G20 mandates UN to coordinate aid for Afghanistan

The G20 countries have tasked the United Nations with coordinating humanitarian aid for Afghanistan, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi said on Tuesday.

The prime minister said this after hosting a special G20 summit to address the burgeoning disaster in the crisis-torn country.

The countries largely agreed on this move, according to Mr Draghi.

He added that the leaders also said Afghanistan must recognise human rights, especially women’s rights, and not become a haven for terrorists.

“We must not get to the point we got to 20 years ago,’’ Mr Draghi stated.

He said he was happy that the world’s most important decision-makers were in agreement on Afghanistan for the first time.

“Multilateralism is coming back, with difficulty, but it is coming back,’’ explained the PM.

When asked whether governments would recognise the Taliban, he said the question had not been discussed and that the leaders were far from being ready to do so.

“The Taliban will be judged by what they do, not what they say,’’ Mr Draghi noted.

Credit: PG