________
Afghan MPs attend World Conference of
Speakers of Parliament
H.E. Amanullah Paiman, Second Deputy Speaker of
Wolesi Jirga (House of Representatives) headed the
Afghan parliamentary delegation to the 3rd
World Conference of Speakers of Parliament, which
was held from 19-21 July 2010 in Geneva.
The
Parliamentary delegation of
the Islamic
Republic of Afghanistan was comprised
of two
senators from Mishrno Jirga (Upper House), two MPs
from Wolesi Jirga and two officers of both
chambers.
The Conference was held under the theme of
“Parliaments in the World of Crises: Securing
Democracy and Accountability for the Common Good”.
H.E Mr. Paiman addressed
the conference and highlighted the importance of
Parliaments’ role in promoting democracy in
underdeveloped countries and advancing public
awareness to this effect.
________
99th Session
of the International Labour Conference
The
Minister of Labor, Social Affairs, Martyrs and Disabled
of the Islamic Republic Afghanistan, Her Excellency Mrs.
Amena Afzali, attended the 99th Session of
International Labour Conference from 9 to 18 June in
Geneva.
The Afghan delegation consisted of one Deputy Minister,
three Directors, an employer delegate, a worker delegate
and their respective advisors.
The Minister addressed the plenary and highlighted
Afghanistan’s recent ratification to Conventions number
182, 138, 144 and 159 of ILO. She underscored that
unemployment is one of the biggest social problems of
Afghanistan which in many cases resulted in
destabilizing security and farming and trafficking of
the narcotics in the country.
In her intervention, the Minister also emphasized that a
National Employment Strategy is being drafted in order
to enhance coordination
among various organizations and sectors with respect to
their activities in the fields of employment and labour.
She concluded by complimenting ILO
in helping the Afghan Government on labour issues and
called for continued co-operation and support from the
organisation.
At the outskirt of the Session, the Afghan delegations
held a number of bilateral meetings with their
counterparts and on 16 of June, H.E. Mrs. Afzali signed
a MoU with her Indian counterpart in order to diversify
their bilateral engagement pertaining to employment
issues, vocational training for Afghans and other issues
of mutual interest.
This year’s conference took place against a backdrop of
new concern over the continuing global jobs crisis, that
has elevated global unemployment to more than 210
million, or its highest level ever recorded, according
to the Director-General’s report “Recovery
and Growth with Decent Work,”.
However, this year’s agenda for the Session included:
- Decent work for domestic
workers
- HIV/AIDS in the world of
work
- A general discussion on the
strategic objective of employment
- A review of the follow-up to
the 1998 Declaration on Fundamental Principles and
Rights at Work
The conference concluded its 2010 Session on the 18 of
June
with a strong call for placing employment and social
protection at the centre of recovery policies.
________
Afghanistan presents report to the
Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
A high-ranking delegation of the Government of the
Islamic Republic of Afghanistan visited Geneva to
present the combined second to fourth periodic
reports of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan under
the International Covenant on Economic, Social and
Cultural Rights. The reports were considered and
adopted by the Committee on Economic, Social and
Cultural Rights between 12 and 14 May 2010.
The capital-based delegates, accompanied by members
of the Permanent Mission of Afghanistan to the UNOG,
comprised the following:
1. Dr. Mohammad Qasim HASHIMZAI, Deputy Minister of
Justice (Head of delegation)
2. Dr. Nadera Hayat BURHANI, Deputy Minister of
Public Health
3. Dr. Assadullah MUHAQIQUE, Deputy Minister of
Education
4. Mr. Wasil Noor MUHMAND, Deputy Minister of Social
and Labor Affairs
5. Mr. Ayaz PAZHOHISH, Member, Human Rights and
International Women's Affairs Department, Ministry
of Foreign Affairs.
________
Afghan
delegation attends the 63rd WHA
Her Excellency Dr. Suraya Dalil,
Acting Minister of Public Health of the Islamic
Republic of Afghanistan headed a high-ranking
Afghan delegation to the Sixth-third World Health
Assembly, which was held from May 17 to 21, 2010 in
Geneva.
The Afghan delegation consisted of
Dr. Ahmad Jan Naeem Acting Director for Department
of planning, Dr. Ahmad Shah Salehi,
Acting Director of the Health
Economics and Financing Directorate,
Dr. Ashraf Mashkoor, Head of HIMS department, Dr.
Ahmad Gawhary Advisor to the Minister, Dr.
Habibullah Ahmadzai Director of the International
Relations Department, and Diplomats of the Permanent
Mission of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan to
the United Nations at Geneva.
On the second day of the Assembly,
Her Excellency Dr. Suraya Dalil addressed the
gathering and highlighted Afghanistan’s
achievements and obstacles in the sphere of Public
Health and called for
sustained
support of the
international community.
At the outskirt of the Assembly, the
Afghan delegation attended a meeting co-hosted by
the Organisation of the Islamic Conference and the
United States Secretary of Health and
Human Services
and held bilateral meetings with the
Health Ministers of Turkey, Islamic Republic of
Iran, Yemen, Iraq, Jordan, India, Islamic Republic
of Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates, whereby
issues of mutual interests were discussed.
