"Today the UN Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution in support of the agreement we signed last week with the Taliban and the US-Afghan government joint declaration." US envoy Zalmay Khalilzad tweeted, adding: "The resolution demonstrates the international community supports our approach to security for the world from Afghanistan. And peace, unity, and sovereignty for the Afghan people," and "the UN resolution also calls on both the Taliban and the Afghan government to continue confidence building measures and to move quickly to intra-Afghan negotiations."
On Tuesday, March 12, the UN Security Council welcomed the steps taken towards ending the war in Afghanistan and the efforts made to open the door for intra-Afghan negotiations enabled by the recent peace agreement signed by the United States and the Taliban.
However, the Security Council warned that easing the sanctions that the UN had imposed on Taliban members will depend on the group's sustained efforts to embrace peace.
Unanimously adopting Resolution 2513 (2020), the 15-member Council called upon the Afghan government and the Taliban to pursue additional confidence-building measures — including by reducing violence and releasing prisoners — in good faith, thereby creating the conditions for a swift start to intra-Afghan negotiations leading to a durable peace.
Any political settlement must protect the rights of all Afghans, including women, young people and minorities, the Security Council affirmed. It must also respond to the Afghan people’s strong desire to sustain and build upon the economic, social, political and development gains achieved since 2001, including adherence to the rule of law and ensuring accountable and inclusive governance.
It went on to call upon all states to provide their full support to promoting the successful negotiation of a comprehensive and sustainable peace agreement that ends the war for the benefit of all Afghans and contributes to regional stability and global security.
Also, the Security Council expressed its "readiness" — upon the start of intra-Afghan negotiations — to review the status of individuals and groups designated in the UN sanctions, provided that the Taliban work to reduce violence and support the peace process.
Several UN delegates insisted that a successful Afghan-led and Afghan-owned peace process must include women, youth and minorities. They also called for an immediate reduction in violence and called attention the role to be played by the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) going forward. Some speakers welcomed the inauguration of Ashraf Ghani to a new term as President of Afghanistan and warned against "parallel" government structures.
UN resolutions noted: "that the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan is not recognized at the United Nations, and furthermore that the UN Security Council does not support the restoration of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.
The representative of the United States said her country’s government will carefully monitor and assess whether the Taliban live up to their side of the bargain. Citing challenges to the peace process, such as the high levels of violence on the Taliban’s part, she emphasized that more must be done to reduce violence against Afghan forces. She also stressed her country’s ongoing support for the Afghan people. “After almost two decades and more than a trillion dollars in investment in Afghanistan’s security and development, the United States is not walking away.”
The Russian Federation’s representative said the near future will be "difficult," underlining the need for the parties to set aside narrow nterests and political ambitions when intra-Afghan negotiations get under way. The first step must be for all stakeholders to abandon violence and launch a concerted fight against terrorism, he stressed.
China’s representative called for an "orderly and responsible" withdrawal of foreign troops to prevent the potential resurgence of terrorist groups. The focus for the future, according to China, should be on reconstruction, increased investment in infrastructure, regional connectivity, sustainable development and the abandonment of violence by all.