KABUL (TOLO NEWS): The UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Afghanistan, Deborah Lyons, has completed her mission and made a farewell statement to the people of Afghanistan.
Deborah Lyons started her position as the UN Political Representative in Afghanistan on April 23, 2020.
On Thursday, June 26, in her farewell statement to the Afghan people,
Lyons said she was convinced that the best hope lies in an engagement strategy that shows the de facto government that a system that excludes women,
minorities, and
talented people will not last, and that it is possible to build an inclusive and Islamic
polity at the same time.
“A system that excludes women, minorities, and talented people will not endure,” she remarked.
“It was an honour as a woman to be selected to be SRSG (Special Representative of the Secretary-General) in March 2020.
It is that much more painful as a woman to leave my Afghan sisters in the condition they are in,” she said.
Deborah Lyons is a Canadian diplomat who has served in Afghanistan and other countries.
Lyons served as Canada’s ambassador to Afghanistan from 2013 to 2016, and before that, she served as the country’s ambassador to Israel.
Since the late May 1980s, the United Nations has had a political, human rights, humanitarian, and development involvement in Afghanistan.