S/PV.9506 Security Council

The Security Council will now begin its consideration of the item on its agenda. Members of the Council have before them document S/2023/984, which contains the text of a draft resolution submitted by the United States of America. The Council is ready to proceed to the vote on the draft resolution before it. I shall put the draft resolution to the vote now.

The draft resolution received 15 votes in favour. The draft resolution has been adopted unanimously as resolution 2716 (2023). I shall now give the floor to those members of the Council who wish to make statements after the voting.

The United States welcome’s today’s renewal of the mandate of the Monitoring Team under resolution 1988 (2011) for an additional year and the reaffirmation of the 1988 regime’s assets freeze, travel ban and targeted arms embargo. The result of today’s voting serves as confirmation of the continued importance of the 1988 sanctions regime in supporting peace and stability in Afghanistan. We know the 1988 Monitoring Team’s reporting remains crucial to understanding both the impact of the sanctions on the listed individuals and entities and the events on the ground in Afghanistan. In addition, those insights enable Member States to track whether the Taliban follows through on its commitments, including those involving counter-terrorism and human rights for women and girls, as well as unhindered humanitarian access, safe conditions for humanitarian personnel and the independent provision of assistance. Once again, the United States is grateful for the adoption of this critical resolution (resolution 2716 (2023)) and for members’ constructive engagement as we worked to renew it.

Afghanistan is at a critical stage of peaceful reconstruction. The international community needs to maintain its attention and commitment, strengthen constructive engagement with the Afghan authorities and help Afghanistan to emerge from its humanitarian plight, improve its economy and livelihoods, revitalize its development, improve human rights protection and integrate into the family of nations. The terrorist threat in Afghanistan remains serious, with the Islamic State, Al-Qaida, the East Turkestan Islamic Movement and the Taliban in Pakistan and other terrorist forces continuing to collude with one another and making waves. The international community should maintain a high degree of vigilance, adhere to solidarity and cooperation, abandon double standards and help Afghanistan to effectively combat all kinds of terrorists forces and resolutely prevent Afghanistan from once again becoming a hub for terrorist organizations. Based on that, China supports the renewal of the mandate of the Monitoring Team and voted in favour of it just now. We hope that the Team will strictly implement the Council’s mandate, closely follow up on the situation of the terrorist threat in the country and report to the Council in a timely manner. China always advocates for direct contact between the Team and the Afghan authorities and effective channels of communication. We appreciate the inclusion in resolution 2716 (2023) of a provision encouraging the Team to visit Afghanistan and to communicate with all Afghan parties. We hope that the Team’s visit will take place smoothly and as soon as possible. As stated in the preambular paragraph to resolution 2716 (2023), the Council should ensure that the sanctions regime effectively promotes peace and stability in Afghanistan and make the necessary adjustments in the light of the situation on the ground. The independent assessment of the situation in Afghanistan also made similar observations (see S/2023/856). In the light of the current situation, China believes that the Council should make timely adjustments to the sanctions measures for pragmatic engagement with Afghanistan by the international community and to avoid any negative impact on development and the livelihoods of the Afghan people. As a first step, and based on past practice and the practice of all parties, the Council should resume as soon as possible the travel exemptions granted to some officials of the Afghan Taliban. China always maintains that travel exemptions are a necessary tool for facilitating dialogue and engagement, not a bargaining chip for pressure, and put forward specific proposals in the course of consultations. Regrettably, they were not reflected in the resolution. We hope that the members of the Council will maintain communication on this issue, demonstrate pragmatism and flexibility and strive to find a solution as soon as possible that meets the concerns of all parties, so as to support dialogue and engagement with the Afghan authorities in the next phase.

The Russian Federation voted in support of resolution 2716 (2023), which extends for 12 months the mandate of the Monitoring Team on the Taliban sanctions regime under resolution 1988 (2011). We have consistently supported its activities and believe that its reports provide useful support for the work of the 1988 Committee on sanctions against the Taliban movement. From the outset, we proceeded from the need for a technical rollover to allow the experts to fulfil their functions without impediment. We are pleased to see that the text notes the importance of the Monitoring Team’s travel to Afghanistan, which traditionally was — and remains — one of the main conditions for the Team to carry out its mandate effectively. In that regard, we welcome the call for the Team’s experts to visit Afghanistan, including for contacts with the de facto authorities. We also note that the text includes a reference to the need for a revision of the 1988 sanctions regime, based on the recommendations prepared by the Monitoring Team following its contacts with Member States. At the same time, we deeply regret that the text did not include the extension of exemptions to the travel ban for 11 members of the Taliban. We believe it is important to continue discussions on those issues within the 1988 Sanctions Committee.