Mr. Seddiq Weera at the Foreign Affairs and International Development Committee

On February 14th, 2008. See this statement in context.

February 14th, 2008 / 4:30 p.m.

Senior Advisor, Independent National Commission on Strengthening Peace and Senior Policy Advisor, Minister of Education, Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, As an Individual

Seddiq Weera

The United Nations had a track record of negotiating in the nineties. Brahimi said off the record to someone in the Afghan government, and I'm quoting here, that the biggest mistake he made is--Bonn was probably not the best place, but later on, in January 2002--that it did not include the Taliban in the peace negotiations.

But I learned that the mandate of the United Nations, the Security Council, does not have peacemaking explicitly. That's what needs to be addressed.

The UN is the best placed, it is trusted, it has the infrastructure. We need a neutral body to broker peace. If Afghans could have done it among themselves, why would war and terror be housed in Afghanistan today?

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