YouSaid · the spoken record

Renninger

lines on the record

25

first

2000-04-07

most recent

2000-04-07

sittings or episodes

1

sources

un-security-council

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

1. “Mr. Renninger: I am very conscious of the lateness of the hour. I do not think there were any specific questions directed to me, but I would be remiss if I did not, on behalf of the Secretary-General, express our gratitude for the many expressions of support and encouragement we heard during the debate today.”

   2000-04-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4124 (2000) · source

2. “While noting the limited progress that has been recorded recently in improving the situation of women and girls in Afghanistan, the overall situation remains unacceptable and requires the continuous and sustained attention of the international community. Ms. Angela King, Assistant Secretary-General, Special Adviser on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women, will be pleased to respond to any comments or questions regarding the situation of women and girls.”

   2000-04-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4124 (2000) · source

3. “Women have no access to markets, due to their confinement, which leads in many cases to their exploitation by male middlemen, except in cases where non-govemmental organizations take the responsibility of the final marketing of their production. Despite the different policy position adopted by the Taliban and the United Front regarding the role of women, women in the areas controlled by the United Front also suffer from limited access to education, health services and income-generating employment. The region controlled by the United Front has been historically the poorest of Afghanistan. Continued civil war and cultural norms further aggravate the situation of women in that area. However, there would be more windows of opportunity for girls' education in this region if the resources could be made available.”

   2000-04-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4124 (2000) · source

4. “Among the most recent developments of note was the establishment in November 1999 of nine community girls' schools that are financed by local communities in agreement with the authorities in Kandahar province and 13 such girls' schools in Kabul. Currently Afghanistan has no formal economic sectors. In practice, agriculture and small home-based crafts provide the only opportunities for women's employment. Female employment opportunities are limited to carpet weaving, tailoring, embroidery, soap making and similar types of activities. The assistance community has been involved in projects creating this type of employment, and some of their projects have had an impact on the lives of grass-roots women and their families in terms of providing them with subsistence income.”

   2000-04-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4124 (2000) · source

5. “In the first quarter of this year, the authorities in Kandahar agreed, after lengthy negotiation with the World Food Programme and the World Health Organization, to start a nursing school in Kandahar for 50 female and 50 male nurses. Progress in the supply of alternatives to formal education in Taliban-ruled areas has been achieved through patient and persistent negotiation and advocacy between local communities, the assistance community and the Taliban authorities. Community-based schools for girls and boys are being established in rural areas, while privately organized home-based girls' education is on the increase in urban areas. The BBC is developing an education programme through radio as an innovative attempt to increase access to education in the country.”

   2000-04-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4124 (2000) · source

6. “The assistance community has also been instrumental in preparing the ground for this shift through continued advocacy, principled engagement and constructive dialogue and negotiation with the authorities. It should also be noted that the restrictions once imposed on female staff of United Nations agencies have been eased in practice. United Nations female staff now travel and work in Afghanistan without major difficulty. Some relaxation of Taliban policy on women's employment in the health sector dates back to 1997, when women doctors, nurses and midwives were allowed to continue their medical practice in hospitals. More recently, in 1999, about 40 female medical students who were forced to leave Kabul University before receiving their degrees were allowed to continue their education.”

   2000-04-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4124 (2000) · source

7. “The pre-existing vulnerable situation of girls and women - the result of continuous war, conservative cultural norms, the destruction of social and institutional infrastructures and the absence of policies for the rehabilitation of the social and productive sectors - was significantly aggravated by these Taliban edicts, especially the ban on all types of formal education for girls. Evidence from the field appears to indicate that in the last 18 months there has been a slow shift in the Taliban's position on the access of women to health services, education and employment opportunities. This shift is, for the most part, due to increased demand from local communities for health and education for girls and for income-generating opportunities for women, especially for war widows heading households.”

   2000-04-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4124 (2000) · source

8. “Nevertheless, the extreme economic poverty of the country and the urban-biased development policies kept most of the rural population, especially women, on the periphery as concerns modernization. Women's access to education, health, employment and public life has been extremely negatively affected following the Taliban military victories. Where gender issues are concerned, the Taliban ideology amounted to a series of edicts banning women from all public activities.”

   2000-04-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4124 (2000) · source

9. “The abhorrent measures imposed by the Taliban on the women and girls of Afghanistan have been repeatedly deplored by the Secretary-General and have been condemned in numerous resolutions of this Council, the General Assembly, the Commission on Human Rights and the Commission on the Status of Women. Cultural norms and traditions in Afghanistan have historically been conservative and characterized by a strong division of gender roles. Political, economic and social decisions tend to be monopolized by males. Increased access of women to education, health services and employment was part of State modernization projects at the beginning of the twentieth century and continued until the late 1970s. This led to a growth in social demand for female education and created a female professional elite, especially in the capital city of Kabul.”

