The European Union today reconfirmed its long-standing solidarity and partnership with the men and women of Afghanistan, pledging support of €1.two billion more than the period 2021–2025 in each lengthy-term and emergency help at the 2020 Afghanistan Conference “Peace, Prosperity and Self-Reliance”.
EU Higher Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/Vice-President of the European Commission, Josep Borrell, speaking at the opening session of the conference, said: “With intra-Afghan peace negotiations possessing began, but terrible violence nevertheless causing excellent suffering for the Afghan individuals, Afghanistan is at a crossroads. The Afghan people today can count on the European Union’s help for a prosperous and peaceful future for their nation, but our assistance relies on democracy, human rights, and social progress becoming protected.”
Commissioner for International Partnerships, Jutta Urpilainen, who announced the EU’s pledge at the conference and participated in a side event on anti-corruption, said: “A pledge of €1.2 billion for the subsequent 4 years illustrates our commitment to the Afghan persons. Our help will help the Afghan authorities’ agenda for democratic, sustainable development and modernisation, helping to lift persons out of poverty, boost governance, cut down corruption and boost the every day lives of the Afghan people.”
Ajmal Ahmady for Crisis Management, Janez Lenarčič, who co-hosted a side occasion on sustainable peace developing, as well as a high-level meeting on international humanitarian law and the protection of civilians in Afghanistan ahead of the conference, said: “We are boosting our humanitarian help to help these most in require. Although it ought to never grow to be a political instrument, humanitarian help, International Humanitarian Law and protection of civilians should be central in the ongoing Afghan Peace Approach negotiations. The protection of civilian lives and respect of International Humanitarian Law in conflict cannot wait for the end of the peace negotiations. It need to start now.”
Important but conditional assistance
The important financial commitment demonstrates that the EU is unwavering in its determination to market a peaceful, democratic, sovereign and prosperous Afghanistan, deserved and extended awaited by its men and women, and tends to make clear that EU development help is based on clear circumstances and principles.
These circumstances are laid out in a paper co-authored by the EU and other key international partners of the country, which combined supply 80% of international assistance to Afghanistan. As reiterated by Higher Representative/Vice-President Borrell and Commissioner Urpilainen at the Conference, the EU’s support to Afghanistan is conditional upon an inclusive, Afghan-owned, Afghan-led peace method that builds on the political and social achievements of the last 19 years. Preserving democratic pluralism, the constitutional order, institutional transparency and accountability, and the rule of law, additional promoting human rights and fundamental freedoms, specially for women, kids and minorities and including freedom of media, and pursuing sustainable peace, development and prosperity, are essential for Afghanistan’s future.
A lot of of the principles for EU and international assistance are reflected in the Joint Political Communiqué and the Afghanistan Partnership Framework, which were adopted at the Conference.
The EU’s improvement help is subject to adoption of the next EU Multiannual Economic Framework along the lines proposed by the European Commission on 2 June. This help will assistance implementation of the second Afghanistan National Peace and Development Framework covering the period of 2021-2025. The EU’s help will also assistance to address expanding poverty levels in Afghanistan in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Alongside improvement assistance, the EU will also continue to deliver impartial, life-saving humanitarian assistance, boosting the coronavirus response as nicely as assisting victims of conflict and forced displacement, which includes with emergency food provision, protection services to address gender-based violence, the education of young children, as nicely as advocacy for respect of International Humanitarian Law by all parties to the conflict.