His Excellency Chairman Karzai,
His Excellency Dr. Amin,
Ms. Bellamy,
Excellencies,

Friends,

And the children of Afghanistan,

We have witnessed many historic moments in Afghanistan over the past three months. But perhaps none will be remembered with as much emotion and enthusiasm as the one we are experiencing here today, at the Amani School in Kabul, as the new school term is officially launched and one and a half million boys and girls throughout the country return to school. It is a privilege for me to participate in this event.

Never before has the start of the school year in one country been greeted with such eagerness and enthusiasm by people from all over the world.

We have all shared the sorrow of the children of Afghanistan - girls, but also many boys - who were denied the opportunity to attend school for over five years, or fell victim to an education system devastated by two decades of conflict.

No matter how much reconstruction aid the country receives, and no matter how hard the people of Afghanistan work at rebuilding their country, a secure and prosperous future will elude Afghanistan unless there is education. Without education, poverty cannot be conquered, economic progress cannot be made and intolerance cannot be stamped out. And unless girls and women are given an equal opportunity for education, the country will not advance.

As we celebrate with you, and as your children and teachers return to school, I would like to congratulate Chairman Karzai and the entire Interim Administration for their efforts to make the back to school campaign a success. It is the enormous commitment they have shown on this critical issue that has made today's launch possible.

Dr. Rasoul Amin, the Minister of Education, and his colleagues at the Ministry, have played a particularly important role in this effort. Despite weakened infrastructure and a lack of resources, they have managed, in the space of a few months, to make the dream of returning to school a reality for so many children.

The Minister and his team deserve special credit for this achievement.
Today's celebration proves to every Afghan the Administration's clear commitment to the nation's children.

I would also like to welcome Ms. Bellamy to Kabul, and recognize the enormous contribution that our colleagues at UNICEF, together with UNESCO, have made in the education sector. They have worked tirelessly to mobilize resources, launch innovative programmes and ensure that schools throughout Afghanistan could reopen today. They have been greatly assisted in this effort by the entire UN family.

The NGO community has also played an invaluable role, by providing essential educational opportunities for children across the country, especially in hard-to-reach areas - not only now, but for many years. Many NGOs have actively supported the Ministry of Education in rehabilitation of schools and support for teachers, while others have supported the community mobilization campaign in the run-up to today's launch. The Swedish Committee and CARE, in particular, have played a key role in the field of education. We all hope that this successful partnership with our NGO colleagues will continue in the future.

I reserve special congratulations for the teachers and educators of Afghanistan, who have worked so hard to take delivery of new school materials, and have shown great dedication by returning to their schoolrooms during the official holidays in order to provide "catch-up classes," particularly for girls.

I would also like to thank all of our friends in the international community, many of whom are represented here today, for the generous assistance they have already provided.

In particular, I would like to pay tribute to the Government of Japan, which alone has contributed over 60% of the external funding for the back-to-school programme.

But today should mark the beginning - not the end - of our efforts. Enormous needs still remain and the rebuilding of Afghanistan's education system will be a long-term process. Something that has been destroyed over 23 years cannot be rebuilt overnight, and continued international support and engagement - not only this year, but for years to come - will be essential.

We cannot afford to fail the children of Afghanistan. So our work must not stop here.

Thank you.