`You must place the interests
of your people first', Secretary-General tells Bonn meeting of
Afghan leaders
SG/SM/8045, AFG/170
Following is the text of the message by Secretary-General
Kofi Annan to the meeting of Afghan leaders in Bonn today:
I am pleased to welcome this group of Afghan representatives
to this United Nations-hosted meeting in Bonn. Let me begin by
expressing my profound gratitude to the Government of Germany
for its leadership and generosity in providing the resources and
facilities for this meeting.
Let us hope that history will record this day as the
beginning of a new age for Afghanistan - an age of peace, of
harmony, of good relations with its neighbours, and of growing
prosperity for all its people under the rule of law.
For this to be possible -- for this dream to come true for
the people of Afghanistan -- you, who are taking this
responsibility, must show unprecedented courage and leadership.
You must place the interests of your people first, above all
other concerns. Only then will this process - this attempt to
break the cycle of misery and destitution, conflict and violence
- stand a chance of success.
This is a historic opportunity to begin the process of
finally achieving peace and national reconciliation in
Afghanistan. You must not allow the mistakes of the past to be
repeated, particularly those of 1992. To many sceptics, it
appears that that is precisely what you are about to do. You
must prove them wrong, and show that you can choose the path of
compromise over conflict.
It is essential now to create credible institutions in which
all Afghans are represented, and which are regarded as
legitimate by the Afghan people. It is not the role or desire of
the United Nations - or of your neighbours - to impose any
particular arrangement on the Afghan people. These are decisions
for Afghans to make, and the United Nations' role is to assist
in this process.
The international community is also ready to assist
Afghanistan in the monumental task of recovery and
reconstruction. To do so, however, it is essential that an
Afghan Government be in place to guide this process for the
benefit of the Afghan people. A critical responsibility for this
Government will be to respect and uphold the human rights of all
its citizens - men, women and children. It will therefore also
be necessary to ensure that previously excluded groups,
particularly women, are full participants.
I wish you every success in this meeting, and urge you to do
all in your power to ensure that a spirit of compromise and
cooperation opens the way to a brighter future for the people of
Afghanistan.