Afghanistan.

The Security Council on 16 December - in expressing "grave concern at the continued military confrontation in Afghanistan, which has caused human suffering and material destruction, which threatens to lead to the disintegration of the country and which represents a growing threat to regional and international peace and security" - deplored the unwillingness of the Afghan warring factions to lay down their arms and cooperate with the United Nations for peace.

Through a statement by Council President Fernando Berrocal Soto of Costa Rica, it also stressed that the Afghan conflict had "no military solution" and that the primary responsibility for finding a peaceful settlement lies with the Afghan parties themselves.

It urged them to: take genuine confidence-building measures; agree immediately on a ceasefire; and engage without preconditions in a political dialogue aimed at achieving national reconciliation, a lasting political settlement of the conflict and the formation of a broad-based, fully representative government that would protect the rights of all Afghans and abide by Afghanistan's international obligations.

In deploring the fact that foreign military support to the Afghan parties had continued unabated through 1997, the Council reiterated its call to all States to "end immediately the supply of arms, ammunition, military equipment, training or any other military support to all parties to the conflict in Afghanistan, including the involvement of foreign military personnel". It encouraged the Secretary-General and Member States to undertake preliminary studies on how an effective arms embargo could be imposed and implemented in a fair and verifiable manner.

The Council insisted that the United Nations, as a universally recognized and impartial intermediary, must be given a pivotal, central role in coordinated international efforts towards a peaceful resolution of the Afghan conflict. In expressing belief that peace and stability could best be achieved through intra-Afghan political negotiations under UN auspices, with the active and coordinated assistance of all countries concerned, it also reiterated its full support for the United Nations Special Mission to Afghanistan and the Secretary-General's Special Envoy for that country.

Serious concern was also expressed at the "continuing discrimination against girls and women and other violations of human rights" in Afghanistan, at reports of "mass killings of prisoners of war and civilians", and over the "looting of United Nations premises and food supplies and deliberate restrictions placed on the access of humanitarian organizations to some parts of the country".

RELATED ARTICLE: Earthquake Compounds Humanitarian Crisis 

Secretary-General Kofi Annan on 7 February stated that he had learned with sorrow of the devastation and the large loss of life caused by the earthquake in northern Afghanistan, and instructed the United Nations mission in that country and the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Assistance to Afghanistan, in Islamabad and Dushanbe, to send teams to "assess the situation and humanitarian needs and to offer whatever humanitarian assistance necessary".

General Assembly President Hennadiy Udovenko, said the tragedy underscored the importance of recent United Nations efforts to "review its capacity to address humanitarian crises and enhance the Organization's ability to reduce and mitigate the consequences of natural disasters".

On 7 January, Secretary-General Kofi Annan deplored the Taliban aerial attacks on Bamiyan airfield while the World Food Programme aircraft were delivering emergency humanitarian relief supplies. "These attacks were carried out despite clearances received in advance from the Taliban authorities", he stated. "They not only prevented the delivery of urgently needed food to 160,000 vulnerable people who rely on United Nations assistance, but also jeopardized the safety of humanitarian workers."

On 4 February, the United Nations appealed for $157 million to ensure continued humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan, a country that has the highest rates of infant, childhood and maternal mortality in Asia. The 1998 consolidated appeal for Afghanistan identified priority needs in the areas of food security and food aid, support for the voluntary repatriation of refugees, primary health care services, rural and urban rehabilitation, mine action and drug control.