Geneva, September 07 (QNA) - The State of Qatar has renewed its commitment to playing an active role as an international partner through mediation efforts and hosting dialogues and meetings on Afghanistan, thereby helping build international consensus and providing a platform for dialogue and coordination, emphasizing the importance of adopting a comprehensive approach that merges humanitarian response with responsible political engagement to meet the Afghan people's aspirations for security, stability, and development.

This came in a statement delivered by Second Secretary at Qatar's Permanent Mission to the UN Office in Geneva, Abdullah bin Ali Bahzad, during his participation in the Interactive Dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan, held as part of the 63rd Session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.

He emphasized that Afghanistan continues to face one of the world's largest and most complex humanitarian crises, noting that nearly 22 million people, approximately 45 percent of the population, require humanitarian assistance.

He explained that the crisis in Afghanistan is compounded by insecurity, economic fragility, climate shocks, displacement, cuts in funding and aid, the return of millions of refugees, ongoing sanctions, and the freezing of state assets, alongside acute food insecurity risks threatening over 4.7 million people, including around 3.7 million children.

The Second Secretary at Qatar's Permanent Mission to the UN Office in Geneva pointed out that supporting education, particularly for children and girls, remains a priority for the State of Qatar, which helped evacuate hundreds of Afghan children, providing them with shelter, care, psychological support, food, and education. He noted that the Qatar Fund for Development (QFFD) and the Education Above All Foundation have supported the education of 30,000 out-of-school students since 2023.

He further mentioned that the Qatar Red Crescent Society has continued supporting education in remote areas since 2016, while Qatar Charity is executing a project to build and equip a specialized hospital for women, children, and internal medicine, funded by QFFD. (QNA)