TEXT OF THE TASHKENT DECLARATION
WASHINGTON, July 21, 1999
Tashkent Declaration on Fundamental Principles for a Peaceful Settlement of
the Conflict in Afghanistan
The Deputy Ministers for Foreign Affairs of the "Six plus Two" group,
composed of the States bordering on Afghanistan- the People's Republic of China,
the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, the Republic of
Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and the Republic of Uzbekistan - as well as the Russian
Federation and the United States of America, having met in Tashkent on July
19th, 1999 with the participation of the Special Envoy of the United Nations
Secretary-General for Afghanistan, Mr. Lakhdar Brahimi, having considered the
situation in Afghanistan, being sincere friends of the Afghan people and
desiring peace and prosperity for Afghanistan, have confirmed the following
principles.
We express the profound concern of our Governments at the continuing military
confrontation in Afghanistan, which is posing a serious and growing threat to
regional and international peace and security.
We remain committed to a peaceful political settlement of the
Afghan conflict, in accordance with relevant provisions of resolutions and
decisions of the General Assembly and the Security Council of the United
Nations, and we, in particular, recall the "talking points" and the
"points of common understanding", adopted earlier by the countries of
the "Six plus Two" group (A/52/826- S/1998/222, annex, and
A/53/455-S/1998/913, annex, respectively).
We confirm that the United Nations, as a universally recognized intermediary,
must continue to play a central and impartial role in international efforts to
achieve a peaceful resolution of the Afghan conflict and we reaffirm our full
support for the efforts of the Special Envoy of the SecretaryGeneral for
Afghanistan and the work of the United Nations Special Mission to Afghanistan.
We reaffirm our firm commitment to the sovereignty, independence, territorial
integrity and national unity of Afghanistan. We express our profound concern at
the violations of the human rights, including those of ethnic minorities and
women and girls, as well as the violations of international humanitarian law
that are taking place in Afghanistan.
We are deeply distressed with the steady increase in the cultivation, production
and illicit trafficking of narcotics and the illegal sale of arms, which have
far-reaching unfavorable consequences not only for the region but beyond it as
well.
We are also concerned at the use of Afghan territory, especially areas
controlled by the Taliban, to conceal and train terrorists, and the fact that
dangerous consequences of such actions can be seen in Afghanistan, its
neighboring countries and far beyond their borders.
In view of the foregoing, we have come to the following conclusions:
1. We are convinced that there is no military solution to the Afghan
conflict, which must be settled through peaceful political negotiation in order
to establish a broad-based, multi-ethnic and fully representative Government.
2. Accordingly, we urge the Afghan parties to resume political
negotiations
aimed at achieving these goals.
3. In order to help bring about a cessation of hostilities, which we
consider essential, we have further agreed not to provide military support to
any Afghan party and to prevent the use of our territories for such purposes. We
call upon the international community to take identical measures to prevent
delivery of weapons to Afghanistan.
4. We express our readiness to promote direct negotiation, under the
auspices of the United Nations, between the Afghan parties in accordance with
the relevant resolutions and decisions of the General Assembly and Security
Council of the United Nations and this Declaration in order to conclude an
intra-Afghan agreement on the implementation of paragraph 1, set forth above. As
members the ''Six plus Two'' group, we are fully determined to provide our
individual and collective support to this process.
5. We consider that the negotiation process must be conducted under the
auspices of the United Nations and may consist of two stages.
(a) The main objective of the first stage is to adopt
measures for building mutual confidence. Such measures will include:
(i) The singing of an agreement on an immediate and
unconditional ceasefire without any pre-conditions;
(ii) The holding at this stage of direct negotiations between the
plenipotentiary delegations of the two main parties to the conflict the
United Front and the Taliban movement - in order to reach agreements, inter
alia on:
Exchanging of prisoners of war,
Lifting internal blockades and opening roads for reciprocal trade and delivery
of humanitarian assistance in the territories controlled by the various Afghan
groups;
(b) The main objective of the second stage is for the Afghans themselves
to draw up basic principles for the future State structure of Afghanistan and
the establishment of a broadbased, multi-ethnic and fully representative
Government within a short period of time.
6. Those of us, who have a common border with Afghanistan, moved by a
common desire to take effective and coordinated measures to combat illicit
drug-trafficking, have agreed, on a bilateral and multilateral basis, to
strengthen effective and coordinated measures to combat illicit drugtrafficking.
In this connection, we recall and confirm the important role played by the
United Nations Drug Control Programme in this process.
7. We urge the Taliban to inform the Government of the Islamic Republic
of Iran and the United Nations about the results of their investigations into
the killings of the diplomatic and consular staff of the Consulate-General of
the Islamic Republic of Iran in Masar-e-Sharif and the correspondent of the
Islamic Republic News Agency, and appeal to the Taliban to cooperate fully with
the international investigation into their killing in order to punish the guilty
parties.
8. We urge the Afghan parties, particularly the Taliban, to cease
providing refuge and training to international terrorists and their
organizations and to cooperate with the efforts to bring terrorists to justice.
9. We are fully determined to make every effort to encourage the Afghan
parties to respect fully the basic human rights and fundamental freedoms of all
Afghans in accordance with the basic norms of international law.
10. We are prepared to cooperate with the new Afghan Government that is
to be established in accordance with paragraph 1, set fourth above, in all
aspects in order to strengthen security and stability in Afghanistan and the
region, bring about the return the Afghan refugees to their homes and ensure
speediest rehabilitation and reconstruction of Afghanistan through support from
UN agencies and programmes, international financial organizations and donor
countries.
11. We call upon the international community to respond to the
Inter-Agency Consolidated Appeal for Emergency Humanitarian and Rehabilitation
Assistance for Afghanistan, launched by the Secretary-General for the period
from 1 January to 31 December 1999, bearing in mind also the existence of the
Afghanistan Emergency Trust Fund. Support for demining is of particular
importance.
12. We call upon the international community to support these proposals
and take coordinated steps to bring about a speedy settlement of the conflict in
Afghanistan and also call upon all forces in Afghanistan to demonstrate
political will and wisdom, overcome their differen ces and mutual hostility and
not miss an historic opportunity to achieve stable and long-lasting peace.
13. The present Declaration is established in two originals, in the
English and the Russian languages, both texts being equally authentic. DONE in
the City of Tashkent, the Republic of Uzbekistan, this " 19th " day of
the month of July one thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine.
For the Government of the People's
Republic of China ______
For the Government of the Islamic
Republic of Iran ______
For the Government of the Islamic
Republic of Pakistan ______
For the Government of the
Republic of Tajikistan ______
For the Government of
Turkmenistan ______
For the Government of the
Republic of Uzbekistan ______
For the Government of the
Russian Federation ______
For the Government of the
United States of America ______
As Observer
For the United Nations ______