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STORY: UN / AFGHANISTAN
TRT: 02:59
SOURCE: UNIFEED
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 23 MARCH 2021, NEW YORK CITY / FILE
RECENT – NEW YORK CITY
1. Wide shot, exterior, United Nations Headquarters
23 MARCH 2021, NEW YORK CITY
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3. SOUNDBITE (English) Deborah Lyons, Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan:
“Both the peace process and any peace agreement must reflect the Afghan population of today. Allow me to recall, for all of us, that half of the population of Afghanistan was born after the signing of the Bonn Agreement in 2001. This generation has grown up in a different Afghanistan.”
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5. SOUNDBITE (English) Deborah Lyons, Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan:
“We always knew that this would be a complicated peace. Decades of conflict have created real grievances on all sides and there remains a lack of trust amongst the parties. There are also genuine and profound differences between the Islamic Republic and the Taliban over their desired end state.”
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7. SOUNDBITE (English) Deborah Lyons, Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan:
“When I speak to the Council next, in June, we will have passed the proposed date for the withdrawal of international troops under the US-Taliban agreement. I hope that by then, we will be able to discuss real progress, brought about by continued negotiations in Doha, tangible outcomes from the meeting in Turkey, and, if not a ceasefire, at least a substantial de-escalation in violence.”
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9. SOUNDBITE (English) Adela Raz, Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Afghanistan:
“While we are cautiously optimistic about peace early results, we remain adamant that a strong and more genuine commitment to peace must be shown and translated into action by the Taliban, particularly considering the continued high level of violence and targeted attacks, the continued relationship with terrorist organizations, and their lack of adherence to a humanitarian ceasefire despite multiple calls, and reports of their preparations for a counterproductive spring offensive.”
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11. SOUNDBITE (English) Linda Thomas-Greenfield, Permanent Representative to the United Nations, United States:
“Throughout this conflict, Afghan women have bravely stepped up – often at great personal risk – to call for a sustainable, just peace. Their strong voices must be fully included in all discussions about the country’s future. The United States will continue to advocate with both Afghan sides for women to have real, meaningful participation in upcoming gatherings on peace.”
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The Head of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), Deborah Lyons, today (23 Mar) told the Security Council that “both the peace process and any peace agreement must reflect the Afghan population of today,” and noted that “half of the population of Afghanistan was born after the signing of the Bonn Agreement in 2001.”
Lyons, who is also the Special Representative of the Secretary-General in the country said, “this generation has grown up in a different Afghanistan.”
The Bonn Agreement was signed on December 2001, following the US invasion of Afghanistan and the 11 September 11 terrorist attacks in the United States.
Lyons said, “we always knew that this would be a complicated peace. Decades of conflict have created real grievances on all sides and there remains a lack of trust amongst the parties. There are also genuine and profound differences between the Islamic Republic and the Taliban over their desired end state.”
She noted that for the Council next meeting on Afghanistan in June, “we will have passed the proposed date for the withdrawal of international troops under the US-Taliban agreement.:
Lyons said, “I hope that by then, we will be able to discuss real progress, brought about by continued negotiations in Doha, tangible outcomes from the meeting in Turkey, and, if not a ceasefire, at least a substantial de-escalation in violence.”
Afghan Ambassador Adela Raz said, “while we are cautiously optimistic” about the early results of current peace negotiations. “
Raz said, “we remain adamant that a strong and more genuine commitment to peace must be shown and translated into action by the Taliban, particularly considering the continued high level of violence and targeted attacks, the continued relationship with terrorist organizations, and their lack of adherence to a humanitarian ceasefire despite multiple calls, and reports of their preparations for a counterproductive spring offensive.”
United States Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield stressed the role of women in the peace process.
She said, “throughout this conflict, Afghan women have bravely stepped up – often at great personal risk – to call for a sustainable, just peace. Their strong voices must be fully included in all discussions about the country’s future.”
The US-Taliban agreement commits the United States to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan within 14 months, conditioned on the Taliban meeting its commitments.
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