On UN Day 24 October, Norway will be hosting a closed Arria-formula meeting titled Engaging Afghanistan. Norway is an elected member of the UN Security Council and leads its work on Afghanistan.
“We are very concerned about the situation for the people of Afghanistan as they are facing a multitude of crises. The reason we are bringing members together in this way, is to have an informal, critical, discussion on the political situation and how the Security Council best can support the political aspects of the mandate of the UN Mission in the way ahead”, Ambassador Mona Juul said.
Norway’s Mission to the UN, returning to the original “Arria Formula” format of a closed, informal meeting, has raised two questions to guide the discussions: How can UNAMA utilise their unique role as a representative for the international community in Afghanistan to engage all relevant Afghan political actors and stakeholders – and what can Security Council members and UN Member States do to ensure that an inclusive set of Afghan voices, including women, are heard in the governance of their country and in the UN.
The briefers are the Special Representative of the Secretary-General and head of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) Roza Otunbayeva, the Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Afghanistan Ramiz Alakbarov and, a women civil society representative.
The five incoming members to the Security Council were also invited to the meeting.
“As Norway’s term is up at the end of this year, we would like to contribute to keeping Afghanistan high on the agenda of the Council, and help inform future discussions on UNAMA’s mandate, which is set to expire on 17 March next year”, the Ambassador said.