Press Release: Afghan women and the post-Taliban régime : ‘It’s never feasible to plan the reconstruction of a country whilst excluding 50% of the population from representation at the table’, says Anna Diamantopoulou

Anna Diamantopoulou, European Commissioner for Employment and Social affairs, speaking ahead of the UN Conference on the future of Afghanistan to be held on 26 November 2001 in Bonn, said that plans for the reconstruction of Afghanistan must include means to guarantee respect of women's human rights. She welcomed the recent foreign ministers' conclusions identifying the need to promote the role of women in Afghan society but said that women must be involved in defining that role. Diamantopoulou will participate in the Amnesty International demonstration in Brussels on 25 November 2001 calling for the human rights of Afghan women to be given priority status in talks on the new Afghanistan.