NEW YORK: The UN Security Council voted on Thursday to establish formal ties with Taliban-run Afghanistan, which has yet to win widespread international recognition.
The council approved a resolution that does not use the word Taliban and spells out the new one-year mandate of the UN political mission in Afghanistan, which it said was “crucial” to peace in the country.
The vote was 14 in favour, with one abstention, by Russia. The resolution includes several strands of cooperation, on the humanitarian, political and human rights fronts, including those of women, children and journalists.
“This new mandate for UNAMA (the UN mission to Afghanistan) is crucial not only to respond to the immediate humanitarian and economic crisis, but also to reach our overarching goal of peace and stability in Afghanistan,” Norwegian UN ambassador Mona Juul, whose country drafted the resolution, said after the vote.
“The Council gives a clear message with this new mandate: UNAMA has a crucial role to play in promoting peace and stability in Afghanistan and to support the Afghan people as they face unprecedented challenges and uncertainty,” Juul said.
In August 2021, the Taliban overran Afghanistan as the last US-led international troops departed after 20 years of war in Kabul. Following the regime’s takeover of the nation, in September, the Taliban announced an all-male interim government for Afghanistan, stacked with veterans of their hard-line rule from the 1990s and the 20-year battle against the US-led coalition.
