Restrictions on Women, International Isolation Hindering Afghanistan’s Progress, Deputy Mission Head Tells Security Council

Restrictions on Women, International Isolation Hindering Afghanistan's Progress, Deputy Mission Head Tells Security Council

The Taliban's good-faith engagement with the international community, coupled with the prompt lifting of deeply harmful restrictions on women and girls, are crucial for Afghanistan to succeed as a country and society, the UN's Deputy Head of Mission there told the Security Council today.

"Afghanistan's continued alienation from the international system remains the central issue," said Georgette Gagnon, Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Officer-in-Charge of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA). The country's isolation prevents progress on economic issues, security cooperation, counter-terrorism and human rights.

The Taliban, which most recently seized control of Afghanistan in August 2021, has engaged in relatively limited ways with the international community. Many countries have condemned their imposition of new laws that further curtail women's rights, while allegations that terrorist groups are increasingly active on Afghan soil have raised widespread concern and sparked military clashes with neighbouring Pakistan in recent weeks.

Briefing the Council on those developments, Ms. Gagnon added that the widening crisis in the Middle East is already taking a toll on Afghanistan, with the prices of basic commodities rising sharply against the backdrop of an already fragile economy.

In that context, she said, UNAMA - whose mandate is slated for renewal by the Council next week - is working to advance a political pathway forward. The Doha process, first initiated in 2020, balances necessary pragmatism and patience with adherence to the UN's core principles. "It has maintained existing channels for constructive engagement and opened new ones, and has ensured that the rights, well-being and aspirations of the Afghan people remain front and centre of our efforts."

Urging the parties to remain committed to the Doha process, she listed several recent strides - including the de facto authorities' successful ban on opium poppy cultivation, the start of several large infrastructure projects and the country's absorption of more than 5 million Afghan returnees since September 2023. However, the country's humanitarian situation remains severe and the policies imposed on the Afghan people - especially women and girls - are depleting the country's human capital while causing extraordinary harm.

In addition, she warned that the UN's ability to deliver assistance has been seriously hindered by a now six-month-old ban on UN female personnel serving in their offices. She urged the de facto authorities to lift those restrictions - along with all restrictions on the freedom of movement of women - and said such a move would send a positive signal to the world. "If these issues are not dealt with, Afghanistan could again become a driver of regional and global instability, in the form of out-migration, terrorism, narcotics and more," she warned.

Members Criticize Taliban Actions, Question Effectiveness of Doha Process

"It has been four long, painful years since the Taliban's takeover in Afghanistan," said the representative of the United States, Council President for March, speaking in his national capacity. Describing the de facto authorities' "disgusting" human rights abuses, especially against women, he said many countries continue to provide humanitarian support even as the Taliban solidify their bad-faith actions.

"While the [United States] continues to participate in the [Doha process], we doubt the Taliban's motives," he said. "In light of the Taliban's intransigence, we must carefully evaluate the utility of international assistance and engagement in Afghanistan." UNAMA's budget remains the largest of any UN special political mission, he said, suggesting countries would be more willing to contribute if the Taliban lifted restrictions, particularly on women aid workers. "This Council must continue to demand responsible actions from the Taliban."

France's delegate struck a similar tone, saying the international community must ask whether its engagement strategy and long-term goals are effective. Since the launch of the Doha process, the Taliban have responded with more provocations and violations of international obligations. While France will never abandon the Afghan people, the global community must not lose sight of the Doha dialogue's goal: an Afghanistan living in peace with its neighbours and one that respects the rights of all Afghan women and men.

Restrictions on Women Threaten Afghanistan's Social, Economic Future

"No society can thrive when half its population remains excluded from employment, education and public life," said Panama's representative. New laws raise serious questions about the country's social and economic future, he stressed, citing restrictions on women's freedom of movement, weakened protections against domestic violence and increased "moral control" within the family - all institutionalizing discrimination.

The representatives of Greece, Latvia, Denmark and Colombia echoed those concerns, with the latter condemning the Taliban's "systematic patterns of gender-based discrimination". The former agreed, declaring: "In a world striving towards equality, Afghan women are not merely being sidelined from society - they are being persecuted and systematically erased from public life."

"The Afghan people continue to endure the consequences of prolonged instability, economic hardship and limited access to essential services," said the representative of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, also speaking for Liberia and Somalia. In that context, he reaffirmed the importance of sustained international engagement and support to Afghanistan, as well as for the country's sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity and national unity.

The representatives of India and China also emphasized the importance of continued humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan, with the latter warning that "some countries have drastically reduced or even halted their assistance to Afghanistan, forcing many UN and international humanitarian relief programmes to shut down". He called for the urgent resumption of aid and for the unfreezing of Afghanistan's overseas assets - which rightfully belong to the Afghan people - while pledging to work towards the smooth renewal of UNAMA's mandate.

The representative of the Russian Federation urged the international community to pursue a "trust-based dialogue with the Taliban on all issues". "Attempts to promote a selective approach […] will not lead to the desired result". Addressing those who "stubbornly speak to the Taliban in the language of ultimatums", he declared: "It is hardly reasonable to expect that the Afghan authorities will be interested in maintaining a UN presence whose task will be to serve the interests of the foreign interventionists expelled in August 2021."

Calls for Dialogue amid Afghanistan-Pakistan Clashes

Several representatives focused on escalating tensions between Afghanistan and neighbouring Pakistan. Against that backdrop, Bahrain's representative called on all parties to "exercise restraint, prioritize dialogue and diplomacy, and avoid further escalation to spare both peoples the scourge of conflict".

The United Kingdom's delegate also voiced concern over those cross-border clashes. Her country, a long-standing donor to Afghanistan, is providing more than $200 million this year for life-saving services to the country's most vulnerable, especially women and girls. The Taliban's refusal to allow essential health and nutrition supplies across the border into Afghanistan is severely affecting aid delivery, she warned, urging the removal of these obstructions and calling for Afghanistan and Pakistan to promptly re-engage in mediated dialogue.

Responding, Pakistan's representative said his country has repeatedly offered an olive branch to the Taliban, to no avail. "Today, Afghanistan is sanctuary for terrorist groups and proxies." Elements within the Taliban have chosen the path of "complicity and active support", with grave impacts for its neighbours. Warning of wider regional spillover, he declared: "Pakistan will not sit idle while suffering from terrorist attacks from across the border."

Iran, Former Afghan Government Warn of Growing Regional Risks

Iran's delegate said many neighbouring and regional countries are "on the front line of the consequences arising from the situation in Afghanistan". Now, the "ongoing, unprovoked and unjustified war of aggression launched by the United States and the Israeli regime" has created an even more dangerous situation for civilians. That war has involved the deliberate targeting of civilian populations and infrastructure, he added, including in Iranian cities where millions of Afghan nationals reside.

Also addressing the Council, the representative of Afghanistan's former Government said it is now evident to the international community "that the Taliban have taken no meaningful steps towards change, moderation or engagement with the realities and needs of the people". "On the contrary, their policies have grown increasingly rigid, exclusionary and repressive." Meanwhile, the Taliban's links with terrorist groups active on Afghan soil are creating perilous conditions.

However, just as the Taliban do not represent the people of Afghanistan or their values, he emphasized that the violence they harbour does not represent the Afghan nation. He therefore urged the Council to demand an end to Pakistan's aggression against his country, emphasizing: "Terrorism is our common enemy."

The representatives of Afghanistan, India and Pakistan took the floor for additional interventions.

Complete Live Blog coverage of today's meeting can be found here.

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* The 10115th Meeting was closed.