YouSaid · the spoken record

Abdullah Abdullâh

lines on the record: 142
first: 1997-09-24
most recent: 2018-09-24
sittings or episodes: 7
sources: un-general-debate

Every line below is reproduced as it was said and linked to the record it came from. Nothing here is summarised or generated. Directory · Search · Corrections

“Meanwhile, as long as Pakistan continues to directly and massively intervene in the internal affairs of Afghanistan, the Islamic State of Afghanistan considers the task of defending the territorial integrity, national unity and political independence of Afghanistan its immediate priority.”
2000-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 55 (2000)
“One must conclude that the failure of the Jeddah indirect negotiations in particular, and of other peace initiatives at large, derive from the sad reality that peace has no place in the Taliban agenda. While striving for the realization of noble human values and principles — the institution of a democratic system, the observance of human rights, including those of women and girls, civil liberties and elections — the Islamic State of Afghanistan reiterates its firm position to strive to reach a peaceful settlement of the conflict and hereby declares its full readiness for the formation of a broad-based, multi-ethnic and fully representative Government through a workable mechanism such as the traditional grand assembly, or loya jirgah, or any other representative forum under the auspices of the United Nations.”
2000-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 55 (2000)
“In this context, the Islamic State of Afghanistan appeals to the Security Council to mandate the United Nations Special Mission to Afghanistan to dispatch an investigation team to Afghanistan to verify and report to the Security Council on the presence of Pakistani armed men and Arab fighters who are working shoulder-to-shoulder with the Taliban mercenaries. This would break the silence that has thus far encouraged further Pakistani intervention in Afghanistan. I should like to remind the Assembly that only those Afghans conscripted and forcibly recruited will be immune from prosecution by the Islamic State of Afghanistan for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. The rest shall be subject to indictment.”
2000-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 55 (2000)
“Other categories of foreign fighters in Afghanistan include Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda group and its affiliated units from around the Persian Gulf, the Middle East and Africa, and extremist groups from Central Asia, South Asia and the Far East. In addition, thousands of Afghan refugees who were educated and trained in Pakistani religious schools are dispatched to the battlefronts of Afghanistan. Finally, there are conscripted and forcibly recruited persons from around Afghanistan who are deployed as canon fodder.”
2000-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 55 (2000)
“A breakdown of Pakistani nationals fighting in Afghanistan include the following: Pakistani armed contingents, including units from the North-West Frontier Corps and different commando units, have actively participated in battles on various occasions; Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) officers involved in the planning and command and control of both intelligence operations and logistical support; ex-commissioned officers in charge of tactical operations, artillery support and logistics; frontier militia units; paramilitary members of extremist terrorist groups affiliated with the ISI, such as the Sipah-e-Sahaaba, the Sepah-e-Tayeba, the Harakat-ul-Ansar and so on; and the so-called volunteers from Pakistani madrassas, or religious schools.”
2000-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 55 (2000)
“In fact, Brigadier General Rustam of Pakistan's armed forces, who is currently stationed in Afghanistan's Kunduz province, commands the Pakistani-Taliban-bin Laden operations in the north. He has been assisted by two of bin Laden's henchmen, Abu Wara and Hubab. All of them were involved in the recent occupation of Taloqan and in the atrocities committed against the civilian population. It is important to mention that the November/December issue of Foreign Affairs magazine has estimated the total number of Pakistanis having fought in Afghanistan since 1994 to be in excess of 80,000.”
2000-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 55 (2000)
“While the predictable results will speak for themselves, present 6 and future female generations of Afghanistan will be illiterate. The cultural and social impact of that criminal act on the country's future generations will be enormous. Pakistani military intervention in Afghanistan is a fact well known to the international community. The hundreds of Pakistani prisoners captured while fighting alongside the Taliban and now in the custody of the Government; the mortal remains of hundreds of Pakistanis in the battlefields and the documents and identification cards obtained from their pockets; the intercepted radio transmissions; and the massive logistical support and the overt supply of large quantities of military hardware and ammunition, all prove the direct involvement of Pakistani army personnel in Afghanistan.”
