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Ghani calls for immediate ceasefire at Geneva conference
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IANS | 24 Nov, 2020
While addressing the opening ceremony of the Afghanistan 2020 Conference
in Geneva on Tuesday, Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani called on the
Taliban to agree on an immediate ceasefire to move the peace process
forward and end the suffering of the people of the country.
President
Ghani said that despite the suffering, "our commitments to negotiations
with the Taliban remain firm", TOLO news reported.
"We need to create a strong regional consensus for a stable and peaceful Afghanistan," Ghani said.
"The
ultimate result of our work moving forward, and the ultimate benefit of
our committed partnership, comes when we move past the war, the
poverty, and the pandemic," Ghani said.
He also said that after
the international forces reduced from 150,000 in 2011, to below 10,000
in Afghanistan, the Afghan security forces "successfully took over
responsibility for security and counter-terrorism operations in 2015".
"We
have held the frontline in the global fight against terrorism. We held
our provinces. When Taliban managed to take temporary control of a
district, we quickly took back most of them," Ghani said.
Ghani
said that in Doha, the Afghan Republic negotiating team is working on
making peace, and responsibility for "ushering the peace-making process
forward is now in the hands of the two negotiating teams at the table".
"We
must create conditions of well-being. We must also create rules of the
game, so that we do not find ourselves pulled backwards by vacuums of
governance in which destructive forces can thrive, such as corruption,
unequal distribution of resources, and internal conflict," he stated.
Ghani
said the Afghan people, the government and the international community
share a vision of a sovereign, unified, democratic Afghanistan at peace
with itself, the region and the world, capable of preserving and
expanding the gains of the past two decades.
"Our three-pillar
approach of peace, state and market-building presented in the second
Afghanistan National Peace and Development Framework were validated and
further enriched through a series of workshops with our partners in a
spirit of genuine openness from both sides," he said.
On fighting corruption, President Ghani said that the anti-corruption commission has been formed.
"We are working collaboratively on a comprehensive anti-corruption strategy to take us through 2024," he said.
At
the conference, the UN Secretary General António Guterres urged
immediate humanitarian ceasefire to "save lives, curb COVID-19 impact
and better atmosphere for Afghanistan peace negotiations."
"We
have a moment of hope when combined with enhanced economic opportunity
supported by Afghanistan 2020 Conference," Guterres said, adding
"Afghanistan's gains must be preserved and built on."
United
Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) chief Deborah Lyons
also said that despite decades of conflict, the people of Afghanistan
have made significant progress over recent years.
"The Afghan
economy has diversified. Improved infrastructure and power supplies are
connecting remote areas to national economic opportunities, and to
neighbouring countries. More women are in government, and in
legislatures at the national and local levels," Lyons said.
Lyons
said Afghans have made remarkable progress in achieving their human
rights – particularly those of women, minorities, and children but
adding that the people of Afghanistan face serious challenges, including
conflict, poverty and the uneven application of the rule of law.
"I
am also deeply concerned about continued high levels of violence,
particularly he recent heinous attacks on civilians, including students.
The Afghan people have suffered for far too long," she said. "I urge
the redoubling of efforts towards an immediate, unconditional
ceasefire."
Josep Borrell, the EU Minister for Foreign Affairs,
said "violence in Afghanistan must stop, not tomorrow but by now,"
adding that "women's rights in Afghanistan must be protected."
Foreign ministers of other countries also reiterated on ceasefire and an end to violence in Afghanistan.
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