Afghanistan, 2010

I join previous

speakers in congratulating you, Sir, on your election as

President of the General Assembly at its sixty-fifth

session. I am confident that, under your able

stewardship, our deliberations will be fruitful.

Sixty-five years ago, the creation of the United

Nations heralded hope for global peace, security and

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respect for human dignity. Today, the United Nations

remains the most effective universal body for

preserving the principles upon which it was founded.

As one of its earliest Member States, Afghanistan fully

and consistently subscribes to the centrality of the

United Nations and to the principles of multilateralism

that guarantee a democratic international order in

which we all have an equal voice and participation in

decisions impacting our world.

Today more than ever before, our world demands

a commitment to working together so that we may

overcome the multifaceted challenges and threats to

our survival and well-being. The United Nations is

pivotal to our ability to translate our common sense of

purpose and determined political will to replace

desperation with hope, poverty with prosperity,

injustice with justice and violence with peace.

Last week, the High-level Plenary Meeting on the

Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) adopted an

outcome document and plan of action for the full

realization of the Millennium Development Goals

(resolution 65/1). Fifteen years ago when the MDGs

were adopted, we recognized that comprehensive and

collective effort was essential to the attainment of the

Goals. Last week’s summit again underscored the need

for enhanced international cooperation and

coordination in order to achieve human development

and well-being.

Afghanistan remains fully committed to meeting

its MDG targets. We have made some progress, but the

scourge of international terrorism, insecurity and

threats to the rule of law and governance remain

enormous challenges to promoting human development

in Afghanistan.

On the eve of the ninth anniversary of the

declaration of the global war on terror in October 2001,

the international community’s promise to the people of

Afghanistan of a life free from the fear of the threat

and exploitation of international terrorism remains

unfulfilled. Afghans continue to suffer from horrific

acts of terrorist violence on a daily basis.

On many occasions from this rostrum, the Afghan

delegation has drawn the global community’s attention

to the reality that terrorism and the ideologies of

extremism and radicalism are spawned beyond the

borders of Afghanistan. In spite of the combined efforts

of our military allies, terrorists continue to infiltrate

our borders with the intent of inflicting harm on our

people and the brave soldiers of partner countries. As

long as certain State and non-State actors provide

Al-Qaida and affiliated individuals and entities with

sanctuary, arms and financing, they will remain

formidable and murderous adversaries.

Terrorism in our region is a growing threat to

world peace and security. The audacity and geographic

scope of extremist and terrorist groups harboured in

our region continue to expand. If our international

partners and allies wish to win the global war on

terrorism, they must look beyond villages in

Afghanistan and engage in a strategy that will

effectively and decisively dismantle organizations and

networks that continue to support terrorist and radical

militants with impunity. Terrorism remains a global

challenge that can be defeated only through a concerted

international effort.

In this context, Afghanistan is committed to

expanding counter-terrorism cooperation with the

Government of Pakistan and with other countries in our

region.

The people of Afghanistan have known too much

violence and too much despair. We have seen too many

of our young people lose their lives as a result of war

and conflict. The Afghan people crave peace, stability

and security. Although our fight against those who

menace the lives and well-being of our people will

continue unabated, we recognize that the success of our

efforts for development and prosperity will depend

largely on our ability to achieve sustainable peace in

our country.

With this objective in mind, the Afghan

Government convened a National Consultative Peace

Jirga in June of this year. The Jirga fulfilled President

Karzai’s promise to consult and engage all Afghans in

peacebuilding initiatives. The Jirga — which

assembled tribal leaders, parliamentarians, and

representatives of provincial councils, businesses and

civil society, and had over 20 per cent female

participation — helped to jump-start a representative

peace and reconciliation process that will be pursued in

conformity with our Constitution and human rights

commitments.

The Consultative Peace Jirga agreed on a

framework to encourage the rank and file of the

Taliban to end violence and to join a reconciliation and

reintegration process. It defined the conditions for a

peace dialogue with Taliban leaders and endorsed the

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establishment of a peace commission to oversee the

reintegration of armed opposition fighters who

renounce violence, resume civilian life, accept our

Constitution and embrace our democracy.

Over the past eight years, we and our

international partners have realized substantial

achievements, but also have made mistakes. Many

challenges and obstacles remain to ensuring

sustainable security for the people of Afghanistan and

to meeting their aspirations to a better life and future.

