Opening Statement on 6 + 2 Meeting On Afghanistan
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Office of the Spokesman
(New York, New York)
For Immediate Release
September 15, 2000
Secretary Of State Madeleine K. Albright
Opening Statement on 6 + 2 Meeting On Afghanistan
September 15, 2000
New York, New York
As Prepared SECRETARY ALBRIGHT: As we meet here today, the
situation in Afghanistan continues to cause us grave concern.
Fresh fighting is contributing to a new humanitarian crisis and
Afghanistan,s other threats ^- terrorism, violence, narcotics
trafficking, and serious violations of human rights -^ continue.
I thank Secretary General Kofi Annan for calling this meeting of
Foreign Ministers and would like to compliment him on his
resolute determination to find a solution to the conflict and to
ending the suffering of the Afghan people.
The Secretary General,s Personal Representative, Mr. Francesc
Vendrell, has been unceasingly active throughout the region in
searching for the peace that Afghanistan so badly needs. I call
on the Secretary General to renew the United Nation,s already
considerable efforts for peace in Afghanistan.
The Taliban offensive which is the proximate cause of fresh
fighting in Afghanistan underlines the serious threat posed by
the policies of the Taliban not only to the people of
Afghanistan, but also to the whole region.
Moreover, narcotics production and trafficking from Afghanistan
finance the war, prolonging the conflict and providing support
for terrorists. The drug trade visits on Afghanistan,s neighbors
high addiction rates and undermines authority through
narcotics-induced corruption. Pakistan and Iran, in particular,
suffer gravely from the scourge of narcotics trafficking,
recognize the social costs, and have mounted strong measures
against it.
I would like to note the landmark accomplishment yesterday of the
narcotics initiative launched last year. The adoption of the
Regional Action Plan represents the determination of the Six plus
Two nations to cooperate in addressing this threat.
Through their sincerity and dedication, and with the tireless
efforts of the Executive Director of the United Nations Drug
Control Program, Mr. Arlacchi, and his staff, each of the eight
delegations has made a major contribution to this effort. We
look forward to participating in its effective implementation
over the coming months.
This is a particularly desperate time for the Afghan people.
Already in the throes of a devastating drought, more misery has
been heaped on a suffering population by the latest Taliban
offensive. Fighting in the north has added thousands more
Afghans to those already displaced by decades of fighting and
natural disaster, at a time when relief efforts are increasingly
constrained by the weather.
What the Afghan people need is peace. And in our view, peace can
best be achieved by a cease-fire and an end to the killing,
followed by negotiations among the warring parties that are not
constrained by preconditions. This must be complemented,
however, by involving the many Afghans who are not of the warring
factions.
There are a great many people, inside and outside the country,
who have ideas and influence which could be brought to bear. I
hope the Six plus Two will consider ways to bring those Afghans
into a process toward peace.
The Taliban insist on imposing their rule through the gun. They
support criminal narcotics production and trafficking. They
shelter terrorists. And they have an abysmal human rights
record, particularly with respect to women and girls, whose
education, health care, ability to earn a living, and liberty to
travel they deny.
Women in this country approach me all the time to ask that I, as
a woman, do more for Afghan women, who suffer the most from the
Taliban. And I have told them we WILL do more. I appeal to you
to help with this as well. All of us, as responsible members of
the international community, should make unequivocally clear that
we are opposed to these policies of the Taliban, and we should
use the influence we have to change them.
It has been more than two years since the bombing of two of my
country,s embassies in East Africa by a group which is sheltered
in Afghanistan and whose members have been indicted in the United
States for these crimes. It has been almost a year since the
Security Council adopted unanimously Resolution 1267, which
called on the Taliban to turn over the terrorists to a country
where justice can be pursued.
To be accepted as a member of international society, a country
must behave by international standards. By this measure, the
Taliban have truly failed.
The UN cannot back down from the continuing threat posed by
terrorists sheltered in Afghanistan, nor can it acquiesce in
their defiance of international norms and standards of decency.
In the face of the Taliban refusal to comply with UNSCR 1267, the
Security Council must now weigh further appropriate measures as
prefigured in that resolution.
Those measures must be effective and must be clearly targeted on
the Taliban leadership and military capability, and should not
increase the suffering of the Afghan people. How to achieve
increased compliance with UNSCR 1267 should also be a topic for
further consideration by this group as well as the Security
Council. We would hope to intensify bilateral discussions on
this and all other aspects of the situation in Afghanistan with
all the governments represented at this table.
After all, it is the intense suffering of the Afghan people that
our efforts in this group are meant to alleviate. I am proud
that my country continues to be the largest single humanitarian
aid donor to Afghans, both in Afghanistan and to refugees from
Afghanistan in other countries.
Our assistance this year, including drought relief, may well
reach 100 million dollars, a sincere commitment by the United
States to the people of Afghanistan, a commitment we have held to
firmly over the years.
We all share a responsibility here today, whatever our
differences, to end the conflict in Afghanistan and to confront
the highly objectionable policies of the Taliban.
The future well-being of the Afghan people depends in large
measure on whether we can make a difference in achieving a
peaceful, stable Afghanistan which respects the rule of law and
international standards of human rights.
Our attendance together here today sends an important signal to
the Taliban, to other Afghan leaders, and will be seen as a
beacon of hope to the long suffering Afghan people that they are
not forgotten and will not be abandoned by this organization.
Therefore, let us leave here with a new commitment to work more
intensively and in closer contact among ourselves and with other
interested countries toward our goal of peace in Afghanistan and
full respect for its people, their rights and their future.
(###)
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