I am grateful to Deputy for allowing me the opportunity to put on the record of the House as quickly as possible the up-to-date position. Everyone in this House is deeply concerned about the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan. This concern is also shared throughout the international community and every effort is being made at all levels to respond to their plight. The people of Afghanistan have been the victims of over two decades of violence and of the extremism of the Taliban regime. A generation of Afghans have known little else but conflict, poverty, malnourishment and human rights abuses. From the moment we took up our position on the UN Security Council last January, Ireland has sought to highlight the humanitarian dimension of the situation in Afghanistan.
We all know the desperate plight of the Afghan people did not begin on 11 September or 7 October. The Taliban regime had been obstructing the efforts of the international community to respond to the humanitarian plight of the people of Afghanistan for a considerable period of time and there were reports as recent as yesterday of the Taliban confiscating UN aid. Although the suffering of the people of Afghanistan did not begin on 11 September, it is the determined goal of the international community that this crisis will bring an end to their misery and provide a new beginning for the people of Afghanistan.
I will outline briefly the actions that are being taken by the international community. Each week since taking up the Presidency of the Security Council, Ireland has convened consultations on Afghanistan where we have underlined the urgent need to focus on the humanitarian concerns of the Afghan people. The Security Council is taking a comprehensive approach to Afghanistan, which includes addressing political, economic, humanitarian and human rights.
Secretary General Kofi Annan has appointed a special representative for Afghanistan, Ambassador Brahimi. He has a long and distinguished career in the service of the UN and has overall authority for UN humanitarian and political efforts in Afghanistan. I had a long telephone conversation with him last night. He will be active in encouraging the emergence of a fully representative, multi-ethnic and broad based Government and will initiate preparations for the development of plans for the rehabilitation of Afghanistan. At Ireland's request, Ambassador Brahimi briefed the Security Council on Tuesday, 16 October, on his contacts to date. I had a valuable discussion last evening with him which enabled me to set out our concerns. I understand the Ambassador will be visiting the region shortly.
During the Security Council consultations, Ireland highlighted the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan and commended the work of humanitarian organisations in the region, including Irish NGOs whom I met this morning. We urged Pakistan and Iran to reopen their borders to enable cross-border deliveries of aid and to facilitate preparations for an influx of refugees. We stressed the need for the international community to provide host countries with immediate financial support.
UN agencies are currently delivering an estimated 1,000 metric tonnes into Afghanistan each day, but at least twice as much is needed. I received a telephone call from Ambassador Ryan before I came into the debate. As a result of our discussions with the Irish NGOs this morning he has been in direct contact with the Secretary General and the humanitarian co-ordinator's office, Ms McCaskey. He pointed out the concerns raised with us, which are being articulated here this evening.
In our role as Presidency of the Security Council, we will convene further consultation on Afghanistan in the coming days. We are reviewing the situation on a daily basis with our permanent representative, Ambassador Ryan, and our team in New York, as well as with our other embassies, including Washington. I will be updating our guidance to the mission in New York following my meeting with NGOs this morning and the debate in this House. I will also be in further early contact with the key international players, including Ambassador Brahimi. I will be travelling to New York next week where I will meet the UN officials responsible for the co-ordination of humanitarian operations in Afghanistan. Mr. Oshima from OCHA should be back from Iran and Pakistan at that stage. There are also personnel from there going to the region, including people from the World Food Programme and the UNHCR. They will go to Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan because we need to get those three countries involved in the humanitarian effort.
Ireland believes the role of the UN is critical to the ultimate successful resolution of the situation in Afghanistan. That country cannot be allowed to remain a failed state where continuing internal conflicts breed illegal activities and provide a safe haven for terrorists. The UN Security Council has been endeavouring for several years to facilitate the peaceful settlement of the conflict in Afghanistan. The objective is an Afghanistan with a truly representative Government at peace with its neighbours. As Presidency of the Security Council for the rest of this month, for the remainder of our term until the end of 2002 and beyond, Ireland will remain closely involved in the efforts to bring this about.
I attended a special meeting of EU Foreign Ministers in Luxembourg yesterday where the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan was top of our agenda. We made it clear that emergency humanitarian aid in Afghanistan is an absolute priority of the Union which undertook to mobilise without delay aid amounting to more than 320 million. Some 25 million was released to enable the Commission to respond to the most urgent humanitarian needs and it will keep the mobilisation and convoying of aid under regular examination. In my discussion with Ambassador Brahimi last night he acknowledged that the pledges in aggregate terms are sufficient. There is a need to get that money into the UN system quickly. In my discussions with Ms McCaskey a couple of weeks ago when I was in New York at the start of our Presidency we talked about the fact that between one-third and 40% of that money must get into the system in order to start a proper mobilised campaign. I have taken up with the Ambassador the need to ensure that this happens as a matter of urgency.
At our meeting yesterday, EU Foreign Ministers also expressed our concern at the difficulties of access. We appealed to the countries in the region to facilitate by all means possible the humanitarian operations and we agreed on a number of points to guide the Union's future policy on Afghanistan, which I will discuss at a later date.
This morning I met representatives of Goal, Trócaire, Christian Aid Ireland, Concern and Oxfam to discuss with them the ongoing humanitarian crisis and their assessment of the situation on the ground. During my discussions with the agencies this morning, we reviewed the current problems of access and delivery of aid. There are currently a number of aid delivery routes being operated by the World Food Programme and other international agencies. I was told this evening in my telephone discussion with the Ambassador that while the central highlands and the mountainous areas will be a serious difficulty, the prospect of providing land and air supplies throughout the rest of the country is under active consideration. We also agreed this morning as a result of our discussions that it is vital to ensure secure and safe access for food convoys over the coming weeks.
The Government will continue to work on a national level, through the UN and with our EU partners, to do all that is humanly possible to draw attention to and respond to the emergency humanitarian crisis and to the medium and long-term needs of the Afghan people. The Government is of the clear view that as any military campaign is pursued against the Al Qaeda terrorist network and the Taliban regime that willingly shelters it, a visible strategy must be put in place to address the humanitarian needs of the innocent people of Afghanistan. I am available to the House to report on progress in that matter in the days and weeks ahead.