2000-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 55 (2000)
“We believe that the commission of those heinous crimes by the Taliban militia was largely attributable to the lack of adequate response by the Security Council and the international community to bring to justice the perpetrators and others involved in incidents at Bamyan in 1997, at Mazar-e-Sharif and Bamyan in 1998, in the north of Kabul in 1999, and in the killings of Iranian diplomats, a journalist and the military adviser to the United Nations Special Mission to Afghanistan (UNSMA) in 1998. It is significant to note that the Taliban continue to deprive women of their fundamental rights, including the right to education, which affects over 100,000 female students in Kabul alone. Women are still barred from employment by the Taliban.”
2000-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 55 (2000)
“Among the many deliberate violations and instances of absolute disregard for international humanitarian law and the numerous crimes against humanity committed by the Taliban and their outside supporters in the year 2000, one could mention the following cases: the cold-blooded killing on 11 May of 198 young Uzbek and Hazara men imprisoned as hostages in Taliban jails; the brutal killing on 5 August of the United Nations mine-clearance employees affiliated with the Organization for Mine Clearance and Afghan Rehabilitation; the deliberate denial of access to humanitarian aid that, according to the European Union, in the light of the devastating drought constituted a breach of international humanitarian law; the forced blood-drawing and organ removal of innocent civilians along the Tagab-Nijrab route in August; the forced deportation of the civilian populations of the city of Aibak on 31 July 2000; the closing down in August, as part of the ongoing fouryear campaign by the Taliban to keep women from working, of all bakeries run by the United Nations World Food Programme in which widows were paid to make bread that was then sold at a subsidized price to other widows, who number at least 25,000 in Kabul alone; the indiscriminate aerial bombardment of civilian neighbourhoods at Taloqan on 15 August; and the forcible displacement of hundreds of thousands of people throughout the north due to renewed Taliban military onslaughts.”
2000-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 55 (2000)
“In spite of the current devastating drought in Afghanistan — the most severe in 30 years — Afghanistan remains the leading producer of narcotics. The production of illicit drugs, and their trafficking by the Taliban and the politico-military mafia of Pakistan, account for considerable revenue, which is used to finance the prolonged war in Afghanistan. This leads to considerable transnational organized crime, while adding to the number of addicts, both at home and abroad.”
2000-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 55 (2000)
“The recent upsurge of terrorist activities in Central Asian countries and beyond, emanating from the Taliban-occupied parts of Afghanistan, requires drastic measures by the Security Council against the militia and its Pakistani supporters. The consideration of the imposition of further targeted sanctions and the expansion of the scope of resolution 1267 (1999), which must include the end of terrorist activities in all forms and manifestations in the Taliban-held parts of Afghanistan, could adequately, among other things, serve the cause of peace and security in the region. Here I would like to welcome the proposal by the Republic of Uzbekistan for convening an international conference, at the earliest possible time, to debate the evil phenomenon of terrorism.”
2000-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 55 (2000)
“Recent events and activities by extremist groups in Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan are manifest examples of the spillover of the Pakistan/Taliban-supported agenda in the region. The Islamic State of Afghanistan believes it is high time that the Security Council, in accordance with relevant resolutions, undertook appropriate enforcement measures against Pakistan, which is the prime source of sponsorship of these activities. The Security Council, in its unanimously adopted resolution 1267 of 15 October 1999, explicitly demanded that the Taliban mercenaries refrain from sheltering, supporting and training terrorists and planning terrorist acts from Afghan soil against other countries and that it extradite to the requesting States those indicted for committing international acts of terrorism.”
2000-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 55 (2000)
“It is important to remember that terrorist training camps operating from the Taliban-held territories of Afghanistan, including those established by the infamous Osama bin Laden, whose dismantling has 5 been repeatedly called for by the United Nations and the entire international community, have been established by Pakistan's military intelligence through the Taliban mercenaries and other extremist networks. They continue to utilize these territories as a ground for training, sheltering, planning and dispatching elements seeking to commit hostile acts against countries of the region and beyond. This is done under the guise of Islam, but, in fact, it is mainly in pursuit of Pakistani hegemonistic objectives directed towards Afghanistan and the Central Asian Republics.”
