A “decisive” text, which, however, does not mean official recognition of the new government. On Thursday (March 17), the UN Security Council approved a resolution establishing official and strong relations with the Taliban in Afghanistan. The resolution, which does not mention the word “Taliban”, specifies the new mandate of the UN political mission in Afghanistan (Manua) for a period of one year. It was approved by 14 votes, including China, with only Russia abstaining.
“This new Manua mandate is critical not only to responding to the immediate humanitarian and economic crisis, but also to achieving our overarching goal of peace and stability in Afghanistan,” Norwegian Ambassador to Afghanistan Mona Juul, whose country developed the permit, told AFP.
This text, which does not allow diplomatic representation of the new Taliban power at the UN with the admission of its ambassadors, revises the UN’s relationship with Afghanistan to take into account the fundamentalist power grab in August.
Manua will have to make sure that over the next year he will be “the eyes and ears of the international community in Afghanistan,” Human Rights Watch responded.
The Norwegian resolution extends Manua until 17 March 2023. It begins with a section on the humanitarian assistance that must be provided to the Afghan population against the backdrop of a dramatic economic and social situation and a security situation that appears to be stabilizing.
The resolution continues with the political component. The United Nations should “provide advocacy and good offices, including to facilitate dialogue among all relevant Afghan political actors and stakeholders”, “with a focus on promoting inclusive, participatory governance”, which will be “without any discrimination based on gender, religion or ethnic origin”.
The text insists on “the full, equal and meaningful participation of women” while the latter have so far been excluded from Taliban-provided governance. Human rights protection is developed later to ensure that any violation is independently recorded by the UN.