INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
UN Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs Rosemary DiCarlo said on Tuesday after meeting with members of
Afghanistan&s civil society that there &really is a need to build trust on all sides&.Addressing a press conference after her meeting, she
said it was important to have dialogue &that&s built on honesty&.&It&s got to be based on principles, those of the UN Charter, and various
human rights treaties that Afghanistan is a party to.&She said: &We are still at the beginning of this process.&According to her there was a
need for everyone to be patient and realistic.&It&s a process based on the independent that the UN Security Council recognized last
November; the assessment calls for a more coordinated and structured process, with clear conditions and expectations from all sides.&It also
calls for a principled, step-for-step approach with a clear understanding of the outcomes and commitments from all sides.&Human rights and
especially the rights of women and girls , and inclusion of all members of society will continue to be an integral part of our
discussions.&In terms of moving forward, DiCarlo said there had been a discussion in Monday&s meeting with special envoys and the Islamic
Emirate on the possibility of establishing smaller working groups to discuss key issues.&We are continuing that discussion on how to proceed
forward,& she said.Once again she reiterated that this process was in its early stages and would need time and patience.&Really, our
And that&s helping all the people of Afghanistan.&DiCarlo&s meeting with civil society representatives not part of the official agenda
Contrary to earlier reports that no envoys from foreign countries had attended this meeting, DiCarlo said there &had been a fair number of
member states& at the meeting.She pointed out attendance had been &optional&.Asked whether civil society representatives were upset at
having been sidelined from the 3rd Doha meeting she said: &Obviously, civil society, many would have like to be at the meeting but they were
pleased to have the opportunity to speak with some of the envoys.&DiCarlo was also asked why such the two-day meeting and the meeting with
Afghan civil society representatives had been so shrouded in secrecy; and why the identities of the civil society members were being
In answer, she put it down to the UN &respecting the privacy& of individuals and that UN meetings are closed events.She did however say the
international community does feel that Afghanistan is not abiding by its international obligations
However, at the very end of the two-day meeting, mention was made that eventually there would be a need for an &intra-Afghan
dialogue&.&What we are doing is not an intra-Afghan dialogue right now
We are just going through issues at this point; and we want to get various perspectives.&Let&s be perfectly honest, the citizens and the de
facto authorities are not ready for sitting down at the table with each other
At least they weren&t for this past meeting,& she said.The two-day UN-led Doha meeting was the third of its kind but the first one that the
Islamic Emirate attended.However, representatives of Afghan civil societies had been barred from attending the event
Instead, DiCarlo and some foreign envoys met with them in a separate meeting on Tuesday. Related stories:UN keeps identity of Afghan
activists at Doha meeting under wrapsMujahid sums up Doha meeting, says most countries willing to cooperate with AfghanistanThe post UN&s
DiCarlo says trust and honesty needed by all parties for Afghanistan to move forward first appeared on Ariana News.