   2000-04-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4124 (2000) · source

10. “Recent killings include the alleged execution of elders in Gosfandi, as they tried to mediate the conflict in the Sang Charak area. This type of experience does not augur well for the future and points to the absolute importance of concerted efforts to bring the war to an end and to allow Afghans to fulfil their desire for peace, a peace that is also a prerequisite for the enjoyment of human rights. I would now like to address the situation of women and girls in Afghanistan. In recent years, especially since the military advances of the Taliban movement, the international community has been intensely engaged with the situation of women and girls in that country, particularly in those areas under the control of the Taliban.”

    2000-04-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4124 (2000) · source

11. “Twenty years of conflict have taken a terrible toll on the Afghan population, killing countless civilians directly while curtailing many other lives through dire poverty and underdevelopment. Indeed, the living conditions of Afghans are so precarious that diarrhoea, an easily treatable disease, is thought to be responsible for the deaths of an estimated 85,000 children each year. Similarly, a recent epidemic of measles, another preventable disease, took the lives of 650 children. With another season of fighting about to begin, there is every reason to fear that the pattern of targeting civilians will continue. Gross violations of human rights and humanitarian law, including summary executions, arbitrary detention and forced displacement of civilians, have occurred in a systematic manner and sow the seeds for further bouts of fighting.”

    2000-04-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4124 (2000) · source

12. “As regards refugees, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has facilitated the voluntary return of over 3,000 Afghans from Pakistan since the beginning of this year. In February, the Islamic Republic of Iran and UNHCR agreed on a joint programme for the repatriation of Afghan refugees from Iran. The programme is expected to curb forcible returns by facilitating the voluntary departure of some 3,000 Afghans per week and increasing the level of international protection for those unable or unwilling to return. I now turn to the area of human rights. The human rights situation in Afghanistan, especially with the onset of another fighting season, must continue to receive the priority attention of the international community.”

    2000-04-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4124 (2000) · source

13. “In addition to all of these problems, southern Afghanistan is experiencing at the present time drought conditions which could result in a serious lack of drinking water in urban areas and increased outbreaks of disease. The United Nations is also most worried by the situation in Kandahar, where searches of United Nations premises and intimidation of staff in recent days caused the withdrawal of all international staff from the area. It is hoped that the Taliban will soon provide the United Nations Coordinator with reliable guarantees against the repetition of such incidents, which are a precondition for the return of international staff. This matter is all the more pressing as Kandahar serves as the centre for assistance in combating the effects of the drought in southern Afghanistan.”

    2000-04-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4124 (2000) · source

14. “Efforts by the United Nations to provide cross-line assistance to the Panjshir Valley were relatively successful at the end of 1999, but have since stalled. The Office of the United Nations Coordinator is continuing to negotiate access with both sides, but conditionalities imposed by the Taliban and rumours of impending offensives seem to have hardened positions. This leaves over 7,000 families of internally displaced persons in the Panjshir Valley in a most precarious situation. The situation in areas of low-intensity fighting is also quite serious. Displacement, food shortages and a measles epidemic have resulted in close to 1,000 deaths in northern Hazarajat. Atrocities against civilians have compounded the levels of human suffering.”

    2000-04-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4124 (2000) · source

15. “I should now like to turn to the humanitarian aspects of the situation in Afghanistan. The country continues to suffer from the accumulated effects of war and economic collapse, with basic services virtually non-existent. Conditions in urban areas are particularly miserable. Unemployment in Kabul has reached dramatic proportions, with approximately one quarter of all families surviving on United Nations-subsidized bread and many others on remittances from abroad. The plight of civilians displaced by conflict constitutes a major problem for the international community. Limited food assistance is provided to internally displaced persons in Kabul and additional food- for-work projects are being developed.”

    2000-04-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4124 (2000) · source

16. “The reported involvement of non-Afghan fighters in the conflict, mainly on the side of the Taliban, remains of great concern. Such reports, including from the local media, indicate that in some cases non-Afghan fighters are openly recruited through religious schools in Pakistan and sent into Afghanistan by a convoy of buses and trucks. These foreign volunteers are trained and armed in Afghanistan before being dispatched to the front lines. Observers estimate that, during the past weeks, as many as several thousand additional fighters have arrived in Afghanistan. The involvement of Arabs and Central Asians has been reported as well. The growing reliance on foreign fighters by the warring factions appears to reflect increasing difficulties they face in recruiting soldiers locally.”

    2000-04-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4124 (2000) · source

17. “The United Front might try to launch its own offensive in order to regain lost ground and tilt the military balance in its favour. The reported rapprochement between Commander Massoud and General Dostum may encourage the United Front to heighten the level of its military operations. However, the potential effectiveness of a new Massoud-Dostum coalition remains to be seen. Moreover, the reported escape of Ismail Khan, a close ally of Commander Massoud, could have an impact on this situation. It should be recalled that the Secretary-General has repeatedly noted in his reports to the General Assembly and the Security Council that external interference is one of the biggest impediments to peace, as it provides the essential means for the continuous civil war in Afghanistan.”

