Geneva: India at the 50th Session of the Human Rights Council meeting on Afghanistan called for the protection of the rights of women and girls, including their right to education.

Ambassador Puneet Agrawal, Deputy Permanent Representative of India, in a statement by India during the Urgent Debate on "the situation of human rights of women and girls in Afghanistan" at the UNHRC meet (June 13- July 8) called for "ensuring the protection of rights of women and girls in Afghanistan."

"We also urge the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) to make all efforts to ensure that the rights of women, children and minorities are respected and preserved," he added.

The ambassador expressed "deepest condolences to the victims and their families, and to all those impacted by the devastating earthquake in Afghanistan."

He said that India shares the grief of the people of Afghanistan and as a true friend of Afghanistan and first responder, has dispatched 27 tons of emergency relief assistance in two flights for the people of Afghanistan.

As a contiguous neighbour and long-standing partner of Afghanistan, India has direct stakes in ensuring the return of peace and stability to the country. Citing the strong historical and civilizational linkages of India to the Afghan people, Agrawal said that India is deeply concerned about the recent developments in Afghanistan, which directly impact the well-being of women and girls of Afghanistan.

"There has been an increasing attempt towards removing women from public life in Afghanistan. We join others in calling for ensuring the protection of rights of women and girls, including their right to education, and to ensure that the long-fought gains of the last two decades are not reversed," he added.

The Ambassador highlighted that the basic rights of civilians, children, girls and women including freedom of speech and opinion, access to education and medical care have been drastically hampered due to the ongoing situation.

"We call upon all the parties concerned to allow unhindered access to international assistance for all those who are in the need of it In order to closely monitor and coordinate the efforts of various stakeholders for the effective delivery of humanitarian assistance and in continuation of our engagement with the Afghan people, an Indian technical team has been deployed in our Embassy there," Agrawal continued as saying.

He noted that the expectations of the international community on the way forward in Afghanistan have been clearly outlined in the Security Council's Resolution 2593, and these have been reiterated in subsequent resolutions including, most recently, in Resolution 2626.

"Resolution 2593 sets forth the expectations such as ensuring that the territory of Afghanistan is not used to launch terrorist attacks against other countries; formation of a truly inclusive and representative government; combating terrorism and drug trafficking; and preserving the rights of women, children and minorities," he concluded.