Uzbekistan’s President Shavkat Mirziyoyev cautioned at the United Nations General Assembly that abandoning Afghanistan to grapple with its challenges independently would constitute a severe error.
Mirziyoyev emphasized that Afghanistan’s situation significantly affects global security and necessitates a distinctive strategy for addressing the ongoing crisis in the country.
“Ignoring, isolating, and imposing sanctions only exacerbates the hardships the ordinary Afghan people face,” Mirziyouyev said. “We believe that humanitarian aid to the Afghan people should not be reduced. We call for developing appropriate mechanisms to utilize Afghanistan’s frozen international assets to address the acute social problems in that country.”
He said: “We need an open, peaceful and sustainable Afghanistan that is actively engaged in regional cooperation initiatives and is ready for mutually beneficial partnerships with its neighbours and other countries.”
“I urge the international community to resolve the Afghanistan issue. I believe it is essential that under the leadership of the United Nations, we jointly develop a flexible and constructive approach to the Afghan issue,” Mirziyouyev said.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, in his opening address, revealed that an alarming 70% of Afghanistan’s population requires humanitarian aid while women and girls continue to face systematic rights violations.
The World Food Program (WFP) issued a blatant warning, stating that unless it obtains adequate funding to aid those in Afghanistan, it will be compelled to cease its operations there.
Cindy McCain, the Executive Director of the World Food Program, expressed her concern over the organization’s unprecedented budget cuts as “discouraging” during a discussion with ABC News.
She underscored that the World Food Program is facing its most dire circumstances in six decades, primarily driven by budget shortfalls exacerbated by the triple challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, and conflict.
Afghanistan’s seat at the UN General Assembly remains empty for the third year because the Taliban government has not been globally recognized as legitimate.
