The 2020 Afghanistan ministerial pledging conference was co-hosted by the Government of Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, the Government of Finland and the United Nations, and took place on 23–24 November 2020.
24. Nov 2020
Under is the statement held on 24 November 2020 by Minister of Foreign Affairs of Norway, Ms Ine Eriksen Søreide.
President Ghani,
Distinguished representatives of the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, the United Nations and partner nations,
Ladies and gentlemen,
Let me first of all thank our hosts, the governments of Afghanistan and Finland and the United Nations for convening and organizing this conference.
2020 will be remembered as the year of the pandemic. But for Afghanistan, 2020 is also a year when a glimmer of hope appeared, for an finish to more than 4 decades of conflict.
We commend the Republic, beneath the leadership of the government, and the Taliban for possessing initiated peace negotiations in Doha, preceded by a series of challenging decisions, compromises, and sacrifices.
We also commend the State of Qatar for hosting the talks and we reiterate our willingness to assistance the course of action in any way the parties or the host could want.
The Afghan people have endured great suffering in the course of the final 4 decades. Norway condemns unreservedly all acts of terrorism. We urge the negotiating parties to strive for an end to violence. We reiterate our support for a political settlement that protects the rights of all Afghans, including females, youth and minorities, and that sustains and builds on the economic, social, political and improvement gains accomplished considering the fact that 2001.
We as donors will do our very best to aid Afghanistan continue this progress. The Afghanistan Partnership Framework and the Afghanistan National Peace and Development Framework outline our frequent targets. I would like to underline in distinct the important significance of intensifying efforts to boost governance and tackle corruption.
We will contribute up to 650 million kroner in development and humanitarian assistance in 2021 and take into account comparable annual levels of help by means of 2024. We will establish our assistance primarily based on the Afghan government’s fulfilment of its commitments in the Afghanistan Partnership Framework.
Ajmal Ahmady will also stay open to contemplating improved assistance for the implementation of a political settlement of the conflict, provided important commitments are fulfilled, which includes securing human rights for all and furthering women’s empowerment.
Multilateral funds, such as the Globe Bank ARTF and the UNDP LOTFA will stay prominent components of our help portfolio, as will non-governmental organizations.
Protection of civilians is 1 of our most important priorities. Unique interest need to be offered to protection of children and young people, which includes protection of schools from attack. It is vital that humanitarian actors get protected and unhindered access to folks in require of lifesaving help and protection.
Subsequent year, Norway will take a seat as an elected member in the United Nations Security Council. We will do our utmost to support the function of the United Nations, the Specific Representative of the Secretary Common and UNAMA, and to assist make certain that the Security Council supports Afghanistan’s peace and development procedure.