President Of Afghanistan

The new Constitution makes no reference to Shari'a law, and Article 7 commits the state to abide by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and other international treaties and conventions to which the country is a party. Although the rights of conversion and proselytism are not spelled out explicitly in the Constitution, both the UDHR and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which the country also has ratified, require protection of these rights. Provisions, particularly Article 31, of the 1964 Constitution protected freedom of speech. Article 34 of the new Constitution protects freedom of expression and of the press. The Afghan Press Law adopted in April 2002 contained an injunction against information that "could mean insult to the sacred religion of Islam and other religions." The ambiguity surrounding what constitutes offensive material offered the potential for abuse of this clause in order to restrict press freedom and intimidate journa ... [Read More]

Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld With President of Afghanistan Hamid Karzai
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Rebuilding Afghanistan - US Department of State

U.N. Official Says More Funding Needed for Afghan ElectionsU.N. envoy briefs Security Council on progress toward September ballotingA U.N. official expressed worry that a significant shortfall in international financial contributions could force a postponement of the elections in Afghanistan scheduled for September. Briefing the Security Council, Jean Arnault, the U.N. special envoy to Afghanistan, says the election project is still $78.8 million short of its anticipated cost.    (complete text) [Read More]

Secretary Rumsfeld and President Karzai Hold Press Conference in Afghanistan

Based on that experience, as a result of my conversations with the Afghan people in the past three years including conversations with groups of Afghans from provinces yesterday.  The conclusion we have drawn is that the Afghan people want a longer term relationship with the United States.  They want this relationship to be a wholesome one including sustained economic relationship, a [inaudible] relationship, and most important of all, a strategic security relationship that would enable Afghanistan to defend itself, to continue to prosper, to stop interferences, the possibility of interferences in Afghanistan, not have the reputation of that. ... [Read More]

YES Student from Afghanistan and His American Host Family Meet President Karzai in Boston – News – Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs

On May 22, 2005, an ECA Partnerships for Learning Youth Exchange and Study (YES) participant, Massoud, and his host family from Andover, Massachusetts, attended the 132 nd graduation ceremony at Boston University by very special invitation. President of Afghanistan Hamid Karzai delivered the main commencement address and Massoud and his family were among the honored guests sitting just feet away from him. Following the ceremony the family was whisked away to an official luncheon in the quarters of the BU President. There they met with Karzai and the host mother presented him with an article written about Massoud in the local newspaper. Reflecting on the meeting she wrote, “ President Karzai made me feel like it was an honor for him to meet ME!” ... [Read More]

Afghanistan (04/05)

In the 1960s, the United States helped build a highway connecting Afghanistan’s two largest cities. It began in Kabul and wound its way through five of the country’s core provinces—skirting scores of isolated and otherwise inaccessible villages; passing through the ancient market city of Ghazni; descending through Qalat; and eventually reaching Kandahar, founded by Alexander the Great. More than 35% of the country’s population lives within 50 kilometers of this highway, called, appropriately, modern Afghanistan’s lifeline. In 1978, the Soviet Union invaded. By the time its forces withdrew more than a decade later, more than 1 million Afghans had been killed and 5 million had fled. Civil war followed. The Taliban emerged, controlling all but the remote, northern regions. Afghanistan was terrorized by this group, which was dogmatically opposed to progress and democracy. More than two decades of war had left the Kabul-Kandahar highway devastated, like much of the country’s infrastructure. ... [Read More]

Afghanistan
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Democratic Afghanistan - US Department of State

MM/DD/YYYYTITLE06/24/2005 U.N. Official Says More Funding Needed for Afghan Elections12/27/2004 [Read More]

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U.S. Embassy Kabul’s Acting Deputy Chief of Mission and USAID Country Director Patrick Fine, Afghanistan Minister of Agriculture Obidullah Ramin, and other high-ranking officials representing the Afghan Government and the U.S. Embassy joined more than 3000 farmers and hundreds of school students to inaugurate the new program. ...

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Afghanistan

President Bush Welcomes Afghan President Karzai ...

The United States has made a long-term commitment to help Afghanistan rebuild itself after years of war.  The U.S., along with others in the international community, currently provides resources and expertise to Afghanistan in a variety of areas, including humanitarian relief and assistance, capacity-building, security needs, counter-narcotic programs, and infrastructure projects.  The U.S. also supports the Afghan Government in its efforts to establish a framework for a vibrant civil society, one that emphasizes democratic principles through a rule of law and creates accountable and transparent forms of government. The United States and its international partners remain committed to helping Afghans realize their vision for a country that is stable, democratic, and economically successful, and to an Afghan government committed to the protection of women's rights, human rights, and religious tolerance.  ... [Read More]