The situation in Afghanistan - Security Council, 9998th meeting

Amid growing ideological grip, Afghanistan faces ‘perfect storm of crises’, warns Special Representative in briefing to Security Council.

• Categories: Meetings & Events / Security Council
• Video Length: 02:12:11
• Production Date: 17 September 2025
• Asset Language: Arabic; English; French; Russian; Spanish; Chinese; Original
• Personal Subject: ROZA OTUNBAYEVA
• Corporate Name: TALIBAN; UNITED NATIONS ASSISTANCE MISSION IN AFGHANISTAN - UNAMA
• Subject Topical: AFGHANISTAN SITUATION; INTERNATIONAL PEACE AND SECURITY; WOMEN; AID PROGRAMMES; ECONOMIC CONDITIONS; REPATRIATION; EARTHQUAKES; WOMEN'S RIGHTS; GENDER ISSUES; SCHOOLS; INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION; HUMANITARIAN CRISIS
• Geographic Subject: AFGHANISTAN
• MAMS Id: 3447866
• Parent Id: 3447338
• Alternate Title: MTG SC 9998 AFGHANISTAN 17 SEP 2025 AM

Description

As the head of the United Nations presence in Afghanistan told the Security Council today that the country’s de facto authorities seem caught between pragmatism and ideology, so too were the organ’s members on the conditions for international engagement with the Taliban.

Different trends are vying for influence within Afghanistan’s de facto authorities, reported Roza Otunbayeva, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Afghanistan and Head of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA). The first, she said, is “more pragmatic and oriented to the needs of Afghan people”. The other is “more focused on the creation of what is described as a pure Islamic system” — which, she added, has placed increasing restrictions on Afghanistan’s people. She observed: “In view of the lack of pragmatism, members of the international community increasingly ask how much they should support a country whose leaders undermine their population.”

“This is most clear regarding the de facto authorities’ policies towards Afghan women,” she noted, spotlighting over three years of a ban on women’s education that has cost the economy an estimated $1.4 billion a year. Nevertheless, she detailed a “notable” decline in violence, a generally sustained ban on poppy cultivation — albeit with a “devastating” short-term impact on those who relied on this practice for their livelihood — as well as the de facto authorities’ announcements on general amnesty and certain human rights for detainees. She stressed that “the development of Afghanistan’s full potential is required for the country to address the multiple and simultaneous crises it is currently facing”.

Report of the Secretary-General on the situation in Afghanistan and its implications for international peace and security

• Briefer: Ms. Roza Otunbayeva, Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (via video-teleconference)
• Briefer: Ms. Hanifa Girowal
• Statements: All Council members, with Guyana speaking on behalf of: Algeria, Guyana, Sierra Leone, Somalia
• Further statement: United States of America
• Statements: Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, Islamic Republic of Iran, India

Related Sites and Documents

A/80/366-S/2025/554

S/PV.9998