(Note: A complete summary of today's Security Council meeting will be available later.)
The Taliban's good-faith engagement with the international community, coupled with the prompt lifting of deeply harmful restrictions on women and girls, are crucial for Afghanistan to succeed as a country and society, the UN's Deputy Head of Mission there told the Security Council today.
"Afghanistan's continued alienation from the international system remains the central issue," said Georgette Gagnon, Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Officer-in-Charge of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA). The country's isolation prevents progress on economic issues, security cooperation, counter-terrorism and human rights.
The Taliban, which most recently seized control of Afghanistan in August 2021, has engaged in relatively limited ways with the international community. Many countries have condemned their imposition of new laws that further curtail women's rights, while allegations that terrorist groups are increasingly active on Afghan soil have raised widespread concern and sparked military clashes with neighbouring Pakistan in recent weeks.
Briefing the Council on those developments, Ms. Gagnon added that the widening crisis in the Middle East is already taking a toll on Afghanistan, with the prices of basic commodities rising sharply against the backdrop of an already fragile economy.
In that context, she said, UNAMA - whose mandate is slated for renewal by the Council next week - is working to advance a political pathway forward. The Doha process, first initiated in 2020, balances necessary pragmatism and patience with adherence to the UN's core principles. "It has maintained existing channels for constructive engagement and opened new ones, and has ensured that the rights, well-being and aspirations of the Afghan people remain front and centre of our efforts."
Urging the parties to remain committed to the Doha process, she listed several recent strides - including the de facto authorities' successful ban on opium poppy cultivation, the start of several large infrastructure projects and the country's absorption of more than 5 million Afghan returnees since September 2023. However, the country's humanitarian situation remains severe and the policies imposed on the Afghan people - especially women and girls - are depleting the country's human capital while causing extraordinary harm.
In addition, she warned that the UN's ability to deliver assistance has been seriously hindered by a now six-month-old ban on UN female personnel serving in their offices. She urged the de facto authorities to lift those restrictions - along with all restrictions on the freedom of movement of women - and said such a move would send a positive signal to the world. "If these issues are not dealt with, Afghanistan could again become a driver of regional and global instability, in the form of out-migration, terrorism, narcotics and more," she warned.
...
