UNSC to Vote on UNAMA Extension, Discuss Afghanistan

The United Nations Security Council is holding a session today (Wednesday) to discuss the situation in Afghanistan.

The members of the United Nations Security Council will vote on the extension of the UNAMA mission in this session.

Stéphane Dujarric, the Spokesperson for the United Nations Secretary-General, stated that in addition to discussions on Afghanistan and extension of UNAMA mission, the head of UNAMA and the UN Secretary General Special Representative for Afghanistan, Roza Otunbayeva will present her quarterly report on the situation in Afghanistan at this meeting.

Dujarric said, “The Security Council session will focus on the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan. In this meeting, Roza Otunbayeva, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Afghanistan, will speak at the center of the Security Council.”

Meanwhile, The Chargé d’Affaires of the Afghanistan Permanent Mission to the UN, Naseer Ahmad Faiq told TOLOnews that the meeting will feature speeches from the United Nations Special Representative, representatives of member countries of the organization, representatives of regional countries, and the Acting Representative of Afghanistan to the United Nations.

“In this meeting, Roza Otunbayeva, the United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Representative, a representative of civil society, member countries of the Security Council, representatives of regional countries, and the Permanent Representative of Afghanistan to the United Nations will participate and speak,” said Faiq.

“The UN Security Council meeting is a continuation of the February 26 meetings, with no significant difference. Civil society has not been invited, and the Taliban have not been invited either,” said Aziz Maarij, an international relations expert.

However, Zabihullah Mujahid, the spokesperson for the Islamic Emirate, considers such meetings to be ineffective without the presence of a representative from the Islamic Emirate.

Mujahid said, “The United Nations is under the influence of superpowers. It follows their policies, discussing issues related to Afghanistan without the representative of Afghanistan and the position of Afghanistan, which does not yield results.”

Previously, the members of the United Nations Security Council have discussed the appointing a special representative for Afghanistan in past meetings; however, due to the lack of a unified consensus within the organization, there has been no appointment of such a representative to date.