E-Paper
UK PM Boris Johnson urges G20 to ‘prioritise rights of women and girls’ in Afghanistan, pledges GBP 50 million
“The UK will give £50m to that end, and I urge the G20 to prioritise the rights of women and girls in all our international development efforts,” Johnson tweeted.
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Sunday called for the G20 (group of 20) member nations to prioritise the rights of the women and girls in Taliban-ruled Afghanistan amid the ongoing G20 summit. Johnson also said that the United Kingdom would give GBP 50 million for the cause.
“We have a responsibility to help those in Afghanistan most at risk under the Taliban regime, particularly women and girls,” Johnson said in a tweet. “The UK will give £50m to that end, and I urge the G20 to prioritise the rights of women and girls in all our international development efforts,” he added.
The remarks from Johnson came a few days after he said that the UK is trying to help the Afghan people, however, cautiously noted that the country can’t “write a completely blank cheque to the Taliban government.”
“We must do everything we can also to mitigate the consequences for the people of Afghanistan of the Taliban takeover,” Reuters quoted the British PM as saying earlier on Wednesday. “We have doubled our aid commitment for this year ... what we can't do at the moment is write a completely blank cheque to the Taliban government, the Taliban authorities. We need to ensure that that country does not slip back into being a haven for terrorism,” he added.
Also read | Taliban leader Haibatullah Akhundzada makes first public appearance
Ahead of the opening session of the G20 summit earlier on Saturday, Johnson said that “he was focused” on Covid-19 and climate change.
“At the G20 this weekend I’m focused on the big challenges facing the UK and the world,” he tweeted and mentioned that “Action on climate change so we preserve the planet for future generations” and “Defeating the pandemic by encouraging the rapid global distribution of vaccines” as his two main agenda.
The G20 world leaders’ summit is currently in progress in Rome, Italy, where leaders of the 20 member nations have gathered to discuss several important issues, namely, the Covid-19 pandemic and the climate emergency. Italy is currently holding the presidency of the group.
Earlier on October 12, the G20 leaders met in a virtual meeting in what the group called “G20 Extraordinary Leaders’ Meeting on Afghanistan.” The G20 released a list of shared goals and principles and also drafted a line of action following the meeting, in which it largely emphasised on human rights, presence of the United Nations in Afghanistan, tackling terror threat along with major emphasis on women rights.
“The G20 will continue supporting Afghan women and girls both in their immediate needs and to enable them to contribute to a durable peace and an inclusive development to the benefit of all Afghans,” the G20 said.
