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8199th Security Council Meeting: Situation in Afghanistan
The Security Council today extended for another year the mandate of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) ahead of a debate during which speakers — on International Women’s Day — placed women’s vital role front and centre in achieving a sustainable peace and security after years of conflict.
Unanimously adopting resolution 2405 (2018), the Council extended through 17 March 2019 the Mission’s mandate in support of Afghanistan’s full assumption of leadership and ownership of its security, governance and development. It welcomed the findings of a strategic review of UNAMA’s mandated tasks, priorities and related resources, and called for implementation of the Secretary‑General’s recommendations in that regard.
By the 12‑page text, it was decided that UNAMA and the Special Representative of the Secretary‑General would coordinate international civilian efforts, in full cooperation with the Government of Afghanistan. They would focus in particular on supporting the Afghan‑led and Afghan‑owned peace process, and preparations for both parliamentary and district council elections in 2018, and presidential elections in 2019.
The Council called on regional and international partners to support the Kabul Process for Peace and Security Cooperation initiated in June 2017, working towards early and direct talks between the Government and authorized representatives of Taliban groups. It reiterated concern over attacks by the Taliban, the Haqqani Network, Al‑Qaida and affiliates of Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL/Da’esh), and called on all States to strengthen their security cooperation.
The debate featured presentations by two prominent Afghan women and by Tadamichi Yamamoto, Special Representative of the Secretary‑General for Afghanistan and Head of UNAMA. It also followed last week’s proposal by Afghan President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani to begin talks with the Taliban without preconditions.
Habibi Sarabi, Deputy Chairperson of Afghanistan’s High Peace Council, said there were two indicators that the lives of Afghan women had changed over the last 17 years: the tireless efforts of women themselves, and the country’s Constitution, which enabled women to become engaged in political and social issues. The Taliban would be recognized as a political party so long as it obeyed the rule of law and respected women’s rights.
Mariam Safi, Executive Director of the Organization for Policy Research and Development Studies, cautioned that the hope of a brighter future was beginning to fade. Safe zones had become battlefields, and for the first time, young single women comprised a significant number of refugees. “For Afghan women, it is imperative for the State to define the type of peace that would ensue from negotiations,” she said, stressing that they believed their rights to be intricately linked to the peace process outcomes. She urged the Council to persuade Pakistan to curb terrorism and support an intra‑Afghan dialogue.
Mr. Yamamoto said the second conference of the Kabul Process, on 28 February, had endorsed a call for direct talks between the Government and the Taliban. It was up to the Taliban to respond, he said, adding that a prolonged impasse over the governorship of Balkh Province should be swiftly resolved through negotiations. With more than 1,200 women killed or injured last year, he voiced particular concern over an increase in civilian casualties by Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant Khorasan Province, which had expanded its geographical spread from eastern Afghanistan into the north.
In the ensuing debate, Afghanistan’s representative said regional sponsors of terrorism had unleashed a new wave of attacks, and he asked when the perpetrators, organizers and financiers would be held accountable, given the evidence against them. More than 10,000 civilians had been killed per year since 2014, mainly by terrorist attacks plotted outside Afghanistan’s borders.
“The time has come that we openly debate the regional State sponsorship of terror outfits exported to our country and let the world know more of its behaviour,” he said. The Kabul Process was not just about outreach to the Taliban, but rather ending the conflict and preserving democratic order. “We look to international partners, this Council included, to remain beside us in this endeavour.”
Pakistan’s delegate said the President of Afghanistan had made a dignified proposal for talks with the Taliban. Her country would play its part in fostering a dignified peace process, while the Taliban must renounce violence and join the talks. She added that Pakistan had delayed sending back refugees to Afghanistan on compassionate grounds, and that she stood with her “sisters in Afghanistan” in support of their rights and liberty.
On that point, Iran’s delegate said his country hosted millions of Afghan refugees and had provided education to nearly 400,000 undocumented Afghan students in 2018 alone. He advocated efforts to strengthen regional economic cooperation, notably by facilitating regional connectivity, trade and transit.
Kazakhstan’s Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs said the idea of starting negotiations with the Taliban must be carefully studied. It was essential to consider the Taliban a political party, alongside a ceasefire, confidence‑building measures, relevant Constitutional amendments and the release of certain Taliban members from prison.
And yet, said the United States delegate, the Taliban must explain how it would fit into a changing society. While the Afghan people were ready for peace, they would not return to the oppression of late 1990s.
Also speaking today were ministers, senior officials and representatives of the Netherlands, Sweden, United Kingdom, China, Peru, Ethiopia, Poland, Côte d’Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Russian Federation, Bolivia, Kuwait, France, Australia, Germany, Turkey, Italy, Canada, India and Belgium, as well as the European Union.
The meeting began at 10:10 a.m. and ended at 1:51 p.m.
