Afghanistan: Statement During Briefing

Thank you, Mr. President,

I thank Under Secretary-General Martin Griffiths, UNAMA DSRSG Mr. Markus Potzel, and Ms. Lucy Morgan Edwards for their briefings.

Kenya stands in solidarity with the people of Afghanistan for their unflinching quest for peace, justice and progress. We have watched with admiration their unparalleled resilience in the face of formidable challenges.

Apart from protracted conflict that has ravaged millions of lives and livelihoods, the people of Afghanistan have suffered many other man-made and natural calamities.

Only recently, floods claimed over 180 lives and destroyed thousands of houses. And earlier in June, 2022 a devastating earthquake claimed over 1000 lives. In addition to these are other climate change induced insecurities as well as rising global food prices.

All these have conspired to cause an overwhelming humanitarian situation that the already constrained humanitarian assistance programs cannot meet.

As the winter season rapidly approaches, We call on the international community to urgently step in and support the over 23 million Afghans in need with all the necessary assistance.

Mr. President,

Sadly, a year since the Taliban seized power, the people of Afghanistan are no better than they were before. If anything, they are worse off. It is the collective responsibility of the international community and the obligation of the Taliban to create a better environment for the people of Afghanistan to govern themselves and determine their social and economic progress.

Time has come for the international community to consider ways of engaging with the Taliban to articulate practicable near-term policy objectives to rebuilt Afghanistan's economy and social fabric.

The end goal should be to align humanitarian aid, and other forms of developmental assistance to achieve economic recovery and sustainability to reduce aid dependence. In this regard, the engagements could include how to ensure that Afghanistan's frozen assets are deployed in a structured manner with clear monitoring mechanisms to help the ailing economy.

But these engagements should, in our view, be predicated on the Taliban committing in word and deed to two fundamental imperatives:

First is to uphold the rights of the millions of Afghan people without any discrimination to gender, age, ethnicity, or religion. They must, in particular accord women and girls equal rights and opportunities as their male counterparts in all aspects including: access to education; employment opportunities; leadership roles at all levels; and freedoms of association and movement.

We expect the Taliban to engage women at all levels and incorporate their voices into mapping out non-discriminatory policies that address challenges facing the country.

Secondly, Mr President, the Taliban must disassociate with listed terrorist groups and ensure that Afghanistan is no longer a base for such terror groups as the Islamic State and Al Qaeda to launch attacks in Afghanistan and further afield.

On its part, the International Community especially members of the Security Council must be motivated by the interests of the people of Afghanistan when engaging on this matter. It is concerning that the major powers continue to pull in opposite directions as they use the deteriorating situation to advance their own interests at the expense of the wellbeing of the millions of Afghans.

To conclude, We reaffirm our unwavering solidarity with the people of Afghanistan and stand ready to support all endeavours aimed at securing their safety and well-being.

I thank you.