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I would like to thank the Special Representative of the Secretary General Ján Kubiš and UNODC DG Yuri Fedotov for the briefing. Lithuania aligns itself with the Statement on behalf of the European Union and its Member States. Mr. President, The 2014 Presidential election was a historic moment for Afghanistan, its transition and democratic development. I pay tribute to the people of Afghanistan for the courage and bravery to cast their ballot despite threats and attacks by Taliban and other extremist and terrorist groups. It is proved that votes, not violence counts.

In particular I want to commend women for their determination to have their rightful say in the election and to engage more actively in country's political life. Among the teams of the candidates in the first round there were three, which included female vice-president candidates. It is particularly encouraging to see that there were almost 300 women among the Provincial Council aspirants and that according to the preliminary results 97 of them were preliminary winners.

It is of utmost importance that the will of the people is reflected. The work of the Independent Election Commission (IEC) and the Independent Electoral Complaints Commission (IECC) will be important in the days ahead. We urge the remaining candidates to engage constructively with the electoral institutions, refrain from any acts that could incite violence, civil disorder or lead to instability, and once complains will be considered according to the law, to accept the outcome.

UNAMA support and engagement with the Afghan authorities and people in the run-up and during the elections was of critical importance. The EU and OSCE have deployed their election observation teams, of which observations we urge Afghan leadership to make full use for the future elections.

Mr. President,

We commend the efforts of the Afghan National Security Force (ANSF) in ensuring the security during the elections, which demonstrated ANSF's growing ability to carry out large scale security operations and provide effective country-wide security. I want particularly underline the ANSF’s role in protecting women thus providing favourable environment for participation of women in the elections.

However, the security situation remains a source of concern and a challenge for the new leadership of Afghanistan. The civilians continue to be caught in the fighting between the government and armed opposition.

We are especially concerned with the increased civilian causalities and a number of women and children among them. Once again explosive weapons are the leading cause of civilian casualties and improvised explosive devices stood out as weapons of particular concern. During last three months more than hundred children have been killed or wounded as they have stumbled upon the ordnance which are often poorly marked.

We also note with concern the increase of incidents in the east of the country carried out by a variety of the Al-Qaida affiliates in parallel of the activities of Taliban.

Mr. President,

The international assistance in supporting the Afghan army and police will remain essential during and beyond the transition period. We reiterate our support for the Transition and are looking forward to swift conclusion of the Status of Forces Agreement by the new leadership of the country. Lithuania has pledged to contribute to support ANSF after 2014.

We note that only little progress has been achieved in dialogue of the government with the armed opposition. The efforts need to continue, including on the local level where they can be tackled best. We welcome UNAMA engagement in facilitating local dialogue and peace initiatives, including in community efforts in Nuristan and launching of the latest report of the Afghan People’s Dialogue on Peace.

Mr. President,

Stable, secure, economically sustainable Afghanistan can only be build based on the rule of law, strengthened democratic institutions, the guarantee and enforcement of citizens’ rights and obligations.

The progress in the human rights situation remains limited. We are especially concerned that the children rights continue to be gravely violated as reported by the Country Task Force on Monitoring and Reporting on Children in Armed Conflict. We express our grave concern that schools continue to be attacked by parties to the conflict, teachers continue to be threatened and more than 100 000 children are deprived from the right to education. We call upon the Afghan authorities to endorse a roadmap to enhance the implementation of children in armed conflict action plan.

We welcome that previous legal provisions of the Criminal Procedure Code enabling women to continue to testify against relatives were reinstated. We welcome the tracking enforcement of the EVAW Law, and tracking civilian casualties disaggregated by gender. However further efforts are required in promoting and advancing human rights and UNAMA has an important role to play. The independence and effectiveness of the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission should be ensured.

Mr. President,

Regional cooperation is essential for developing stable and prosperous Afghanistan since today’s challenges know no borders. We are heartened by the support and determination of the states in the region, including the Istanbul/Heart of Asia Process. Afghanistan’s grave economic situation, illicit economy, counter-narcotics issue will require urgent attention of new government.

Given the multitude of challenges UNAMA will remain essential partner of the Government of Afghanistan in ensuring the success of transformation process, maintaining the progress that has been made, and supporting much needed reforms.

I thank you.