UN Security Council to Meet On Afghanistan, Focus On Rights & Taliban

The United Nations Security Council will hold a session on Afghanistan on Monday, 23 June, with a focus on the country’s ongoing political, humanitarian, human rights, and economic challenges.

According to the Security Council’s agenda, Roza Otunbayeva, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Afghanistan, is scheduled to brief the council. She is expected to outline the next steps in the Doha process, an initiative launched in May 2023 aimed at developing a coordinated international approach to engagement with the Taliban.

The meeting will also feature statements from Joyce Msuya, the UN Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, and Sima Bahous, Executive Director of UN Women.

The upcoming session is expected to centre on the Taliban’s restrictive and discriminatory policies, particularly their impact on Afghan women and girls, which have been widely condemned by the international community.

As part of the Doha process, two working groups, one on counter-narcotics and another on private sector development, are scheduled to convene in Doha on 30 June and 1 July. These meetings will bring together experts, representatives of member states, international organisations, financial institutions, and the Taliban.

In previous Security Council sessions, member states have expressed deep concern over the deteriorating human rights situation in Afghanistan under Taliban rule, especially regarding the erosion of women’s rights and civil liberties.