2000-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 55 (2000)
“At least until early May of this year, the official position of Pakistan, from what its diplomats and officials strangely claimed, was that it maintained contacts with both parties to the conflict. However, Pakistan's News Network International (NNI) news agency reported on 25 May 2000 that General Pervez Musharraf claimed that Pakistan's pro-Taliban policy was “in accordance with Pakistan's national interest.” Advocating that Pashtoons should be on the side of Pakistan, the General was quoted as saying, “We have a national security interest, both demographic and geographic.” He further stated that in the realization of this security interest, “Pashtoons should be on our side and they”, meaning Pashtoons, “are represented by Taliban.” The world must know that in a flagrant violation of recognized international norms and principles and in clear contempt of the United Nations Charter, the ruler of the Pakistani military junta, under the outrageous pretext of national security interest, has claimed the right to impose a certain ethnic group through the invocation of an ethnically provocative mandate at the cost of the sovereignty and political independence of Afghanistan, a Member of the United Nations and, prior to that, of the League of Nations, long before Pakistan was even born.”
2000-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 55 (2000)
“These diabolic dreams are pursued by the Pakistani military intelligence, ISI, an evil and extremist institution, while the implied risk and perilous consequences for the very survival of Pakistan as a State in the future are overlooked. As the world is gradually awakening to the creeping Taliban threat, it is a matter of dismay that some “civilized” nations, on certain occasions, have preferred to deal with the reclusive and defiant Taliban, an entity which has failed to meet the minimum standard of being considered civilized, while having championed terrorism, human rights violations and crimes against humanity. It is no surprise that only Pakistan's military junta has continuously given its full blessing to the movement.”
2000-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 55 (2000)
“Pakistan wants to turn Afghanistan into its false front to mask illicit activities of narcotics trafficking, terrorism and other crimes, as well as religious extremism, by establishing centres and bases for such activities. Attempting to act as the champion of the Muslim world, Pakistan continues to carry out these activities under the name of Islam. It is therefore not a matter of astonishment that such activities have led to the defamation of both the noble religion of Islam and the image of Muslims throughout the world. In short, the Afghan nation has become the direct victim of the diabolic dreams of the Pakistani military's hegemonic interests in the region.”
2000-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 55 (2000)
“The objective of the Pakistani military intelligence establishment, known as Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), through the imposition of the socalled Islamic Emirate of the Taliban, has been to create instability in Central and South Asia by means of terrorism. This “Islamic Emirate” has instituted Mullah Omar, the militia's leader, as the undisputed Amir-ul-Mo'mineen, meaning “Commander of the faithful” not only in Afghanistan, but in theory throughout the Muslim world. The process the Pakistani military intelligence has chosen for the realization of its objective is to transform the Afghan nation into an exhausted, devastated, illiterate, ignorant and destitute nation struggling hard for mere survival.”
2000-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 55 (2000)
“In an age of information and globalization, it has been a reign of terror imposed by a religious police, abuse in the name of religion, the elimination of all freedoms and civil liberties, massive violations of human rights, degrading and tormenting treatment of men and women, trafficking of women and girls, the forced separation of women from their menfolk, the random and deliberate round-up of individuals based on their ethnic and religious origins, the practice of scorchedearth policy, the torching and total obliteration of farmlands, orchards and other means of livelihood, the contamination of water resources, the forcible dispatch of children and adults to the battlefields, the removal of all but rudimentary religious education — for male students only — with the closure of all schools for females, the deliberate denial of access to humanitarian aid, the intensification of battles, an exacerbation of the situation, widespread terrorism and the destruction of the historical heritage and artefacts of Afghanistan in order to alienate the Afghan nation from its ancestry and historical identity.”
2000-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 55 (2000)
“Certainly, mere rhetoric and inadequate reactions are not enough. It is with this view that I should like to focus my statement entirely on the situation in Afghanistan and its devastating regional and international implications, within the given time limit. 4 A question arises: what has been the result of the Talibanization of the occupied parts of Afghanistan?”
2000-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 55 (2000)
“Three years ago, I stood before the Assembly and stated from this very rostrum that, as the crisis in Afghanistan continued to unfold, we had to ask, and answer, important questions. At the time, I spoke of the dark and ominous movement known as the Taliban, which, backed by cross-border troops, had invaded Afghanistan. This year, at its millennium session, the General Assembly indeed has to answer major questions. One among many is the silence the world has chosen to keep in dealing with the Taliban and their Pakistani supporters. With the spread of Talibanism, which has led to the abject misery of the Afghan nation, massive insurgency and turmoil in the region and beyond, is it not high time that the international community put a stop to the Pakistani-operated Taliban processing machine?”
