The Security Council today extended for 12 months the mandate of the team tasked with monitoring sanctions against the Taliban and its associated groups and individuals, as members disagreed over references to human rights and the situation of Afghanistan's women and girls under Taliban rule.
Unanimously adopting resolution 2816 (2026) (to be issued as document S/RES/2816(2026) ) under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter, the 15-member organ decided that all States will continue to implement the sanctions measures laid out in resolution 2255 (2015) . Those are imposed both on the Taliban and related "individuals, groups, undertakings and entities" that threaten Afghanistan's peace, stability and security.
It further renewed the mandate of the monitoring team charged with assisting the Afghanistan Sanctions Committee, which was first established in resolution 1988 (2011) , for a period of 12 months from the date of its expiration this month.
Among other tasks, the Council directed the monitoring team to gather information on instances of non-compliance with sanctions, keep the Committee informed of such instances and to provide recommendations on actions to respond to non-compliance.
Following the adoption, several Council members took the floor to express their views.
Deplorable Tactics: Hostage-Taking, Violating Women and Girls in Afghanistan
The representative of the United States which drafted today's resolution - highlighted the monitoring team's vital role, including in providing critical analysis and enhancing the Council's understanding of the situation in Afghanistan, especially as it relates to human rights violations and plight of women and girls. Spotlighting the Taliban's unacceptable use of hostage- taking as a leverage point against the United States and other nations, she said the sanctions regime remains a critical tool to hold the group responsible for such "deplorable tactics".
"The resolution just adopted expresses concern over terrorist activities in Afghanistan and reaffirms that the Afghan territory should not be used to support terrorism or threaten the security of other countries," said China's delegate. The Government of Afghanistan must work to eradicate terrorist forces on its soil, while the monitoring team should maintain an impartial stance and heed the views of the Council and the wider UN membership. For its part, the Council should move towards reviewing and adjusting its sanctions to better align them with the current reality on the ground, he said, noting that the Taliban have now been in power for four years.
The representative of the Russian Federation welcomed the renewal of the monitoring team's mandate without any changes, as well as its language relating to the threats posed by Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL/Da'esh) and other terrorist groups in Afghanistan. "At the same time, the text is strikingly overpopulated with content that is not directly linked to the implementation of the 1988 sanctions regime," she said. Attempts by certain delegations to shift the focus to Afghanistan's human rights situation are counterproductive and will only draw the monitoring team's attention away from its primary task, she warned.
Clear Message to Taliban: Choose Peace and Prosperity or Isolation
"Pakistan remains seriously concerned by the presence of terrorist groups on Afghan soil," agreed that country's representative, noting that such groups have been responsible for some of the most heinous terrorist attacks against Pakistan, as well as incidents of hostage-taking. Just this month, 80 innocent people were killed in terrorist attacks in Pakistan.
He welcomed the Council's clear message to the Taliban through today's adoption, noting that the text also emphasizes the many challenges facing the Afghan people, including drug trafficking, humanitarian crises and the human rights situation facing Afghan women and girls. Urging the Taliban to address these issues urgently and change course, he added: "It is for the Taliban to decide what path they wish to choose for Afghanistan - whether it is the path to isolation, or the path to peace and prosperity as a responsible member of the international community."
Complete Live Blog coverage of today's meeting can be found here .
