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World leaders band together for Afghan women to have a voice

Published

3 years ago

September 12, 2020

(Last Updated On: September 12, 2020)

Over 100 formidable leaders from around the world have joined together as signatories to an open letter calling for meaningful participation of Afghan women in the peace process that started in Doha Saturday.

They stated that substantive involvement of women in peace talks makes agreements more likely to be attained and upheld.

Among those who signed the letter, issued by Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security, are Madeleine Albright, Former United States Secretary of State; Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the United Arab Emirates; Laura Bush, Former First Lady of the United States; Angelina Jolie, Special Envoy of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees; Hillary Rodham Clinton, Former United States Secretary of State; Ban Ki-moon, Former Secretary-General of the United Nations; and John Kerry, Former United States Secretary of State among others.

In total, 104 leaders signed the letter that called on “all relevant national, regional and international actors to pursue a peaceful, stable Afghanistan by ensuring women’s full participation in the peace process.”

They stated that after 40 years of conflict, there may finally be an opportunity for peace but that the international community has an obligation to assist with ensuring that the peace forged is durable and this opportunity is not squandered.

“As global leaders and foreign policy experts, we have seen clear proof that women’s involvement is key to establishing a lasting and sustainable peace,” the letter read.

“The substantive involvement of women in peace talks makes agreements more likely to be attained and upheld. We have seen evidence of women’s powerful influence in peace processes in recent times, from Colombia to the Philippines.

“The direct impact women’s participation has on ensuring stability makes their inclusion an international security issue, which the UN Security Council recognized when it adopted the landmark resolution on Women, Peace and Security (UNSCR 1325) twenty years ago this fall.”

The letter went on to state that the international community should prioritize women’s meaningful inclusion in order to help obtain the long-term security goals the world has been working towards for decades.

The progress made in Afghanistan since women have begun to be integrated into society was also noted and the Taliban’s ban on girls being educated was raised.

“Women went from being virtually erased under Taliban rule to becoming policewomen, teachers, public officials, mayors and entrepreneurs,” they stated.

In 2019, women accounted for 28 percent of the Afghan parliament – a proportion higher than 67 percent of countries tracked by the World Bank.

“Guaranteeing the preservation of equality, democracy, and inclusivity will promote stability and help to protect future generations from the threat of extremism. Afghanistan, the region, and the world would all be safer as a result,” their letter stated.

Outlining what needs to be done, the group of leaders stated the following:

Given the key role of women in ensuring durable peace, the following measures are necessary:

Women need to be party to the negotiations, not just an issue to be discussed.
Women must be involved throughout every step of the process.
The perspective of women and youth must be reflected in any agreement.

To ensure these goals are met, we call on the international community to do the following:

Persuade negotiators to preserve equal rights for all its citizens as guaranteed by the Afghan constitution.
Condition international aid on the preservation of the rights and liberties currently enjoyed by Afghan citizens, especially women’s rights.
Implement legitimate and established monitoring mechanisms for ensuring the maintenance of rights. Ensure these mechanisms are outlined in the peace agreement and that women are part of the development, implementation and monitoring of such mechanisms.

The full list of signatories is as below:

Karen AbuZayd, Commissioner of the UN Inquiry on Syria and Former Commissioner-General of UNRWA

