told the BBC that Kabul has experienced significant growth in recent years, both through the expansion of the city’s boundaries and the construction of high-rise buildings.
“Kabul is not only growing vertically, but it has also seen considerable horizontal expansion, which can be observed on Google Maps,” Barakzai said. “Kabul currently has 22 municipal districts, and Bagrami and Chahar Asyab are also expected to be incorporated into the city.”
The municipality has not yet announced a specific timeline for implementing the plan.
Bagrami is located about 15 kilometers from central Kabul, while Chahar Asyab lies south of the capital and serves as one of the main routes connecting Kabul with Afghanistan’s southern provinces.
Amir Khan Muttaqi, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Emirate, met with Mohammad Nasser Mohammad Al-Sayer, CEO of Kuwait’s Al-Sayer Group.
According to a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Emirate, the meeting focused on Afghanistan’s current situation, security, stability, as well as opportunities in trade and investment.
Muttaqi described relations between Kuwait and Afghanistan as historical and positive, expressing hope for further expansion of comprehensive ties between the two countries.
Nasser Al-Sayer, expressing his satisfaction with his visit to Afghanistan, said he wanted to establish trade relations with Afghanistan in the future.
He added that his company plans to export fresh and dried fruits from Afghanistan to Kuwait and other markets.
The two sides also emphasized expanding economic and trade relations, strengthening joint cooperation, facilitating travel, and making effective use of investment opportunities available in Afghanistan.
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