Statement
of solidarity with Afghan women
January 2002
1. On the occasion
of its twenty-sixth session, the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination
against Women fully expresses its solidarity with, and support for, the women
of Afghanistan.
2. Afghan women have
suffered for a considerable time every privation known to humankind, losing all
their fundamental human rights, particularly the right to life, education, health
and work.
3. The
participation of Afghan women as full and equal partners with men is essential
for the reconstruction and development of their country.
4.
The Committee welcomes the resolve of the international community to assist in
the reconstruction of Afghanistan, and calls upon all parties concerned to respect
internationally recognized principles, norms and standards of human rights, particularly
the human rights of women, which are an inalienable, integral and indivisible
part of universal human rights, in all their actions and activities. The Committee
considers this essential in order to achieve peace and stability in the country.
5. The Committee expresses the hope that the human
rights of women, as provided for in the Convention on the Elimination of All
Forms of Discrimination against Women, signed by Afghanistan in 1980, will guide
all actions in both the public and private spheres.