María Elena Agüero, Secretary-General of the Club de Madrid
Shamshad Akhtar, Former UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of ESCAP
Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the United Arab Emirates
Madeleine Albright, Former United States Secretary of State
Amat Al Alim Alsoswa, Yemen’s Former Minister for Human Rights, Former UN Assistant Secretary-General and UNDP Assistant Administrator
Valerie Amos, Former UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator
Mayu Ávila, Former Minister of Foreign Affairs of El Salvador
Lloyd Axworthy, Former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Canada
Ali Babacan, Former Deputy Prime Minister of Turkey
Jan Peter Balkenende, Former Prime Minister of The Netherlands
Carol Bellamy, Former Executive Director of UNICEF
Mohamed Benaissa, Former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Morocco
Catherine Bertini , Former Executive Director of the UN World Food Program
Carl Bildt, Former Prime Minister of Sweden
Julie Bishop, Former Minister for Foreign Affairs of Australia
Irina Bokova, Former Director-General of UNESCO
Lakhdar Brahimi, Former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Algeria and UN Special Envoy for Afghanistan
Gro Harlem Brundtland, Former Prime Minister of Norway
Laura Bush, Former First Lady of the United States
Margaret Chan, Former Director-General of the World Health Organization
Helen Clark, Former Prime Minister of New Zealand and Administrator of UNDP
Joe Clark, Former Prime Minister of Canada
Sean Cleary, Chief Director of the Office of the Administrator General of Namibia
Hillary Rodham Clinton, Former United States Secretary of State
Kathleen Cravero, Former UNDP Assistant Secretary-General for Conflict Prevention and Recovery
Staffan de Mistura, Former Under Secretary-General and UN Special Envoy to Iraq, Afghanistan, and Syria
Isabel de Saint Malo, Former Vice President of Panama
Erik Derycke, Former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belgium
Rut Diamint, Chief of Cabinet and Advisor to the Argentine Ministry of Defense
Lamberto Dini, Former Prime Minister of Italy
Paula J. Dobriansky, Former United States Under-Secretary of State for Global Affairs
Alexander Downer, Former Minister for Foreign Affairs of Australia
Mikuláš Dzurinda, Former Prime Minister of Slovakia
Jan Eliasson, Former Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations and Minister for Foreign Affairs of Sweden
María Fernanda Espinosa, Former Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of National Defence of Ecuador
Christiana Figueres, Former Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change
Joschka Fischer, Former Minister of Foreign Affairs and Vice-Chancellor of Germany
Louise Fréchette, Former Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations
Robert Gates, Former United States Secretary of Defense
Rose Gottemoeller, Former Deputy Secretary-General of NATO
Dalia Grybauskaitė, Former President of Lithuania
Rebeca Grynspan, Ibero-American Secretary-General and Former Vice President of Costa Rica
Geeta Rao Gupta, Former Deputy Executive Director of UNICEF
Stephen Hadley, Former United States National Security Advisor
Chuck Hagel, Former United States Secretary of Defense
Lord William Hague, Former Foreign Secretary of the United Kingdom
Tarja Halonen, Former President of Finland
Ameerah Haq, Former UN Under-Secretary-General for the Department of Field Support
Stephen J. Harper, Former Prime Minister of Canada
Noeleen Heyzer, Former Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations
John Howard, Former Prime Minister of Australia
Toomas Hendrik Ilves, Former President of Estonia
Igor Ivanov, Former Foreign Minister of Russia
Atifete Jahjaga , Former President of Kosovo
Angelina Jolie , Special Envoy of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
Medhi Jomaa, Former Prime Minister of Tunisia
Ivo Josipović , Former President of Croatia
Marina Kaljurand, Former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Estonia
John Kerry, Former United States Secretary of State
Rima Khalaf, Former UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of ESCWA
Ban Ki-moon, Former Secretary-General of the United Nations
Aleksander Kwaśniewski, Former President of Poland
Rachel Kyte, Former Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Sustainable Energy for All
Zlatko Lagumdžija , Former Prime Minister of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Tzipi Livni, Former Foreign Minister, Vice Prime Minister, and Minister of Justice of Israel
Jessie Rose Mabutas, Former Assistant President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development
Peter MacKay, Former Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of National Defence of Canada
Susana Malcorra, Former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Argentina
Purnima Mane, Former UN Assistant Secretary-General and Deputy Executive Director of UNFPA
Mara Marinaki, EEAS Principal Advisor on Gender and on the Implementation of UNSCR 1325 on Women, Peace and Security
Cindy McCain, Chair of the McCain Institute Board of Trustees
Sir Donald McKinnon, Former Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of New Zealand
Monica McWilliams, Former Chief Commissioner of the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission and Signatory to the Northern Ireland Good Friday Peace Agreement
David Miliband, Former Foreign Secretary of the United Kingdom
Laura Chinchilla Miranda, Former President of Costa Rica
Amr Moussa, Former Secretary-General of the Arab League and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Egypt
Marwan al-Muasher, Former Minister for Foreign Affairs and Deputy Prime Minister of Jordan
Roza Otunbayeva, Former President of Kyrgyzstan
Ana Palacio, Former Minister for Foreign Affairs of Spain
Leon Panetta, Former United States Secretary of Defense
George Papandreou, Former Prime Minister of Greece
Colin L. Powell, Former United States Secretary of State and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs
Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Former Prime Minister of Denmark and Secretary-General of NATO
Òscar Ribas Reig, Former Prime Minister of Andorra
Condoleezza Rice, Former United States Secretary of State
Malcolm Rifkind, Former Secretary of State for Scotland, Defence Secretary, and Foreign Secretary of the United Kingdom
Lord George Robertson, Former NATO Secretary-General and UK Defense Secretary
Mary Robinson, Former President of Ireland
Fatiha Serour, UN Deputy Special Representative for Somalia
Karin Sham Poo, Former Deputy Executive Director of UNICEF
Natan Sharansky, Former Deputy Prime Minister of Israel and Political Prisoner of the Soviet Union
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Former President of Liberia
Gillian Sorensen, Former UN Assistant Secretary-General for External Relations
Cassam Uteem, Former President of Mauritius
Jozias van Aartsen, Former Mayor of Amsterdam and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands
Hubert Védrine, Former Minister of Foreign Affairs of France
Ann Veneman, Former Executive Director of UNICEF
Melanne Verveer, Former United States Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues
Knut Vollebæk , Former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Norway
Alexandr “Sasha” Vondra, Former Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of Defence of the Czech Republic
Margot Wallström, Former Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs of Sweden
José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, Former Prime Minister of Spain
Miomir Žužul, Former Minister for Foreign Affairs of Croatia

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IEA will be balanced in its politics and relations with all countries: Muttaqi

Published

1 hour ago

March 31, 2023

Ariana News

(Last Updated On: March 31, 2023)

The foreign minister says the Islamic Emirate’s relations with all the neighboring countries and the region are going well, but the country’s relations with Western countries have some problems.

