26 April 2002
Insecurity Could Imperil Women's Rights, Afghan Minister Says
(Sima Samar asks Security Council for more peacekeepers) (760)
By Judy Aita
Washington File United Nations Correspondent
United Nations -- Warning that the rights of women and the emerging
democracy of Afghanistan could be undermined if violence resurfaces in
the country, a minister of the Afghan Interim Authority urged the
Security Council April 25 to consider expanding the International
Security Force now stationed around Kabul.
Dr. Sima Samar, minister for women's affairs of the Afghan Interim
Authority, said that "women in Afghanistan are finally beginning to
see a little light after a very long darkness, but the gains that have
been made in the past four months could easily be lost unless security
is greatly improved."
"Without immediate expansion of international peacekeeping forces,
peace, democracy, and reconstruction and the restoration of woman's
rights and human rights will not be possible in our country," she
said.
"The rights of women are particularly at risk by the absence of
security," Dr. Samar said. "Women continue to face violence and worry
about the imposition of Taliban-like restriction unless more security
is provided."
"The inclusion of women in the Loya Jirga may be undermined and the
distribution of identification cards to enable women to participate in
future elections imperiled," the minister said.
Addressing a public meeting of the Security Council, Dr. Samar, a
physician and one of two women ministers in the Karzai government,
said that great progress has been made in the four months since the
Bonn peace conference. Afghans have moved quickly to put in place a
political process and a government framework for the daunting task of
reconstruction.
The Afghan people stand behind the peace and pledge that they will
work to bring about stability, the minister said, but one cannot
expect a four-month-old government to respond to the level of
challenges that are the result of more than 20 years of destruction
and war.
"We are told that an expansion of peacekeeping forces is too
expensive, but another cycle of war will pose an even greater expense
to the world. It will be costly in terms of the loss of human lives.
Another period of violence will also risk the money and support that
has already been invested in support of the peace process," Dr. Samar
said.
The minister addressed the concerns that had been raised about
expanding the International Security Force (ISF) of about 5,000 troops
which is currently headed by Britain and stationed in and around
Kabul.
Mentioning the fear that the peacekeepers face greater risk of
kidnapping and killing if they are extended throughout the country,
Dr. Samar said that "the risk may be there and we must respond to it
by putting everything in place to give these soldiers the proper
support so they are not left vulnerable."
"But if we do not act against these problems that Afghanistan faces,
the risk will be even greater," destroying the country's last real
chance to reverse decades of violence and instability, she said.
"I know what I ask for is not easy, but I ask the leaders of all
nations to carefully consider their responsibilities and balance the
political and economic costs of expanding International Security Force
and the great risk of not taking action and strengthening security,"
the minister said.
Dr. Samar also said that the amount of aid the interim government has
received is very small compared to what has been pledged and the
tremendous needs of the country.
"We need financial resources to demonstrate that peace creates changes
and the condition of people's lives," she said.
Undersecretary General for Political Affairs Keiran Prendergast also
urged the international community to "speed up the delivery of its
assistance and to broaden the scope to include still imminent needs
related to security."
Briefing the council on the overall situation in the country,
Prendergast said that a matter of great concern is that funds pledged
in Tokyo for development and reconstruction activities "have been
extremely slow to arrive."
"While donors may understandably want to wait for more stability
before disbursing funds, we must also recognize that implementing
rehabilitation and reconstruction projects will greatly help to bring
about that stability," he said. "It is a chicken and egg situation."
"Provision for reconstruction assistance can, under certain
conditions, promote conditions of law and order. We would therefore
urge member states to meet their pledge so that reconstruction and
development funding can be used to help promote a secure environment
for political and economic change," the undersecretary general said.
(The Washington File is a product of the Office of International
Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site:
http://usinfo.state.gov)
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