Ãå±±½ûµØ

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.