United Nations Security Council Resolution 2489 – The situation in Afghanistan

Resolution 2489 (2019)

The Security Council,

Recalling its previous resolutions on Afghanistan, in particular its resolution 2460 (2019) extending through 17 September 2019 the mandate of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA),

Stressing the important role that the United Nations will continue to play in promoting peace and stability in Afghanistan,

Reaffirming its strong commitment to the sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity and national unity of Afghanistan, as well as its continued support for the Government and people of Afghanistan,

Stressing the central importance of a comprehensive and inclusive Afghan-led and Afghan-owned political process towards a peaceful resolution of the conflict and a comprehensive political settlement and welcoming progress in this regard,

Recalling the desire of the Government and the people of Afghanistan to reinvigorate their country’s standing as a platform of international cooperation in the 100th year of Afghanistan regaining its independence,

Welcoming the strategic consensus between the Government of Afghanistan and the international community on the Geneva Mutual Accountability Framework (GMAF) as agreed in the Geneva Conference,

Emphasizing the importance of supporting the Government of Afghanistan in capacity building, in particular of the Afghan National Defence and Security Forces (ANDSF) as well as the Afghan National Police (ANP) in securing their country and in their fight against terrorism,

Noting the ongoing work of the Committee established pursuant to Security Council resolution 1988 (2011) and the continuation of the cooperation of the Afghan Government and UNAMA with the Committee, including its Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team,

1. Welcomes the report of the Secretary-General of 3 September 2019 (S/2019/703);

2. Expresses its appreciation for the United Nations’ long-term commitment to support the Government and the people of Afghanistan and reiterates its full support to the work of UNAMA and the Special Representative of the Secretary-General, and stresses the need to ensure continued adequate resourcing for UNAMA to fulfil its mandate;

3. Welcomes UNAMA’s ongoing efforts in the implementation of the mandated tasks, priorities and related resources of UNAMA, and calls for the implementation of the recommendations of the Secretary-General;

4. Decides to extend until 17 September 2020 the mandate of UNAMA, as defined in its resolutions 1662 (2006), 1746 (2007), 1806 (2008), 1868 (2009), 1917 (2010), 1974 (2011), 2041 (2012), 2096 (2013), 2145 (2014), 2210 (2015), 2274 (2016), 2344 (2017), 2405 (2018), 2460 (2019);

5. Decides further that UNAMA and the Special Representative of the Secretary-General, within their mandate and in a manner consistent with Afghan sovereignty, leadership and ownership, will continue to lead and coordinate the international civilian efforts, in full cooperation with the Government of Afghanistan and in accordance with the relevant international communiqués, with a particular focus on the priorities laid out below:

(a) provide outreach as well as good offices to support, if requested by and in close consultation with the Government of Afghanistan, the Afghan-led and Afghan-owned peace process, proposing and supporting confidence-building measures within the framework of the Afghan Constitution and with full respect for the implementation of measures and application of the procedures introduced by the Security Council in resolutions 1267 (1999), 1988 (2011) and its other relevant resolutions;

(b) support, in close consultation and coordination with the Government of Afghanistan, the organization of future timely, credible, transparent, and inclusive Afghan elections, including the presidential elections scheduled for 28 September 2019, work closely with the election management bodies on and after election day, supporting them to deliver a robust and transparent results management process, coordinate international community efforts both during and between elections and strengthen, in support of the Government of Afghanistan’s electoral reform efforts, the sustainability, integrity and inclusiveness of the electoral process, as well as increase efforts to provide capacity-building and technical assistance to the election management bodies and other relevant Afghan institutions involved in this process;

(c) promote, as co-chair of the Joint Coordination and Monitoring Board (JCMB), coherent support by the international community to the development and governance priorities of the Government of Afghanistan, including through supporting the ongoing development and sequencing of the Government’s reform agenda, mobilization of resources, coordination of international donors and organizations as facilitator and co-convener of development policy fora, at the same time, coordinate international partners for follow-up, in particular through information sharing, and support efforts to increase the mutual accountability and transparency, and the effectiveness of aid use, including cost-effectiveness, in line with the commitments made at the Geneva Conference in 2018;

