Speaking at the 144th IPU General Assembly in Bali, Indonesia

I had the honor of participating in the 144th IPU (Inter-Parliamentary Union) General Assembly in Bali, Indonesia. In my prepared remarks to the General Assembly, I expressed solidarity between the people of Afghanistan and the people of Ukraine. I also thanked the international community for its generous supply of humanitarian aid. But I cautioned that with the world’s undivided attention on Ukraine, Afghanistan was falling out of the public’s attention. I implored the IPU member states to maintain their focus on Afghanistan’s humanitarian and human rights crisis. There are still so many in need of food and medical aid who are unable to get access to it. And the human rights situation is deteriorating by the day.

I addressed the issues Afghanistan is grappling with today including poverty, migration, women's rights, freedom of expression, minority rights, as well as the ongoing humanitarian disaster. I also expressed the belief of Parliament that the only way to resolve the current ills plaguing the country, is to create an inclusive and democratic government based on the realities of Afghanistan, involving all ethnic groups in the body of power and having a fundamental respect for human rights. Finally, I asserted that the Afghan Parliament will continue to protect the interests of the Afghan people and will continue to advocate for their rights.

On the sidelines of the conference, I had the opportunity to meet with the President and Secretary-General of the IPU. I thanked the IPU for its strong support of the Afghan Parliament and its commitment to a democratic process in Afghanistan. In turn they thanked the Afghan Parliament for its work on behalf of the Afghan people. I also had the opportunity to meet with the President and Speaker of the Parliament of Indonesia, the host country, as well as my colleagues in parliamentary delegations from Sweden, Britain, Spain and Norway.