UN Security Council passes unanimous resolution on Afghanistan
Shares
WASHINGTON - The United Nations Security Council on Thursday extended the mandate of its mission in Afghanistan by another year and supported Kabul’s full assumption of leadership and ownership of its security, governance and development.
In a unanimous resolution, the Security Council welcomed the findings of a strategic review of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan or UNAMA’s mandated tasks, priorities and related resources, and called for implementation of the Secretary‑General’s recommendations in that regard.
Extending its full support to the Afghan‑led and Afghan‑owned peace process, 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.
In her address to the Security Council 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, on the other hand 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, she said.
