UN Security Council to vote on Taliban Sanctions Monitoring Mandate

KABUL: The United Nations Security Council is scheduled to hold a meeting this Thursday to vote on a draft resolution extending the mandate of the UN sanctions monitoring team regarding the Taliban. According to the UNSC report, the draft proposes to extend the team’s mandate until February 17 of the current year. This team assists the Afghanistan sanctions committee, which was established under Security Council Resolution 1988. The report indicates that while the Taliban has made improvements in areas of peace and security, women, girls, and minority groups have not benefited from this situation. According to the UNSC, the sanctions imposed on the Taliban include asset freezes, travel bans, and arms embargoes, applicable to relevant individuals, groups, entities, and organizations. The criteria for inclusion on the sanctions list involve activities and support deemed threats to the peace, security, and stability of Afghanistan. Previously, the Taliban has requested the lifting of sanctions multiple times, expressing its desire for positive engagement with the UN and member states. The Security Council’s report also stated that, aside from humanitarian exemptions established under Resolution 2615 approved in December 2021, the mandate of the Afghanistan sanctions committee has not been significantly extended since the Taliban’s takeover. The sanctions committee is a subsidiary body of the UNSC that monitors the sanctions list, evaluates exemption requests, and collaborates with member states on the implementation of sanctions through reports and recommendations from the monitoring team. The team also assists sanctions committees related to ISIS and Al-Qaeda. Under UNSC Resolution 2734, which was adopted on June 10, 2024, the mandate of this team was extended until June 2027. Members of the Security Council received the team’s latest report on November 17 of the previous year.