UN Security Council members ‘divided’ over Afghanistan issue

The United Nations Security Council said in a recent report that there is some division among its members over how to deal with the situation in Afghanistan.

The Security Council’s September 2024 Monthly Forecast report stated: “While Council members are generally united in their desire to see a prosperous, peaceful Afghanistan free from terrorism and ruled by an inclusive government, they have been divided over how to achieve this goal.”

The report noted that some members, including France, the UK and the United States among others, “have argued that the Taliban (IEA) must adhere to international norms if they want to obtain international recognition and receive economic and development aid from the international community.
“Several of these members appear to favor maintaining pressure on the Taliban (IEA), particularly regarding their policies and practices that violate the rights of women and girls,” the report read.

However, China and Russia have contended that the international community should provide assistance to Afghanistan without linking it to other issues, such as human rights, and appear to prefer dialogue and engagement with the Islamic Emirate without any increased pressure, the UNSC stated.

China has sent an ambassador to Kabul and, on 30 January, became the first country to accept diplomatic credentials from an Islamic Emirate envoy.

Beijing has emphasized, however, that it has not officially recognised the IEA as Afghanistan’s government but Russia is considering removing the IEA from its list of banned organizations.

The report stated meanwhile that council members considered issuing a press statement critical of the release of “The Law on the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice” on 21 August,” which even restricts women from raising their voices outside their homes.

However, two council members blocked the statement saying “the law was an internal issue, that UNAMA was still studying its implications, and that other council products had already noted the challenge to women’s rights in the country.”

This report comes ahead of a planned Security Council meeting later this month for the quarterly briefing on Afghanistan.

Special Representative and Head of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) Roza Otunbayeva and UN Women Executive Director Sima Sami Bahous are expected to deliver their reports. Closed consultations are scheduled to follow the briefing.