Joint statement of the Chair of the European Parliament’s Delegation for Afghanistan and Head of the Human Rights Committee of the Afghan National Assembly.
Representatives of the European Parliament and National Assembly of Afghanistan expressed their deep concern about the current developments in Afghanistan and urged the Taliban to agree to a ceasefire and a peace agreement. In a joint statement, Chair of the European Parliament’s Delegation for relations with Afghanistan Petras Auštrevičius (Renew, Lithuania) and Head of the Human Rights Committee of the National Assembly of Afghanistan Naheed Farid deplored the violent actions of the Taliban. They named the Taliban responsible for continuous fighting and the committing of atrocities. They reiterated that the Taliban’s safe haven in Pakistan should be disrupted and urged Pakistan to convince the Taliban to enter meaningful peace negotiations. In their statement, the parliamentary representatives reiterated the importance of having women represented in the peace process and in future engagements with the EU. An Afghan-led and Afghan-owned peace process must include a role for women and ensure the preservation of their rights. Therefore, members of the both parliaments fully support the requests from Afghan women to be more involved in negotiations on the part of the Afghan Government, and in general in the political life of the country. The European Parliament is particularly vigilant about safeguarding the basic principles of human rights, democracy and the rule of law, as well as security, in a future Afghanistan, the joint statement says.
The joint statement was issued following the 6th EU-Afghanistan Interparliamentary Meeting of the members of the European Parliament and National Assembly of Afghanistan on 15 July 2021.