2000-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 55 (2000)
“On my way to the Assembly Hall, I was informed by the Supreme State Council of the Islamic State of Afghanistan that in a self-evident act of aggression hundreds of Pakistani military personnel — army, plain-clothes personnel and armed Taliban — are reported to have been positioned in the Shah Salim pass dividing the Pakistan border town of Chitral from north-eastern Afghanistan, bound for an attack on Badakhshan province. On behalf of my delegation, I take this opportunity to congratulate you, Sir, on your assumption of the major task of presiding over the important millennium session of the General Assembly. I would also like to congratulate the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Namibia, Mr. Theo-Ben Gurirab, on his excellent leadership of the fifty-fourth session of the General Assembly, which set the stage for the Millennium Summit.”
2000-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 55 (2000)
“As a troubled member of this global family, Afghanistan awaits a collective endeavour by the international community to deal with its problems, thereby helping the world, or at least a part of the world, to become a better place for humankind.”
1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)
“The Islamic State of Afghanistan welcomes the fact that the first year of the new millennium will be observed as the Year of Dialogue among Civilizations, as called for by the Islamic Republic of Iran, and we believe that it will prepare suitable ground for further understanding among the global family, thereby contributing to collective human civilization. This century introduced a new paradigm based on collective security and international organizations, concerted approaches and international order, all based on the equal sovereignty of States. From the United Nations Charter to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the new paradigm has affected all corners of the world.”
1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)
“The Islamic State of Afghanistan, which is struggling for sovereignty and the return of peace and normalcy through the institution of such a government, earnestly aspires to the resolution of fundamental issues such as the restoration of and full respect for human rights in Afghanistan, particularly the rights of women. Under the Taliban, women have now been reduced to a voiceless and invisible state of non-being, condemned to stay in their houses and stripped of their basic rights, even the rights to work and education, all of which is against the genuine tenets of Islam.”
1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)
“Regrettably, the Taliban continue to voice their adamant opposition not only to the Tashkent Declaration but to all other peace initiatives. We sincerely welcome paragraph 2 of the report of the Secretary-General (A/54/378) of 21 September 1999, which states, “it is noteworthy that only one week after the Tashkent meeting, the Taliban began a major offensive against the United Front in the Shomali plains, located to the north of Kabul.” Paragraph 3 further states, “The Taliban insist that the UF [United Front] must embrace the Emirate system while the UF question the Taliban's popular mandate to make this demand.” Mindful of the principle that there should be a peaceful resolution of the conflict, the Islamic State of Afghanistan earnestly desires a broad-based, fully representative and multi-ethnic government in Afghanistan.”
1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)
“On the verge of the next millennium, the Islamic State of Afghanistan genuinely hopes that, with the resolution of the Afghan crisis, it will be able to serve as a factor for peace and stability in the region, promoting good-neighbourliness, mutual respect and cooperation and acting as a transit country for trade between all its neighbours, without any distinction or preference. The United Nations is earnestly expected to step up its efforts in the Afghan peace process. In this respect, we greatly appreciate the untiring efforts of the Secretary- General and Ambassador Lakhdar Brahimi, his Special Envoy for Afghanistan. The Islamic State of Afghanistan welcomes and fully supports the 19 July Tashkent Declaration of the Member States that make up the “six plus two” group, which it hopes will be fully observed.”
1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)
“The United Nations is also expected to use its good offices to convince the Pakistani leadership, including its military intelligence wing, the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), to steer its policy away from intervention in Afghanistan and towards non-intervention, so that we can move from a Pakistani-dictated position of subordination to a mutually dictated position of cooperation. The Pakistani ISI should no longer thwart peace initiatives. A first step in this regard would be the withdrawal from Afghanistan of all armed Pakistanis, whether military personnel or so-called religious volunteers. Pakistan should also put a halt to its direct assistance to the Taliban, ranging from military hardware and oil to expertise and tactical advice. Only under such pressure will the Taliban resume peace negotiations.”
