NEW YORK, SEPTEMBER 10TH – Italy addressed today a Security Council debate on the situation in Afghanistan expressing “firm condemnation” for the terroristic attacks that hit the country and its capital of Kabul over the past weeks.
“The situations remain extremely volatile, but we ought not to forget the progress made by negotiations in the past months,” said a diplomat of the Italian delegation to the UN: “From these efforts we must re-start, to restore the trust and resume dialogue, thereby demonstrating that the cycle of violence can be broken and reversed. To achieve this, a strong spirit of responsibility, and a commitment to dialogue from every actor, is required. In this context, UNAMA remains a reference point for the stability and development of Afghanistan.”
Italy therefore supports any diplomatic initiative aimed to facilitate the initiation of a process of reconciliation guided by Afghanistan. This process should foresee a primary role for women and guarantees that their constitutional rights, civil and social advancements achieved thus far are safeguarded. Italy continues -within the framework of the Mission Resolute Support- to assist the Afghan National Forces of Security and Defense in the fight against terrorism and violent extremism, said the Italian representative. He furthermore emphasized that the September 28th presidential elections ought to be credible, transparent and inclusive, and “represent an opportunity” to re-affirm a peace aspiration shared by the whole of the Afghan population. (@OnuItalia)