The United Nations wants to have a more effective dialogue with Afghanistan, as well as better coordinated aid. On Friday, the Security Council therefore requested the appointment of a special envoy to this country led by the Taliban.
In this resolution, adopted with 13 votes and two abstentions (China, Russia), the Council stressed that the final objective is an Afghanistan at peace with its neighbors, “fully reintegrated” within the international community and respecting its obligations. . He also hoped that women, excluded from any role in civil society by the Taliban regime, would be able to participate, “in complete safety and on an equal footing”, in the entire process.
“The current status quo is not working”
The text was voted on after the submission to the Security Council of an independent evaluation, which underlined the need to strengthen and better coordinate aid to the country so that it benefits more the population, judging that “the status quo current does not work. The Council requested the appointment by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres of this special envoy to implement the recommendations of the evaluation.
Since returning to power in August 2021, the Taliban have excluded women from most secondary education establishments, universities and public administration. They also largely banned them from working with the UN and international NGOs. Women are also prohibited from entering parks, gardens, gyms and public baths, traveling without being accompanied by a male relative and must cover themselves fully when leaving the house.
On December 20, the special representative of the UN Secretary-General for the country and head of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, Roza Otunbayeva, blamed “the current impasse” on “the lack of progress in matters of human rights “. The Security Council underlined its “full support” for the mission and its head, and indicated that the special envoy must be “endowed with solid expertise in human rights and gender equality “.