It is pertinent to
mention that H.E. Dr. Dalil also participated in the
meeting of Group of 1+4 and underlined the
importance of collective action and regional
cooperation against diseases like Polio, Malaria and
HIV.
________
پیام تودیعی
هموطنان گرامی!
احترامانه به
اطلاع میرسانم که بعد از سپری شدن بیش از
سه سال در خدمت شما، ژنیو را به قصد اشغال
ماموریت جدید ترک و از شما وداع میگویم.
طی این مدت که
افتخار خدمت به هموطنان خویش در کشور سویس
را داشتم، سعی و تلاش بعمل آوردم تا
بتوانم فاصله میان ایشان و سفارت ج.ا.ا
مقیم سویس تا حد ممکن نزدیک گردد و
امیدوارم در این آرزوی خود به همکاری شما
موفق بوده باشم.
با اظهار سپاس
و قدردانی و به آرزوی سال جدید شمسی پُر
برکت به شما و خانواده محترم تان.
به امید تأمین
صلح و امنیت، سربلندی و تعالی کشور عزیز
ما افغانستان.
با تمنیات نیک
دکتور ننگیالی طرزی
سفیرکبیر و نماینده دایمی جمهوری اسلامی
افغانستان
مقیم ژنیو-سویس
________
L'Afghanistan, un autre regard
The United Nations Office in Geneva, in
collaboration with the Permanent Mission of the
Islamic Republic of Afghanistan in Geneva, has put
on display an exhibition of paintings and
photographs entitled “L'Afghanistan, un autre
regard" (Another look at Afghanistan) in the
“Galerie des pas perdus” in European headquarters of
United Nations in Geneva.
The inauguration ceremony that took place on 3
December 2009 was attended by Geneva-based
diplomatic corps, senior staff members of the United
Nations and the Afghan community.
In his inaugural speech, His Excellency Mr. Sergi
Ordzhonikisze, Director-General of the United
Nations European headquarters praised Ambassador
Tarzi and his team for their contribution to the UN
Cultural Activities Programme and believes that the
breath-taking images really do capture the essence
of Afghanistan landscapes and they provide another
look at Afghanistan that goes well beyond media
headlines.
His Excellency Ambassador Dr. Nanguyalai Tarzi
Permanent Representative of Afghanistan to the UN in
Geneva also addressed the attendees and said:
Afghanistan has
a rich culture and thousands of years of
civilization. Afghanistan has always had a pivotal
role in the region. However, its image is being
portrayed in today’s media as a devastated, war-torn
country and center for poppy cultivation. He added
that this exhibition is a great opportunity to see
the peaceful and picturesque image of Afghanistan.
This unique
exhibition displays
paintings and photographs of Afghan artists like Mr.
Aziz Tarzi and Mr. Mamoun Etemadi; as well as French
artists Mr. Benrnard Ponty, who was also among the
speakers, and Mr. Emmanuel Bouyx whom they had
traveled to Afghanistan during the 1970s. The
exhibition
is designed to illustrate a peaceful image of
Afghanistan to the public.
The exhibition will remain open to the general
public until 15 January 2010. For further
information, please visit the
UNOG
site.
________
Afghan Minister of Commerce attended 7th
WTO Ministerial Conference
H.E Mr. Wahidullah Shahrani
at the WTO Conference
Minister Shahrani &
H.E Frank Heemskerk,
Minister Shahrani &
H.E. Makhdoom Amin Fahim
H.E Mr. Wahidullah Shahrani Minister of Commerce and
Industry of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan
headed the Afghan delegation to the 7th
WTO Ministerial Conference which was held from 30th
November to 2nd December 2009 in Geneva.
The conference was held under the theme of “The WTO,
the Multilateral Trading system and the Current
Global Economic Environment” and the need to
conclude the Doha Round of trade negotiations in
2010 was reaffirmed by Ministers of 180 Members and
observers of the WTO.
In his statement, Minister Shahrani stated that
“Afghanistan is still only an observer to the WTO,
but our commitment to become a member is strong and
we fully support the goals of the Doha Development
Round with its pledge to bring the needs and
concerns of the Least-Developed Countries to the
forefront of the negotiations.”
Highlighting some of the achievements towards closer
cooperation with the WTO and final membership of the
organization, the Minister added that “to fully
utilize the process we still require the support and
assistance from our international partners through
trade capacity building and Aid for Trade programs.”
In
the sideline of the conference, Minister Shahrani
met bilaterally with Ms. Patricia Francis, Executive
director of International Trade Centre (ITC), H.E
Frank Heemskerk, Dutch
Minister
for Foreign
Trade,
and
H.E. Mr. Eenennaam
Netherlands’s Ambassador and Permanent
Representative in Geneva who is chairing Afghanistan
accession working party in the WTO.
Afghan Minister also met with H.E. Makhdoom Amin
Fahim Minister of Commerce of the Islamic Republic
of Pakistan.
It
is pertinent to mention that the Afghan delegation
also attended consultative Meeting of OIC Trade
Ministers, which was organized by the Islamic
Development Bank and the SAARC Ministerial Meeting,
on the eve of the conference.