1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)
“In this context, the United Nations, acting through the Security Council, has a duty to maintain international peace and security, in accordance with the Charter. The Pakistani aggression, State-sponsored terrorism and other activities, which threaten the peace and security of the region and hamper regional development and cooperation, should be identified, condemned and dealt with by taking appropriate measures. Furthermore, the Islamic State of Afghanistan earnestly expects the Security Council to consider the imposition of immediate sanctions against both the Taliban and their Pakistani mentors, in accordance with paragraph 15 of Security Council resolution 1214 (1998) of 8 December 1998 and in conformity with its responsibility under the Charter of the United Nations.”
1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)
“It is our earnest conviction that the litmus test for United Nations survival will be its engagement, without any selectivity and in the framework of the State system, in the rigorous implementation and enforcement of its Charter. Pakistan is blatantly breaching the United Nations Charter, which explicitly requires all Member States to refrain from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any State, as well as numerous General Assembly and Security Council resolutions and other resolutions on terrorism and the use of mercenaries. The reports of the Secretary-General, his Special Envoy for Afghanistan and the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan clearly bring to light the bellicose, obstinate and intransigent attitude of the Taliban mercenaries.”
1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)
“Yet to our dismay, while this in-depth perception has been so long in developing, the plight of the Afghan nation has remained unresolved. It is doomed to the terrible predicament prevailing in many parts of Afghanistan: the inadmissible acquisition of territory by force and interference in its internal affairs. It is because of those fundamental questions that at the outset of my statement I raised the question of the survival of the United Nations as an effective global institution. Given its approach to Afghanistan, can we still put our hope in the United Nations system for the resolution of the Afghan crisis or other similar or dissimilar crises?”
1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)
“Those who are aware of the Afghan situation and the Afghan resolve to resist any foreign rule continue to be perplexed and puzzled in the face of the Pakistani position. However, despite Talibanism and Pakistan’s massive military intervention in Afghanistan — both of which represent obvious breaches of the United Nations Charter, international law and international humanitarian law — we are delighted to note that the United Nations, following years of skepticism or illusory thinking, appears, perhaps for the first time and only since the open escalation of foreign military involvement in Afghanistan, to have developed an in-depth perception of the longstanding bitter reality of the Pakistani role, its intervention, and the Taliban agenda in Afghanistan.”
1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)
“It states that “the armed forces of Pakistan have been steadfast in playing their role in safeguarding the security of the country [Pakistan]. They have sought to safeguard the nuclear deterrent of Pakistan, resisted pressures to withdraw support from the mujahidin in Kashmir, and have been steadfast in their support to the Taliban in Afghanistan. All of these are of vital importance to Pakistan’s security and survival.” 10 In fact, it is the intervention of Pakistan in Afghanistan, its support for the Taliban and its attempts to justify the Taliban’s defiance of the aspirations of the international community, including reprehensible attempts at Taliban recognition, which has eroded Pakistan’s reputation, causing its political isolation throughout the world.”
1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)
“To this end, inter alia, thousands of Pakistani military personnel, members of the paramilitary, former commissioned officers and thousands of recruits and “volunteers” from Pakistani religious schools have been trained and dispatched into Afghanistan for what has been called a “jihad”. The remarks made on 30 July 1999 by Ambassador Lakhdar Brahimi, head of the United Nations Special Mission to Afghanistan (UNSMA), regarding the presence of thousands of armed Pakistani nationals fighting alongside the Taliban, provide credible testimony. In this context, perhaps the article by retired Brigadier Usman Khalid, published in the Pakistani daily The Frontier Post of 29 September 1999, just three days ago, best spells out the Pakistani security dilemma in the form of a bold confession.”
1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)
“The international community is greatly disturbed and concerned by the ominous nature of the Taliban agenda. The responsibility of the much-discussed yet unresolved turmoil in Afghanistan continues to lie with the Pakistani leadership. Pakistan remains a proponent of arm-twisting, both nuclear and conventional, in South Asia. Afghanistan’s Pakistani-dictated position of subordination, through the Taliban, has long undermined the peace process. Pakistan remains implacably opposed to the formation of a fully representative, multi-ethnic government in Afghanistan, insisting that the Taliban not relinquish power but gain further control.”
