United Nations Security Council Resolution 2543 – The situation in Afghanistan

Resolution 2543 (2020)

The Security Council,

Recalling its previous resolutions on Afghanistan, in particular its resolution 2489 (2019) extending through 17 September 2020 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, while also addressing the challenges facing the country and its people, especially consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, recognizing that the impact of the pandemic presents a profound challenge to Afghanistan’s health system, socio-economic and humanitarian situations, and is worsening the food crisis and acknowledging the launch of the Global Humanitarian Response Plan for COVID-19 by the United Nations, which puts the people at the center of the response, as well as recognizing the efforts and measures taken by the Government of Afghanistan in response to COVID-19,

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,

Recognizing that a sustainable peace can be achieved only through a comprehensive and inclusive Afghan-led and Afghan-owned political process that aims at a permanent and comprehensive ceasefire as well as an inclusive political settlement to end the conflict in Afghanistan and reaffirming the importance of the United Nations in this regard, as well as welcoming the efforts of all regional and international partners of Afghanistan and recognizing the efforts of the Government of Afghanistan and of all other Afghan actors in facilitating intra-Afghan negotiations,

Calling for an inclusive and meaningful peace process with the participation of women, youth and ethnic, religious and other minorities and underlining that the economic, social, political and development gains made in the last 19 years as well as respect for human rights, especially for women, children and minorities, must be protected and built upon,

Recalling the desire of the Government and the people of Afghanistan to reinvigorate their country’s standing as a platform of international cooperation, and in this regard welcoming the efforts of regional and international partners and organizations in advancing sustainable development, regional connectivity, and reconstruction, which is vital to ensuring stability and economic prosperity in Afghanistan,

Welcoming the international community’s continued support for a peaceful, secure, stable and prosperous Afghanistan and expecting a renewal of strategic consensus and commitment between the international community and the Government of Afghanistan in the forthcoming Afghanistan Donors’ Conference in Geneva,

Expressing its deep concern about the continuing high level of violence and the security situation in Afghanistan, especially the number of civilian casualties, and stressing the importance of sustained efforts to reduce violence,

Further expressing its deep concern about the threat posed by terrorism to Afghanistan and the region, expressing serious concern over the continuing presence of Al-Qaida, ISIL as well as other international terrorist organizations and their affiliated groups in Afghanistan, condemning in the strongest terms all terrorist activity and all terrorist attacks, and reaffirming the importance of ensuring that the territory of Afghanistan should not be used by Al-Qaida, ISIL or other international terrorist groups to threaten or attack any other country, and that neither the Taliban nor any other Afghan group or individual should support terrorists operating on the territory of any country,

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

Expressing concern over the cultivation, production, trade and trafficking of illicit drugs in Afghanistan which continue to pose a threat to peace and stability in the region and beyond, calling upon states to strengthen international and regional cooperation to counter this threat and recognizing the important role of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime in this context,

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 18 August 2020 (S/2020/809);

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 especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, and calls for the implementation of the recommendations of the Secretary-General’s call for a global ceasefire as supported in resolution 2532 (2020);

4. Welcomes the start of intra-Afghan negotiations in Doha, Qatar on 12 September 2020, strongly encourages parties to the negotiations to continue pursuing confidence-building measures including additional reductions in violence, further encourages parties to the negotiations to engage in good faith with the aim of a permanent and comprehensive ceasefire and an inclusive political settlement to end the conflict in Afghanistan, and emphasizes the importance of the implementation of resolution 2513 (2020);

5. Decides to extend until 17 September 2021 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), 2489 (2019);

6. 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, particularly in view of intra-Afghan negotiations started in Doha on 12 September 2020, 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, work closely with the election management bodies, supporting them to deliver a robust and transparent results management process, coordinate international community efforts 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 accountability, transparency, and effectiveness of aid use, including cost-effectiveness, in line with the commitments made at the Geneva Conference in 2018 and to be reviewed at the forthcoming Afghanistan Donors’ Conference in Geneva;

(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 ofhuman 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 the full, safe, equal, effective and meaningful participation, engagement and leadership of women in all levels of decision-making, including in peace talks, 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, displaced persons, and minorities, including from sexual- and gender-based violence, and that perpetrators of such violence and abuse are held accountable;

(g) strengthen capacity to report on violations and abuses against children, and to support efforts to strengthen the protection of children affected by armed conflict, including through engagement with all parties to the conflict to undertake specific commitments and measures to end and prevent violations and abuses against children and sustained dialogue with the Government of Afghanistan on the swift and full implementation of the Action Plan and Road Map to End and Prevent Child Recruitment;

(h) 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;

(i) coordinate and facilitate the delivery of humanitarian assistance efforts and work towards improving the accessibility of humanitarian assistance, in support of Afghans in need and consistent with humanitarian principles, including by providing effective support as appropriate to national and local authorities in assisting and protecting internally displaced persons and to creating conditions conducive to a voluntary, safe, dignified and sustainable return of internally displaced persons and refugee populations to one’s home or local integration or resettlement, with a particular focus on durable development solutions to these issues;

(j) promote, through an appropriate UNAMA presence and in support of theefforts of the Government of Afghanistan, enhanced cooperation with the UnitedNations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC);

(k) 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;

7. 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;

8. 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 in full cooperation with the Government of Afghanistan aimed at reinforcing the role of Afghan institutions to perform their responsibilities;

9. 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, notes that UNAMA staff are deployed in deteriorating and complex security and health environments and stresses the importance of measures to ensure the safety, security and health support of the mission;

10. Requests that the Secretary-General reports to the Council every three months on developments in Afghanistan including the security situation, 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;

11. Decides to remain actively seized of the matter

Adopted by the Security Council at its 8759th meeting, on 15 September 2020.