Taliban welcomes UN presence in Afghanistan in search of global recognition

Takeover of the Taliban: The Taliban took effective control of Afghanistan on 15 August. (file)

Kabul:

The Taliban on Friday welcomed a UN Security Council resolution formally expanding the world body’s presence in Afghanistan, although the radical Islamist group’s government is not recognized by the international community.

Thursday’s resolution – which avoids using the word “Taliban” – allows the United Nations to continue working in Afghanistan, still after decades of war and whose economy was devastated when the group took power last year. Then the international community cut off aid.

The vote to expand the United Nations Assistance Mission to Afghanistan (UNAMA) was in favor of 14, with one abstaining – by Russia.

The United Nations has not yet recognized the choice of envoy for the Taliban body, and the resolution does not give international recognition to the new government.

The mission covers many aspects of humanitarian and political issues as well as cooperation on human rights, including those of women, children and journalists.

“We consider the expansion of UNAMA’s mandate a good step and want them to work effectively to solve humanitarian and other problems in Afghanistan,” Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told AFP on Friday.

“We will coordinate and cooperate with them.”

First established in Afghanistan in 2002, UNAMA’s mandate has in the past included humanitarian support, human rights advocacy, and political and regional cooperation.

Prior to last year it also sought to protect civilians throughout the conflict and support the peace process.

“The council delivers a clear message with this new mandate: UNAMA has an important role to play in promoting peace and stability in Afghanistan and supporting the Afghan people as they face unprecedented challenges and uncertainty,” said Norwegian UN said Ambassador Mona Juul, whose country drafted the resolution.

the crisis deepens

The security situation in Afghanistan appears to be stabilizing, months after the Taliban seized power on August 15, 2021, amid a hasty withdrawal of US-led foreign forces after 20 years of war.

But since then the humanitarian crisis of the country has deepened.

The United Nations and other global aid agencies have said more than half of Afghanistan’s 38 million people face hunger as winter approaches.

The country has known almost continuous war since 1979, only to be broken out by the Taliban’s first regime from 1996 to 2001.

As a result, it is one of the poorest countries in the world, with little in the way of infrastructure and a young population suffering from decades of fighting.

In January, the United Nations made its biggest-ever single-country aid appeal, calling for $5 billion to avert a humanitarian catastrophe.

Global donors, led by Washington, have insisted that any foreign aid will depend on Taliban policy when it comes to women’s rights to education and work.

The Taliban have imposed several restrictions on women since coming to power, although in a glimmer of hope, officials have said secondary schools for girls will reopen soon.

Earlier this month the World Bank announced more than $1 billion in humanitarian aid for Afghanistan, saying the money would go to UN agencies and international NGOs while remaining outside the Taliban’s control.

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