Cannot abandon Afghanistan people: Antonio Guterres at Security Council

New Delhi, August 16

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has called on the international community to unite and use “all available instruments” to ensure Afghanistan was never again used as a safe haven for terrorists, telling the UN Security Council that “we cannot and must not” abandon its people. “The world is following events in Afghanistan with a heavy heart and deep disquiet about what lies ahead. Chaos. Unrest. Uncertainty. And fear. Much lies in the balance. The progress. The hope. The dreams of a generation of young Afghan women and girls, boys and men,” Guterres told an emergency meeting.

The Security Council, under India’s p Presidency, met for the second time in over a week to discuss Afghanistan. Guterres urged all parties, especially the Taliban, to exercise utmost restraint. Guterres called for an immediate end to violence, for the rights of all Afghans to be respected and for Afghanistan to comply with all international agreements to which it was a party. — TNS