Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Furhan Al-Saud stressed the importance of security and stability in Afghanistan and noted that the country should not become a haven for terrorist groups.
Addressing a United Nations General Assembly debate on Saturday, Al-Saud also called for increased regional and international support to address the dire humanitarian situation in the country.
“We call for stepping up regional and international efforts to provide humanitarian and economic aid to alleviate the suffering of the Afghan people,” the Saudi minister said.
Al-Saud emphasized the need for the ruling Taliban to uphold human rights and women’s rights, including their access to education and employment.
“We call for the respect for the human rights of the Afghan people, including the right of women to access education and employment,” he said.
“A collective responsibility is also needed to the people of Palestine and Afghanistan,” he said.
Meanwhile, Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Lestari Priansari Marsudi also expressed her support for the people of Afghanistan, underlining the right to education for girls.
“In Afghanistan, Indonesia will do its utmost to help the Afghan people and ensure the rights of women and girls are respected, including their right to education,” she said.
This comes after the Malaysian Prime Minister, Anwar Ibrahim on Friday criticized the Taliban for banning education for women and girls in Afghanistan, stating that the restriction violates the “teachings of Islam.”
“Denying the right to go to school is a violation of the teachings of Islam, not to mention the UN Charter and the multilateral framework, human rights,” Ibrahim said.
“On Afghanistan, Malaysia remains deeply concerned with the dire humanitarian situation in the country. This is especially so, given that the country is grappling with its third consecutive year of drought and devastating locust infestation that severely undermined wheat harvest,” he added.