1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)
“This has been particularly true, on a massive scale, in the Shamali Plains, following the July 19 Tashkent meeting of the group of “six plus two”, and just this week in Khoja Ghar, in north-eastern Afghanistan. Their policies of genocide, gender apartheid, trafficking of women and girls, “ethnic cleansing”, religious and sectarian extermination, rigid interpretation of religion, and the pursuit of a military solution spell out the Taliban actions in Afghanistan. They persist in their extremist agenda and advocacy of terrorism. The increase in drug production and trafficking, the Talibanization of the region and their denunciation of the international community continue unabated. In sum, over 50 per cent of the Afghan population has been placed under virtual house arrest, and the entire population remains terrorized by the Taliban.”
1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)
“In addition, as the report of the Special Rapporteur (E/CN.4/1999/40), states in paragraph 18, the Taliban “continue to pursue policies which are in conflict with international human rights standards by which Afghanistan is bound as a party to the major international human rights instruments.” Furthermore, the Taliban has committed repeated war crimes and crimes against humanity, including forced deportation; the forced displacement of hundreds of thousands of people; the separation of thousands of men from their families; the widespread burning and leveling of houses and entire villages; the systematic destruction of the agricultural base and the irrigation systems, resulting in the loss of crops due for harvesting; and the execution of a scorched-earth policy.”
1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)
“The United Nations cannot truly embark on the next millennium until it has conclusively addressed the unfinished items on its agenda and the many existing global threats. One item on — and perhaps at the top of — that agenda, though it is far from finalized, relates to Pakistani hegemonic actions and that country’s collusion with Talibanism in our region. The Pakistani-Taliban occupation of land in Afghanistan represents a clear breach of a fundamental principle of international law, namely, the inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by force. It is trans-border aggression.”
1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)
“Why is the fight against terrorism and narcotics so limited? And finally, where and when will gender apartheid come to an end? We are convinced that those challenges and crises can best be dealt with if the United Nations actively functions within a framework similar to that of a state system. In this context, the United Nations Charter serves as an explicit and clear reference outlining the rights and responsibilities, in their entirety, of the Member States. The advent of the new millennium marks the closing of the twentieth century. This is a time for the United Nations to pause and assess the gains and losses, and the successes and setbacks, it has experienced since its founding.”
1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)
“However, the wide-ranging challenges — from questions relating to the maintenance of international peace and security, the eradication of poverty, sustainable development, economic growth and social progress to globalization in meaningful terms — all yet to be met and require firm resolve and certainly not mere rhetoric. As crises continue to unfold throughout the world, we must ask, and answer, certain important questions. Why are threats to international peace and security variably defined and selectively determined from place to place? Why are State violators of the United Nations Charter and international law, including the principle of non-interference, not brought to justice? Why are the instigators of “ethnic cleansing” and the perpetrators of 9 genocide and of crimes against humanity not checked?”
1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)
“Allow me to join the speakers preceding me to congratulate you, Sir, on your election as the President of the General Assembly at this session, the last of the present century. You surely are well versed in this high office through your experience with the United Nations, which will make of the centennial transition the launching platform for ever- more-fruitful future undertakings. As we embark on the next century, the survival of the United Nations as an effective global institution comes into question. Can its role develop in the dawn of a new era? Or will it be more like a brilliant sunset? From the League of Nations to the United Nations, we have continuously pinned our hopes on the United Nations system, looking forward to a promising world ruled by law, governed by justice and blessed with peace.”
