The installation of a new regime to replace the Taliban, if it is not based on respect for human rights and a commitment to participatory government, will only perpetuate the cycle of violence. Instead of lasting peace, it will pave the way for a repetition of the continued instability and fighting in the country among its various military warlords, none of whom has demonstrated or even stated a commitment to democratic principles and human rights.

Lasting peace and security in Afghanistan can only be attained if all people are allowed to participate fully in governance of the country. Any political plan for the future of Afghanistan should be based on the rule of law and explicitly incorporate a timetable and process for free and fair elections, even if current conditions in Afghanistan may not make this immediately possible.

The creation of an environment in which all citizens participate in governance and are able to exercise responsibility for the communities in which they live is the best response to terrorism, and the only response that will be effective in the long term.

Supporting non-democratic forces such as the Taliban or the Northern Alliance, which have a documented history of human rights abuse, only guarantees that violence in one form or another will continue. Allowing neighbouring or other countries to determine the political make-up of Afghanistan in accordance with their own geo-political motives risks a perpetuation of the cycle of violence. Political expediency must give way to unqualified support for the establishment of democratic institutions and respect for human rights in Afghanistan.

The United Nations is in a unique position to provide assistance and security, to help restore peace and facilitate the reconstruction of civil society, and to bring about conditions that would allow for the possibility of free and fair elections.

Recommended Action

Under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter, the Security Council has authority to take collective action with respect to threats to peace, breaches of the peace and acts of aggression. Last year, the Security Council adopted Resolution 1325 on Women and Peace and Security. The resolution reaffirmed the important role of women in the prevention and resolution of conflicts and stressed the importance of their equal participation and full involvement in all efforts for the maintenance and promotion of peace and security, and the need to increase their role in decision-making with regard to conflict prevention and resolution. No action has been taken by the Security Council to implement this resolution in the context of the current global crisis.

Please write to the President of the Security Council [United Nations] asking him/her to circulate your letter to the other Security Council members. Call on the Security Council to authorize collective action in Afghanistan by Member States of the United Nations, in consultation with Afghan womenÕs organizations and other currently disempowered elements of civil society. Urge the Security Council to consider new and creative forms of intervention in accordance with its mandate under Chapter VII - to restore peace and maintain security, to contribute towards the reconstruction of Afghanistan and to undertake a long-term initiative designed to create an environment conducive to free and fair elections in Afghanistan with the participation of all people, including women, on the basis of equality.

Security Council President for November, H.E. Patricia Durrant, Permanent Mission of Jamaica, 767 Third Avenue, 9th floor, New York, NY 10017; Fax 212-935-7607; Email jamaica@un.int.

Security Council President for December, H.E. Moctar Ouane, Permanent Mission of the Republic of Mali, 111 East 69th Street, New York, NY 10021; Fax 212-472-3778; Email mali@un.int.

Please keep us updated on your efforts and send copies of any replies you receive to: Equality Now, P.O. Box 20646, Columbus Circle Station, New York, NY 10023 USA;

www.equalitynow.org; info@equalitynow.org.

(Excerpted from Equality Now, a New York womenÕs rights group, October 2001.)