Former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Speaking at a UN event on Afghan women’s rights said that Afghan women are afraid of losing gains, and she is critical of peace deal that did not include Afghan govt, and which left out “half the population.”
“It is difficult to have an agreement when you leave out the government of the country that you are expecting to uphold and live under that agreement,” Clinton said.
“Afghan women today are rightly afraid… that the gains they have made with all of our help will be washed away in a rush to achieve a peace that will not hold anyway,” she said, adding that “This is not just morally wrong, this is dangerous.”
A UN Security Council resolution that passed on Monday emphasized the importance of including women, youth and minorities and ensuring any political settlement protects their rights.
On Tuesday, the UN Security Council welcomed the steps taken towards ending the war in Afghanistan and the efforts made to open the door for intra-Afghan negotiations enabled by the recent peace agreement signed by the United States and the Taliban.
However, the Security Council warned that easing the sanctions that the UN had imposed on Taliban members will depend on the group’s sustained efforts to embrace peace.
Unanimously adopting Resolution 2513 (2020), the 15-member Council called upon the Afghan government and the Taliban to pursue additional confidence-building measures — including by reducing violence and releasing prisoners — in good faith, thereby creating the conditions for a swift start to intra-Afghan negotiations leading to a durable peace.
