MaximsNewsNetwork: AFGHANISTAN: U.N. SECURITY COUNCIL MISSION (UNAMA)

MaximsNewsNetwork: 24 June 2010 - UNAMA: Kabul, Afghanistan - Members of the United Nations (UN) Security Council wrapped up their visit to Afghanistan today (24 June), voicing their continued support for the country's efforts to build a lasting peace and stressing the need for free and fair elections, improved governance and the upholding of human rights.




At a press conference in Kabul, head of the UN Security Council delegation to Afghanistan, Ambassador Ertuğrul Apakan of Turkey, reiterated the Council's "enduring commitment to the people of Afghanistan and its Government."

United Nations (UN) Special Representative for Afghanistan Staffan de Mistura, who was also present at the press conference, said that the next elections in the country "need to be better." He added that these elections will be "led by the Afghans."

Prior to the press conference, Council members visited Jalalabad, capital of the country's eastern province Nangarhar.

In Jalalabad, they visited a site established in 2005 for landless returnees arriving from camps across the border in Pakistan.

The head of the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) in the region said that the main problem faced by the returnees is "livelihood activities." He added that "nothing practically grows" in the area. UNHCR, however, is involved in promoting gardening among "very low income and very vulnerable families who do not have income and can not bring food on the table."

Security Council members then met with local council members overseeing the Shaik Mesri settlement for returnees in Jalalabad.

Ambassador Ertugrul Apakan of Turkey, who headed the mission, told the members that the Security Council is here to "express its support to the people of Afghanistan in their search for peace and stability."

Council members left for New York later today after holding a press conference in Kabul.
..... ( UNITED NATIONS ASSISTANCE MISSION IN AFGHANISTAN: UNAMA ) ....
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