The situation in Afghanistan
A/RES/69/18
social services at the national, provincial and local levels, in particular education
and public health services, and to promote development;
59. Urges the Government of Afghanistan to enhance efforts to reform key
service delivery sectors, such as energy and drinking water supply, as preconditions
for progress in social and economic development;
60. Commends the Government of Afghanistan for improving budgetary
transparency and for its efforts to date to reach fiscal sustainability, notes the
challenges ahead, and urges that continued efforts be made to meet revenue targets,
as agreed with the International Monetary Fund;
61. Expresses its appreciation for the work of the provincial reconstruction
teams as they worked within the provincial context to support national priorities to
build the capacities of local institutions;
62. Encourages the international community and the corporate sector to
support the Afghan economy as a measure for long-term stability and to explore
possibilities for increased trade and investments and enhanced local procurement,
and further encourages the Government of Afghanistan to continue to promote an
economic environment and legal framework favourable for private sector
investments at both the national and subnational levels;
63. Emphasizes, in this regard, the importance of strengthening local and
regional networks of transportation that will facilitate connectivity for economic
development, stability and self-sustainability, particularly the completion and
maintenance of local railroad and land routes, the development of regional projects
to foster further connectivity and the enhancement of international civil aviation
capabilities;
64. Urgently encourages all States as well as intergovernmental and
non-governmental organizations to expand agricultural cooperation with
Afghanistan, within the National Agricultural Development Framework and in line
with the National Development Strategy and the relevant national priority
programme, respectively, with a view to helping to eradicate poverty and ensure
social and economic development, including in rural communities;
65. Reiterates the necessity of providing Afghan children, especially Afghan
girls, with educational and health facilities in all parts of the country, welcomes the
progress achieved in the sector of public education, recalls the National Education
Strategic Plan as a promising basis for further achievements, encourages the
Government of Afghanistan, with the assistance of the international community, to
expand those facilities, train professional staff and promote full and equal access to
them by all members of Afghan society, including in remote areas, and reiterates
further the need to provide vocational training for adolescents;
66. Commends the relief efforts by the Government of Afghanistan and
donors, but continues to express its concern at the overall humanitarian situation,
stresses the continued need for food assistance, ensuring that the basic needs of
internally displaced persons are met, and calls for continued international support in
this regard, as well as for the early fulfilment, before the approaching winter, of the
urgent humanitarian needs in the 2014 Common Humanitarian Action Plan for
Afghanistan;
67. Recognizes that underdevelopment and lack of capacity increase the
vulnerability of Afghanistan to natural disasters and to harsh climate conditions, and
in this regard urges the Government of Afghanistan, with the support of the
15/21