Khalilzad proposes ‘agenda’ for UN chief’s meeting on Afghanistan

 

He recommended the “full implementation of the Doha Agreement should be embraced as the common goal.”

 

He also said major figures from the previous Afghan government should embrace the agreement “as the best framework for dealing with Afghanistan’s challenges.”

 

The agreement has not been fully implemented, and no alternative has comparable broad support among Afghans and the international community, he added.

 

He also suggested a road map for implementation be drawn up, considering the current conditions in Afghanistan.

 

In order to develop the road map, “the Secretary-General and the Envoys should have a session with the IEA during their deliberations.”

 

“This is needed to determine for themselves both whether the Islamic Emirate  remain committed to the Doha Agreement and to communicate the international community’s commitment to work with them and others on a roadmap for implementation.

 

“This includes a sequence of steps by the Islamic Emirate  and the international community. The roadmap must address the issue of women’s education and employment,” Khalilzad said.

 

In addition, he recommended a follow-up to the meeting, and that “the Secretary-General should appoint a personal Envoy to work with Afghans and the relevant internationals in developing and implementing the roadmap.”

 

Khalilzad’s remarks came a day after United Nations deputy secretary-general Amina Mohammed said the organization plans to arrange a conference in the coming days to discuss granting recognition to the IEA.

 

Mohammed told an audience at the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs that the international meeting would bring envoys for Afghanistan from around the world to the table, among others.

 

“What we are hoping is that we’ll gather them now in another two weeks in the region, and they will have that first meeting of envoys across the board — the region and internationally — with the secretary-general for the first time,” she said.

 

“And out of that, we hope that we’ll find those baby steps to put us back on the pathway to recognition [of the IEA], a principled recognition,” Mohammed said. “Is it possible? I don’t know. [But] that discussion has to happen.