UNITED NATIONS
\nThe UN Security Council on Thursday passed a resolution unanimously urging the Taliban to lift all restrictions on female citizens including women working for the world body in Afghanistan. The resolution was passed without any discussion during a meeting to update members on developments in the Middle East.
\nRussian Federation diplomat Vasily Nebenzya opened Thursday\u2019s meeting with the announcement that the resolution was passed but did not further discuss it before quickly moving on to an update regarding humanitarian and political efforts in Syria.
\nThe resolution called on Taliban leaders to \u201cswiftly restore (women\u2019s and girl\u2019s) access to education, employment, freedom of movement and equal participation in public life,\u201d according to a report from The Associated Press, which stated it received a copy of the resolution Wednesday.
\n\u201cUN national personnel \u2014 women and men \u2014 have been instructed not to report to UN offices, with only limited and calibrated exceptions made for critical tasks,\u201d according to documents on the UN website.
\nThe draft obtained by AP reportedly urged all other UN member nations to work toward \u201can urgent reversal\u201d of the Taliban\u2019s policies and practices toward women and girls.
\nThe restrictions by the Taliban forced the UN \u201cinto having to make an appalling choice between staying and delivering in support of the Afghan people, and standing by the norms and principles we are duty-bound to uphold,\u201d according to the body\u2019s website.
\nThe UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan stated on its website on April 11: \u201cThe ban is unlawful under international law, including the UN Charter, and for that reason the United Nations cannot comply.\u201d
\nThe resolution was drafted by the UAE and Japan, and backed by 90 co-sponsors from the Muslim world and beyond, according to the UN website. It was scheduled to be voted on during Thursday\u2019s Security Council meeting but video live-streamed by the UN at the time did not appear to show any such vote taking place.
\nThe 3,300 Afghans who work for the UN have been instructed to remain home since April 5, according to the AP report. Of those, 2,700 are men and 600 are women. All are still being paid by the UN, a UN spokesperson told AP.
\nThe UN Special Representative for Afghanistan Roza Otunbayeva, has opened an \u201coperational review period\u201d regarding the Taliban\u2019s actions, according to the UN. The review will remain open until May 5.
\n\u201cDuring this period, the UN in Afghanistan will conduct the necessary consultations, make required operational adjustments and accelerate contingency planning for all possible outcomes,\u201d according to a statement posted to the UN\u2019s website.
\nThe UN will \u201cmaintain principled and constructive engagement with all possible levels of the Taliban de facto authorities.\u201d
\nUN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will host a closed international meeting on May 1 and 2 in Qatar on Afghanistan, according to the UN statement. The meeting will aim to seek a \u201cdurable way forward\u201d for the country and will be attended by various envoys from multiple countries, according to the AP report.
\nThe Taliban held significant power in Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001, and again returned to power in 2021 following the withdrawal of US and NATO forces stationed there. The return of the Taliban has brought with it severe restrictions on women and girls in the country.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
UNITED NATIONS The UN Security Council on Thursday passed a resolution unanimously urging the Taliban to lift all restrictions on female citizens including women working for the world body in Afghanistan. The resolution was passed without any discussion during a meeting to update members on developments in the Middle East. Russian Federation diplomat Vasily Nebenzya […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":328194,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-328171","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n