1999-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 54 (1999)
“Afghanistan therefore supports an overall reform which would make the Security Council?s work more transparent and its composition more representative. This would mean permanent seats for the developing and the developed world, the latter to include global economic players such as Germany and Japan. At the same time, a sufficient number of non-permanent seats should be added to take into account the interests of smaller and medium-sized countries. The Charter therefore must be amended in order drastically to reduce the use of the right of veto, which is most undemocratic. The coming century requires a Security Council that conforms with the new landscape of the world.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“In their Declaration on the Occasion of the Fiftieth Anniversary of the United Nations, Member States promised to “give to the twenty-first century a United Nations equipped, financed and structured to serve effectively the peoples in whose name it was established”. (resolution 50/6) This has to include the institutional framework of the Organization, namely, a Security Council with working methods and a composition that better reflect today?s needs and realities. The Working Group that has been mandated to examine this question will soon start its sixth year of intensive discussions. These discussions cannot go on indefinitely. It is time to set a concrete agenda and to act if we want to meet the challenges of the next millennium.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“Afghanistan fully agrees with the points of common understanding and expresses its firm support for the Secretary-General?s decision to send his Special Envoy, Ambassador Lakhdar Brahimi, to the region. Afghanistan remains committed to giving his mission its full cooperation. The Islamic State of Afghanistan firmly supports the institutional reform of the United Nations, rightly referred to as a “quiet revolution” by the Secretary-General. Similarly, the establishment of a Development Account and the United Nations Fund for International Partnerships, among other innovations, deserve the support of Member States. However, the least developed countries and in particular those stricken by war, have to be given priority attention in this field.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“Afghanistan will never enter into any political or military alliance against any State and Afghan soil will not be used as a base for hostilities against another State. International relations shall be 28 conducted independently, in a manner consistent with the principles enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations. Afghanistan shall actively participate in the processes of regional economic cooperation, transit and transport of trade. It shall be a good partner in the community of nations. The Islamic State of Afghanistan welcomes the meeting of the “Six plus Two” group, held at the level of Foreign Ministers in New York on 21 September 1998.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“Fourthly, the principle of elections and the delegation of authority to local government shall be incorporated into any peace agreement as urgent and necessary elements of confidence-building and as the realization of the will of the people. Local administrations and their leaders, including the members of provincial councils, shall all be elected. The central representative Government, to be equitably accommodating to all ethnic groups and segments of Afghan society, shall function constitutionally. Fifthly, as to the principles of permanent neutrality and independence, countries of the region and the international community shall recognize the permanent neutrality of Afghanistan.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“First, concerning the principles of Islam, the Islamic tenets and teachings are guidelines of supreme value, in compliance with which the future political system, the constitution and other laws shall be founded. Secondly, the principle of democracy and pluralism shall constitute the mainspring of the future political system to be formed in Afghanistan. Thirdly, concerning the principle of human rights, the observation of and respect for human rights — including the rights of women and girls to education, work and beneficial coexistence in harmony with the provisions of human rights instruments — are among the principles that shall be integral parts of any peace agreement. This shows our commitment as a member of the international community.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“The withdrawal of foreign military and armed personnel and the return of the opposition to the negotiating table for a political dialogue aimed at achieving a lasting political settlement of the conflict, along with the formation of a fully representative, broad- based, multi-ethnic Government, are the main points that could ensure an environment of peace in Afghanistan and the entire region. We are proposing such an intra-Afghan dialogue without delay or precondition, on the basis of the following principles, which emanate from our national platform and international commitment to Article 2, paragraph 2 of the United Nations Charter, as well to as our tenets and culture.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“This conviction is also indicative of the ideas of their Pakistani mentors, who are determined to dominate Afghanistan. Thus, any and all efforts to reach a peaceful solution have been intentionally thwarted. It came as a surprise to no one that the Taliban not only refused to attend the intra-Afghan gathering on 18 July 1998 in Bonn, Germany, which sought to initiate what was hoped would be the traditional grand assembly, or Loya jirgah, but also, one week earlier, condemned the all-Afghan gathering and launched major military operations, supported by the Pakistani air force, in northern Afghanistan. The Islamic State of Afghanistan strongly confirms the views that have been expressed in this Assembly for years that there is no military solution to the conflict in Afghanistan.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“On 25 April 1998, the negotiations between both sides in Islamabad — under the supervision of the United Nations and the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) — were unilaterally abandoned by the Taliban and the ceasefire observed at the request of the United Nations and the United States was pre-emptively broken by a major Taliban offensive north of Kabul. Because of the failure of the Taliban?s military offensive, they returned the following day, 26 April, for further negotiations, but soon unilaterally and definitively abandoned the negotiations once more, as noted by the Secretary-General. In essence, the Taliban?s intransigence stems from their firm and stubborn conviction that the only solution is a military solution.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“They also say that drug production and smuggling, operations which the Taliban and some Pakistani military officers jointly maintain, earn them profits. When asked to hold negotiations with the parties to the conflict, the Taliban, again quoted in The Washington Post, say that their first priority has been to disarm the opposition and that negotiations will follow only then. Peace has no place on the Taliban agenda. Even when Mr. Lakhdar Brahimi, the Secretary-General?s Special Envoy, urged them to attend the face-to-face talks with us, held in Ashgabat on 5 April 1998, they did not participate.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)