UNSC meeting scheduled to address situation in Afghanistan

A United Nations Security Council (UNSC) meeting on Afghanistan is scheduled to be held Monday, 21 October, to discuss the implementation of recommendations made recently by an independent assessor.

A senior Human Rights Watch official says that this meeting will be hosted by the representatives of Switzerland, Japan and the United Arab Emirates.

According to this senior Human Rights Watch official, the lack of clarity regarding the next steps of the international community regarding Afghanistan is worrying.

“We are increasingly concerned about the lack of clarity about how the UN Security Council will move forward after receiving the independent assessment report on Afghanistan,” said Heather Barr, director of the Women’s Rights Division at Human Rights Watch.

She said however the holding of such meetings behind closed doors was unacceptable and that women and girls and other Afghan citizens who face human rights violations have the right to know what is being discussed at the Security Council meeting and they should be part of these discussions.

“There was a first private meeting behind closed doors in which the Special Coordinator leading the independent assessment process briefed member states, followed by another closed-door meeting to discuss the report, and another one will be held behind closed doors and this time it will be hosted by the representatives of Switzerland, Japan and the United Arab Emirates to discuss the implementation of the recommendations of the independent assessment report on Afghanistan,” Barr added.

Recently, the United Nations Security Council announced that it would hold a special meeting on the situation in Afghanistan at the end of this month. In this meeting, Roza Otunbayeva, the United Nations Special Representative for Afghanistan, the head of the Sanctions Committee on Afghanistan, and a civil society representative will participate and discuss.

Although the Islamic Emirate does not say anything about this meeting, it has always emphasized that without the presence of the representative of the Islamic Emirate, such meetings will not be effective.

Feridun Sinirlioglu, the United Nations Special Coordinator for Afghanistan, presented his evaluation report about Afghanistan to the United Nations Security Council about a month ago and asked the caretaker government of Afghanistan to pay attention to human rights, especially women’s rights. Regeneration of Afghanistan in all international systems and institutions requires the participation and leadership of Afghan women, experts have said.