MaximsNewsNetwork: AFGHANISTAN: PEACE, SECURITY: UN S-C STAFFAN de MISTURA (UNTV)

MaximsNewsNetwork: 30 June 2010 - UNTV: United Nations, New York - UN Special Representative for Afghanistan Staffan de Mistura briefed the United Nations Security Council today (30 June) on the need to build on the results of the Peace Jirga recently held among Afghan parties and assist the Afghan authorities in providing security.

Security will be a major challenge in what is gearing up as a critical period for Afghanistan, which will be hosting a major international conference in the capital next month and holding parliamentary elections in September, the top United Nations envoy there said.

Staffan de Mistura, the Secretary-General's Special Representative and head of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), told the Security Council that "this is indeed a crucial year in Afghanistan."

De Mistura noted that "it is a year in which we are all trying to, and together with the Afghan authorities and the Afghan people, to reach a form of stabilization of the situation in Afghanistan," adding that there is a general consensus that there is "no military solution alone" for the country.

Earlier this month the Government hosted the Consultative Peace Jirga, which brought together 1,600 participants from across the nation and resulted in a communiqué endorsing President Hamid Karzai's initiative to convene a national dialogue on ways to restore peace.

On 20 July the Government will host the Kabul Conference, at which it is expected to present an Afghan-led plan for improving development, governance and security.

Afghan Ambassador Zahir Tanin told the Council - which last week visited the country to assess for itself the progress made -- that "Afghans have great hopes and great expectations from our international friends and allies" but noted that "they are nevertheless disturbed by the ongoing debate among and between our international allies and concerned that sustainable progress may be difficult to achieve if we do not show patience, fortitude and long term commitment."

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and many foreign ministers are expected to attend the July meeting, which will be co-chaired by the UN and follows the London Conference held in January, during which the Government and its international partners jointly endorsed a strategy of transition to greater Afghan responsibility for the affairs of the country.

Speaking about the recent Security Council visit, United States Ambassador Susan E. Rice said that President Karzai and others had emphasized "the importance of removing names from the resolution 1267 list". She reiterated the US position that it "continues to support de-listing reconciled Taliban who cut their ties to Al Qaeda, lay down their arms and accept the Afghan constitution."

Meanwhile, the US Senate today unanimously confirmed Gen. David H. Petraeus as the new Afghan war commander, replacing Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal.

Talking to reporters outside the Council, De Mistura said that he "personally had very constructive cooperation with General Chrystal during the period he was there", and on the other hand stressed that he feels "extremely comfortable with the arrival of General Petraeus."
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• Kabul
• Zahir Tanin
• Ban Ki-moon
• Susan Rice
• Petraeus
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