AFGHANISTAN

In the Name of God the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful

Mr. President,

Scores of nations and thousands of millions of people throughout the world would like to hope that the title of this Special Session of the General Assembly will one day become a reality in their everyday lives.

Today, however, we must admit that for them, globalization means marginalization and worsening of their social condition. The gap between rich and poor is developing into a gulf at international as well as national levels.

I shall not quote figures, which are known to you all ; but more and more people are becoming trapped by poverty, sickness and illeteracy. For them , the concept of a "global village" is a pipe-dream.

The development of globalization is irreversible; but as it develops, it brings with it a greater degree of marginalization. Humankind cannot and must not bow to the law of market alone; politics cannot abandon the field. A number of the conflicts raging in the world today are sustained, if not actually stimulated, by economic and financial interets offering immediate gain; whereas a prerequisite for lasting development is stability. We need rules.

Social development cannot be achieved in isolation. It has to be envisaged in a global framework of economic , cultural and political development. The two essential pillars which sustain the whole structure are health and education. for all. Women have a preponderant role to play. The primary precondition for the achievement of the social development aims which the international community set itself in Copenhagen five years ago is the existence of a favourable environment . We consider that the necessary action to that end must be organized at three levels:

At the national level: the essential framework is one of respect for the renewed will of the people, respect for human rights , participation of civil society and good governance: in short, a democratic framework and a voluntarist policy favouring women, girls and the most vulnerable groups;

At the regional level: the regional environment implies respect for the sovereignty of States and non interference in the internal affairs of States. These are the essential preconditions for regional cooperation and economic complementarities to be taken into account;

At the international level: honouring by the rich countries of their commitments to the developing countries, and in particular to the least developed countries, including matters relating to debt, and the taking into account of considerations of social development in the programmes and policies of the international financial institutions.

A good number of the 10 commitments by the Summit members became object of the attention of the Islamic State of Afghanistan in 1995. The unfortunate course of events, and in September 1996 the invasion of Kabul by the Taliban, and subsequent tragedies, brought about major obstacles preventing the implementation of the Copenhagen commitments.

In the areas controlled by the government, the educational system functions normally for the boys and girls . The girl's schools are open and the female staff members of the Ministry of Education continuing their jobs. Hospitals and health centres are open to both women and men. The Islamic State of Afghanistan, despite its scarce resources, continue to assist the people in tackling their problems. It is noteworthy to indicate that the foreign , imposed conflict on Afghanistan has its negative effects on the areas controlled by the government as well.