    2000-04-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4124 (2000) · source

18. “I should therefore like to draw the Council's attention to the possible start of a major spring offensive in the near future. UNSMA believes that the Taliban remain determined to pursue a military solution and to defeat the United Front in the North. It appears that the Taliban and the United Front have already started tactical moves in order to capture terrain of operational importance in the northern provinces of Samangan and Baghlan. UNSMA has received reports in recent days about increased movements of Taliban fighters and equipment in and around Kabul. It seems that the Taliban are once again concentrating their forces at the front lines in the Shomali Plains, which lie only about 40 kilometres to the north of Kabul. Indeed, today there are reports of heavy clashes between the two sides north-east of Kabul.”

    2000-04-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4124 (2000) · source

19. “As in the past, severe winter weather and the observance of the holy month of Ramadan forced the two sides to reduce the intensity of the fighting. However, this did not mean that it came to a complete halt. The United Nations Special Mission to Afghanistan (UNSMA) was informed of continuous clashes in various places, particularly after mid- January. The intensity and frequency of the clashes between the two sides are steadily on the rise. There is every indication that preparations for organized, large-scale offensives are now well under way on both sides. Reports are abundant regarding active recruitment of fighters, arrivals of reinforcements and continuous supply of war-making materiel from outside. Once again, the Afghan warring factions seem ready to repeat the vicious annual cycle of violence with the arrival of spring.”

    2000-04-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4124 (2000) · source

20. “The Taliban launched an extensive manhunt in south-western Afghanistan, putting a bounty on his head and threatening to punish with a death sentence those who would help the fugitives. There are contradictory stories and reports about Ismail Khan's present whereabouts. In concluding this brief review of political developments, I can only note that it is not possible to be optimistic about an early cease-fire between the warring factions, let alone negotiations leading to the formation of a broad-based Government, as repeatedly demanded by the Security Council. Now I should like to turn to the military situation, which, I fear, is equally gloomy. A stalemate has persisted on the battlefield throughout the winter period, with the front lines remaining essentially unchanged.”

    2000-04-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4124 (2000) · source

21. “He is pleased that this initiative has led to the preparation of a technical meeting, which will be convened from 8 to 10 May in Vienna and will involve all members of the "six plus two" and the major donor countries. There were a few other noteworthy developments in and around Afghanistan. There was a process of rapprochement between Commander Ahmed Shah Massoud and his Uzbek rivals, Generals Dostum and Abdul Malik, who were ousted from Afghanistan by the Taliban in 1997 and 1998, respectively. On 26 March, Ismail Khan, the former Governor of Herat and one of the most important prisoners of the Taliban movement since 1997, escaped from a jail in Kandahar, apparently with the help and connivance of a Taliban guard.”

    2000-04-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4124 (2000) · source

22. “A 30-member executive council of the Rome process, initiated by former King Zahir Shah, convened in Rome on 11 and 12 March with a view to preparing for an emergency loya jirga, or a traditional Grand Assembly meeting, inside Afghanistan. These preparations are continuing. The "six plus two" group of member States that have been concerned with the achievement of peace in Afghanistan has also been active in the recent period, having convened a high-level meeting at Headquarters at the end of February. The meeting addressed the unprecedented increase in the production of narcotic drugs in Afghanistan, an extremely worrisome development. The Secretary-General therefore welcomes the initiative of the "six plus two" group to address this issue.”

    2000-04-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4124 (2000) · source

23. “While the Taliban insisted that the opposition had to join the Islamic Emirate and to accept Mullah Omar as its leader, the United Front reiterated that an interim Government, which would include third parties, should be established. We understand that the Organization of the Islamic Conference, chaired by the Islamic Republic of Iran, is attempting soon to arrange further talks between the two sides, which would also be held in Jeddah. The United Nations supports fully this effort and will take part in those talks when and if they take place. Initiatives of non-belligerent Afghan individuals and groups appear to have made some progress.”

    2000-04-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4124 (2000) · source

24. “As members of the Council are aware, the most recent quarterly report of the Secretary-General on Afghanistan was issued on 17 March. In my briefing today, I will provide an update on recent political and military developments affecting Afghanistan and I shall also focus on humanitarian aspects and human rights, including the situation of women and girls in Afghanistan. Let me start with recent political developments. The talks involving the Taliban movement and the United Front, which took place from 7 to 9 March in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, under the auspices of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), have already been noted in the Secretary-General's recent report. During the talks, neither side changed its basic position.”

    2000-04-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4124 (2000) · source

25. “Mr. Renninger: The Afghan conflict has now entered into its twenty-second year without any tangible hope for a solution in the foreseeable future. The suffering of the Afghan people continues unabated. It is also disturbing to note that the negative effects of the conflict have begun to spread beyond the borders of Afghanistan. Other countries in the region and beyond already suffer from the spillover of many Afghan-based problems, including the flood of refugees, narcotics and arms smuggling, as well as cross- border activities related to terrorism. On behalf of the Secretary-General, I therefore welcome this opportunity to express our concerns before the Council and to benefit from the suggestions and observations of the Governments which are attending today's meeting.”

    2000-04-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4124 (2000) · source