In an interview with an Arabic TV channel, Amir Khan Muttaqi said currently the embassies of neighboring countries and the region are open in Kabul, and the diplomats of the IEA are accepted in many countries.

“Currently, the embassies of neighboring countries and the region such as China, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Iran, Pakistan, Kazakhstan and Russia are open in Kabul,” said Muttaqi.

“Also, India, Turkey, United Arab Emirates and Qatar have diplomatic activities, and in addition, the diplomats of the Islamic Emirate are accepted and active in many of these countries. It should be said that Afghanistan has no problems in its relations with neighboring countries and the region, and we only have problems in relations with Western countries,” he added.

Muttaqi criticized America’s interference in Afghanistan’s internal affairs, which is against the Doha Agreement, but he emphasized that their meetings continue to help improve relations with the US and progress has been made.

“At the moment, we have relations with the United States, our meetings continue and various and important issues are discussed, and we have many good developments with them,” he said.

He meanwhile emphasized that IEA is in favor of good relations and positive interactions with the international community, but the world should not set preconditions for interaction with the Islamic Emirate.

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IEA hoping to increase the number of soldiers to as many as 200,000 by end of this solar year

Published

18 hours ago

March 30, 2023

Ariana News

(Last Updated On: March 30, 2023)

The Islamic Emirate’s ministry of defense says it plans to increase the number of the country’s national army soldiers from 150,000 to between 170,000 and 200,000 in the current solar year.

Qari Fasihuddin Fetrat, the army chief of staff, said in an interview that the IEA has all the military equipment from the previous government and that the army is ready to fight any potential threat.

“Inshallah, with this number, we can protect the entire territory of Afghanistan, but there is a need for other forces, and we have decided to increase the number of soldiers,” he said.

“In the current [solar] year, we have decided to increase the number of soldiers from 150,000 to 170,000 and slowly it will reach 200,000.”

Fetrat has also stated that reports about the formation of opposition groups outside the country, to stand against the IEA government, are a “dream”.

He emphasized that foreign countries exaggerate the presence of Daesh in Afghanistan and that the group does not have a strong presence in the country.

“Some of the acts of destruction that are carried out in Afghanistan are also carried out in many advanced countries, but despite that, the Islamic Emirate neutralized their efforts and plans,” he said.

“You can see that the security which is in Afghanistan today may not be in Washington,” he added.

In addition, the IEA’s army chief of staff also criticized the US for violating Afghanistan’s air space.

“We are trying to reach a level where the occupation of Afghanistan’s air sovereignty will end and it will be given to the Islamic Emirate,” said Fetrat.

According to him, in addition to the two military units in Bagram and Badakhshan, there are eight military corps including the Central Army Corps in the provinces of Kandahar, Helmand, Paktia, Laghman, Kunduz and Balkh.

He also said soldiers, who worked under the former government, are “perform duties within the framework of the defense ministry.”

Latest News

IEA downplays SCO concerns about threats emanating from Afghanistan

Published

20 hours ago

March 30, 2023

Ariana News

(Last Updated On: March 30, 2023)

Responding to concerns voiced by the national security advisors of some regional countries at this week’s Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) meeting in India, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) on Thursday reiterated promises that Afghanistan’s soil would not be used against any country.

The spokesman for the Islamic Emirate Bilal Karimi said all of Afghanistan was secure and well managed by security forces and that the IEA will not allow “anyone to interfere with security”.

This comes after Russia’s National Security Adviser Nikolai Patrushev said at Wednesday’s SCO meeting in India that the situation in Afghanistan is not only tense, but has created dangers for the security of SCO member countries.

“It is important to closely monitor the situation in Afghanistan, because the situation in this country is unstable and despite the continued rule of the Taliban (Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan) over this country, this situation has continued. Illegal arms and drug trafficking has created illegal immigration,” said Nikolai Patrushev.

The IEA has repeatedly rejected concerns about security threats from Afghanistan, including the threat of Daesh.

Patrushev also said at the meeting that the US and its allies had a responsibility towards Afghanistan and rebuilding its economy. However he warned that any US or NATO military presence in the region would not be tolerated.