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06 October 2003

U.N. Security Council to Visit Afghanistan

Negroponte says 15-nation mission will begin October 31

By Judy Aita
Washington File United Nations Correspondent

United Nations -- The Security Council will undertake a mission to Afghanistan at the end of the month to review security, humanitarian relief, reconstruction, human rights, and political activities in the country, U.S. Ambassador John Negroponte announced October 6.
 
A major objective of the mission will be "to underscore the international community's unwavering commitment to the peace and reconstruction process in Afghanistan and to promote further international and regional support to this end," said Negroponte, who is president of the Security Council for the month of October.
 
"The members of the Security Council have decided to send a mission to Afghanistan. The visit will take place from 31 October to 8 November 2003. The mission will visit Kabul, Herat, Kandahar, and Mazar-i-Sharif," Negroponte said in a letter to Secretary General Kofi Annan.
 
At the invitation of Pakistan, the mission will also visit Islamabad for briefings and consultations, he said.
 
The mission will also "convey a strong message to regional and factional leaders about the need to reject all violence; condemn extremist, terrorist and illegal drug activities; ensure public order and safety; promote inter-ethnic reconciliation and support the implementation of the Bonn Agreement; and to fully cooperate with the Afghan Transitional Administration," Negroponte said.
 
The mission will also review the progress of the Afghan Transitional Administration in implementing the Bonn Agreement on security reform; disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration; and the election process. It will also observe operations of the U.N. Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) in preparing for elections and coordinating all U.N. activities and operations of the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan (ISAF), the Security Council president said.
 
Ambassador Gunter Pleuger of Germany will head the mission. All 15 members of the Security Council will participate in the mission. Most nations will be represented by their chief envoy to the United Nations. Negroponte will be a member of the mission as will U.K. Ambassador Emyr Jones Parry, Russian Ambassador Sergey Lavrov, French Ambassador Jean-Marc de La Sabliere, Bulgarian Ambassador Stefan Tafrov, Chilean Ambassador Heraldo Munoz, Mexican Ambassador Adolfo Aguilar Zinser, Pakistani Ambassador Munir Akram, and Spanish Ambassador Inocencio Arias. Representatives of Angola, Cameroon, China, Guinea, and Syria will also be on the mission.

(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)