Declaration on the Situation in Afghanistan by the Foreign Ministers
and other senior representatives of the "Six plus Two


  1. The heads of delegation met at the United Nations Headquarters under the auspices of the Secretary-General to discuss the situation in Afghanistan.

  2. They deplored the acts of international terrorism carried out in the United States on 11 September 2001.

  3. The Ministers and other senior representatives of the "Six plus Two" condemned the export of international terrorism by the al-Qaeda network and the ruling Taliban authorities for allowing the continued use of Afghan territory for such terrorist activities. The Ministers supported efforts by the Afghan people to rid themselves of the Taliban regime.

  4. They supported efforts of the international community to root out terrorism, in keeping with the Charter of the United Nations, including relevant Security Council and General Assembly resolutions. They reaffirmed their commitments, in particular, to implement Security Council resolutions 1267 (1999), 1333 (2000) and 1363 (2001). The al-Qaeda network, other terrorist groups inside Afghanistan and their Taliban supporters should be brought to justice.

  5. The members of the "Six plus Two" reaffirmed their full support for the sovereignty, political independence and territorial integrity of Afghanistan and pledged their continued support to efforts of the Afghan people to find a political solution to the Afghan crisis, and they agreed that there should be the establishment in Afghanistan of a broad based multi-ethnic, politically balanced, freely chosen Afghan administration representative of their aspirations and at peace with its neighbours. This administration must be able to meet the needs of the Afghan people and respect human rights, regional stability and Afghanistan's international obligations, including suppression of trade in narcotics. In this connection, the Ministers welcomed efforts to create such an administration by Afghans from both within Afghanistan and from among the Afghan diaspora. They endorsed the previous efforts of the "Six plus Two" to deal with these issues.

  6. They welcomed the central role of the United Nations in assisting the Afghan people in developing a political alternative to the Taliban regime. In particular, the Ministers endorsed the work of the Secretary-General's Special Representative, Lakhdar Brahimi, including to facilitate efforts by Afghan groups committed to a free and peaceful Afghanistan to establish a broad-based Afghan administration on an urgent basis.

  7. The members of the "Six plus Two" pledged continued support for the humanitarian efforts by the United Nations to alleviate the suffering of the Afghan people, both inside Afghanistan and in refugee camps located in neighbouring countries. They urged additional contributions from donor countries to meet these pressing humanitarian needs. They also welcomed efforts by the international community to begin planning now for the long-term reconstruction of Afghanistan once a broadly-based government has assumed office and peace has been restored.

  8. They pledged their continued support to the Afghan people and to the Secretary-General, supported by his Special Representative, in their efforts to restore freedom and peace to Afghanistan.

12 November 2001