-The humanitarian challenges are at the top of our list and must be met if we are to succeed in building a better future for Afghanistan, said State Secretary Vidar Helgesen (Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs) at the opening of today’s meeting of the Afghanistan Support Group (ASG) in Geneva. The Group is meeting with representatives of the Afghan Interim Authority, Afghanistan’s neighbouring states, the United Nations’ Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, a number of UN organizations and other intergovernmental and private humanitarian organizations.

The focus of the meeting is the requirements of the Intermediate and Transitional Assistance Program (ITAP), launched in Kabul on 28 February. Humanitarian assistance is at the core of the requirements. Today’s meeting reflects the importance that the ASG attaches to the inclusion of the humanitarian community.

The participants will continue in the afternoon to exchange views on subjects such as the coordination of international assistance, protection issues and the security situation. The Norwegian chairman has drawn the attention of the meeting to three areas of unquestionable urgency where immediate and concrete action is needed: enhanced access to persons in need of food and medicine by strengthening local distribution networks, intensified mine action by among other things training demobilized soldiers in mine clearance, and special efforts to give children a meaningful start to the new school year on 23 March by mobilizing female teachers and distributing basic school materials.

The Afghanistan Support Group was set up in 1997. It is an informal group of donors, presently chaired by Norway. Its basic objective is to contribute to reconciliation, social and economic development and thus sustainable peace and progress in Afghanistan. The focus of the Group is on improving donor coordination of various international efforts, as well as ensuring that human rights considerations are taken into account when providing aid.