(d) support regional cooperation, with a view to promoting stability and peace, as well as assisting Afghanistan in utilizing its role at the heart of Asia to promote regional cooperation and connectivity, and to work towards a prosperous Afghanistan, building on the achievements made, to promote partnership on connectivity, based on transparency, openness, and inclusiveness, welcome joint efforts to enhance dialogue and collaboration and to advance shared goals of economic development across the region;

(e) continue, with the support of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), to cooperate with and strengthen the capacity of the Government of Afghanistan, the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC), and civil society in the protection and promotion of human rights, to cooperate also with the Government of Afghanistan and relevant international and local non-governmental organizations to monitor the situation of civilians, to coordinate efforts to ensure their protection, to monitor places of detention, and the treatment of those deprived of their liberty, to promote accountability, and advise, in close consultation with the Government of Afghanistan, stakeholders on the establishment and implementation of judicial and non-judicial processes to address the legacy of large-scale human rights violations and abuses as well as international crimes and to prevent their recurrence and to assist in the full implementation of the fundamental freedoms and human rights provisions of the Afghan Constitution and international treaties to which Afghanistan is a State party, in particular those regarding the full enjoyment by women of their human rights, including the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW);

(f) support in this regard the importance of gender equality and women’s and girls’ empowerment, education, human rights, and full, safe, equal, effective and meaningful participation, engagement and leadership of women in all levels of decision-making, including in peace talks and overall peacebuilding strategies at the national and subnational level, call on the Government of Afghanistan and the international community to fully implement and finance the 1325 National Action Plan and to ensure the protection of civilians, especially women, children and displaced persons, including from sexual- and gender-based violence, and that perpetrators of such violence and abuse are held accountable;

(g) continue to report on violations and abuses against children and to support efforts to strengthen the protection of children affected by armed conflict, including engagement with the Government of Afghanistan to fully implement the Action Plan and Road Map;

(h) closely coordinate and cooperate, where relevant, with the non-combat Resolute Support Mission agreed upon between NATO and the Government of Afghanistan, as well as with the NATO Senior Civilian Representative;

6. Stresses the critical importance of a continued and appropriate presence of UNAMA and other United Nations Agencies, Funds and Programmes in the provinces, based on a “One UN” approach and in close consultation and coordination with and in support of the priorities of the Government of Afghanistan;

7. Calls on UNAMA and the Special Representative to further increase efforts to achieve greater coherence, coordination and efficiency among relevant United Nations Agencies, Funds and Programmes in Afghanistan with a view to maximizing their collective effectiveness in full alignment with the reform agenda of the Government of Afghanistan, and to continuing to lead international civilian efforts aimed at reinforcing the role of Afghan institutions to perform their responsibilities, with a view, in all UN programmes and activities, to move towards a national implementation model, in the following priority areas:

(a) support, through an appropriate UNAMA presence and in support of the efforts of the Government of Afghanistan, implementation of the Kabul Process throughout the country, including through enhanced cooperation with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC);

(b) support the efforts of the Government of Afghanistan in fulfilling its commitments to improve governance and the rule of law, including transitional justice as an essential component of the ongoing peace process, budget execution and the fight against corruption throughout the country in accordance with the Kabul Process and the Geneva Mutual Accountability Framework (GMAF);

(c) coordinate and facilitate the delivery of humanitarian assistance efforts, in support of Afghans in need and in accordance with humanitarian principles, including by providing effective support to national and local authorities in assisting and protecting internally displaced persons and to creating conditions conducive to the voluntary, safe, dignified and sustainable return of refugees from neighbouring and other countries and internally displaced persons, with a particular focus on development solutions to these issues;

8. Calls upon all Afghan and international parties to coordinate with UNAMA in the implementation of its mandate and in efforts to promote the security and freedom of movement of United Nations and associated personnel throughout the country;

9. Requests that the Secretary-General reports to the Council every three months on developments in Afghanistan, and to include in his reports an evaluation of progress made against the benchmarks for measuring and tracking progress in the implementation of UNAMA’s mandate, including at the subnational level, and priorities as set out in this resolution;

10. Decides to remain actively seized of the matter.

Adopted by the Security Council at its 8620th meeting, on 17 September 2019.