At the London and Kabul Conferences held earlier this

year, the international community not only reaffirmed

its commitment to safeguarding Afghanistan’s

sovereignty, territorial integrity and stability, but also

recognized the critical importance of Afghan

ownership and leadership to consolidating our joint

achievements and engaging the greater confidence of

the Afghan people.

By building on the mutual commitments made at

the milestone Conferences in London and Kabul to

transfer security and development responsibilities to

the Afghans, and by pursing comprehensive economic

development, security, governance and our inclusive

reconciliation strategies, we are convinced that we will

successfully combat the efforts of extremists and

terrorists seeking to regain hold of Afghanistan.

For our part, the Government of Afghanistan is

steadfast in its commitment to pursuing the reform

agenda that President Karzai outlined in his inaugural

speech. We are committed to reinforcing our social

compact with the people of Afghanistan by

strengthening our judiciary, combating corruption,

revitalizing our economy and promoting good

governance at all levels of the Government. As

demonstrated by the recently held parliamentary

elections, the Government and the people of

Afghanistan are steadfast in advancing our democracy.

With the support and collaboration of our

international partners and allies, we are committed to

enhancing the capacity and ability of the Afghan

Security Forces to assume greater responsibility for the

protection and security of our country. In this context, I

wish to acknowledge the enhanced effort of our

military allies to protect our civilian populations from

the detrimental effects of military operations against

the terrorists and militants.

The people of Afghanistan embrace the challenge

of building a better future. However, the insidious

dangers of extremism and terrorism and their ever-

increasing link to narcotics pose a serious threat to the

security and stability of our country and our region.

Alongside our fight against terrorism, we are

committed to working closely with our neighbours and

other international partners to win the war on narcotics.

To complement our efforts to eliminate poppy

production, we wish to see greater action to counter

smuggling of precursors into our country and to reduce

the demand for and consumption of drugs in other

countries.

Recent climate-induced disasters experienced in

our region, such as the catastrophic floods in Pakistan,

not only pose severe challenges for local populations

and national Governments, but may also have

ramifications for the economies of countries in the

region and for global security. We see increased

urgency for effective regional collaboration on disaster

mitigation and response.

At various international, regional and subregional

gatherings, we have emphasized the importance of a

stable, democratic and moderate Afghanistan to the

economic development of our region and global

security. By virtue of its location at the crossroads of

four geostrategically important regions — Central

Asia, South Asia, China and the Middle East —

Afghanistan could play an important role in facilitating

increased trade and transit and unleashing the

enormous potential of our region. We will work

towards further gains in trade and transit with countries

in the region.

The recent conclusion of the Afghanistan-

Pakistan- Transit Trade Agreement and the signing by

the heads of State of Turkmenistan, Afghanistan,

Pakistan and India of an agreement on a gas pipeline

project are milestones for increased regional

cooperation. In addition, we have concluded the

feasibility study for a Central Asia-South Asia project

for the transfer of electricity from Kyrgyzstan and

Tajikistan to Afghanistan and Pakistan. These

initiatives will contribute greatly to peace, security and

stability in our region. Afghanistan stands ready to step

up cooperation with all its neighbours on economic,

political and crime-related issues.

I have spoken of the desire of the people of

Afghanistan for peace and stability and of our right to

them. We are, however, acutely aware that for over half

a century our brothers and sisters in Palestine have

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been denied their right to an independent State living in

peaceful coexistence with its neighbours. We are

encouraged by the resumption of direct talks between

the Israeli and Palestinian leadership, which give us

hope that sustainable peace in the Middle East may be

secured.

To conclude, I thank the States members of this

Assembly for their solidarity and their support for the

liberty and well-being of the people of Afghanistan.

The Afghan people will never forget the generosity and

great sacrifices of the United States, NATO and other

international partners, whose men and women have

bravely stood with us to defend our common security

and ensure peace and stability for Afghanistan.

I thank Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for his

efforts to revitalize the sense of partnership,

cooperation and confidence between Afghanistan and

the international community. I also thank the dedicated

and committed staff of the United Nations and its

specialized agencies for helping the Afghan people

build a peaceful, secure and prosperous future.