UNITED NATIONS: The United States is seeking to hold a vote at the UNSecurity Council on Tuesday (today) to approve Washington’s deal with theTaliban that was meant to pave the way to peace in Afghanistan, diplomatssaid.
The US military has begun withdrawing troops as part of the pullout agreedin the February 29 agreement with the Taliban.
The request for a UN vote came after hard negotiations that began one weekago, diplomats said Monday.
China requested in the last draft, already revised three times, that theresolution mention “regional cooperation,” the sources told AFP.
The resolution comes amid a series of institutional crises in Afghanistan,following the double swearing-in Monday of President Ashraf Ghani and hisrival and former chief executive Abdullah Abduallah, both of whom claimedvictory in the recent presidential election.
According to the draft text seen by AFP, the Security Council “urges theGovernment of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan to advance the peaceprocess, including by participating in intra-Afghan negotiations through adiverse and inclusive negotiating team composed of Afghan political andcivil society leaders, including women.”
The US’s request that the Security Council adjust its agreement with theTaliban is a rare move in the forum for an accord between a foreign countryand an insurgent group, diplomats said.
Diplomats were also surprised that the agreement included two secretappendices on the fight against terrorism that Council members must approvewithout even knowing what they say. One diplomat described it as”unbelievable.”
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Russia’s position on the resolution remains uncertain. Moscow had hinted onFriday that it might oppose the text after the US rejected a statementendorsing a ceasefire agreement in Syria between Russia and Turkey.
The US draft on Afghanistan “welcomes” the February 29 pullout deal and”calls upon all States to provide their full support to promoting thesuccessful negotiation of a comprehensive and sustainable peace agreementwhich ends the war for the benefit of all Afghans.”
Washington’s plan also puts pressure on the Afghan government to engage innegotiations with the Taliban to achieve a “permanent and comprehensiveceasefire.”
Although the first version of the text, released last week, omitted anymention of women, the latest text mentions them several times.
That text, which will be put to a vote, “emphasises the importance of theeffective and meaningful participation of women, youth and minorities, andaffirms that any political settlement must protect the rights of allAfghans, including women, youth and minorities.”
The US resolution also states that the Security Council “expresses itsreadiness upon the commencement of the intra-Afghan negotiations to reviewthe status” of UN sanctions imposed on individuals and groups in 2011 “inorder to support the peace process.”
