GENEVA: Kuwait affirmed that it has spared no efforts to enhance rapid response to face humanitarian challenges in Afghanistan. This came in Kuwait's speech before the High-level Ministerial Meeting on the Humanitarian Situation in Afghanistan that Kuwaiti Permanent Representative to the UN and Other International Organizations in Geneva Ambassador Jamal Al-Ghunaim delivered on Monday.
This stance comes in harmony with Kuwait's firm faith in humanitarian action based on transparency towards building peace and security in Afghanistan, he said. Kuwait has facilitated the passing of more than 15,000 Afghans and other several nationalities, who were evacuated from Afghanistan, he pointed out. Kuwait has partnerships with Afghanistan since 1963 through the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development, the ambassador told the conference.
History showed that there is no alternative to dialogue and international cooperation that necessitate doubling diplomatic efforts and building peace to reach the aspired goals of the UN Charter, Ghunaim noted. Kuwait reaffirmed the contents of the UN Security Council Resolution 2593 to achieve a comprehensive and lasting peace in Afghanistan, as Ghunaim reiterated Kuwait's firm position that rejects all forms of violence and terrorism. Kuwait urged the international community to redouble its efforts to fully eliminate terrorism and ensure that Afghanistan is not used again as a haven for terrorism and extremism.
The ambassador said UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres's initiative to hold this key international conference aims to help Afghanistan avert a looming humanitarian catastrophe, and express solidarity of the international community with that country. UN figures show how this humanitarian crisis affects more than 18 million people in Afghanistan, a half of the country's total population. He emphasized that Kuwait shares the call previously made by Guterres for all parties in Afghanistan to allow humanitarian workers unhindered access.
He also pointed out that the various humanitarian crises and the repercussions of COVID-19 have exhausted the international community. This requires the need to put an end to armed conflicts and enhancing respect of international humanitarian law to redirect and transform "our international efforts" from the relief phase to the development phase, he said.
The ambassador indicated, at the same time, that the Afghans have been suffering the repercussions of the conflict for more than 40 years. The recent incidents in Afghanistan constitute a key turning point that requires joint action to back a permanent peace to achieve security and stability in Afghanistan, boost rebuilding efforts, push ahead with developments and meet the aspirations of Afghan people, he made clear. - KUNA