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AFGHANISTAN-POLITICS-US LEAD
US calls for Tuesday UN vote on Taliban deal
UNITED NATIONS, United States, March 10, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – The United
States has called for a Tuesday vote at the UN Security Council to endorse
Washington’s deal with the Taliban that was meant to pave the way to peace in
Afghanistan, diplomats said.
The US military has begun withdrawing troops as part of the pullout agreed
in the February 29 agreement with the Taliban.
The request for a UN vote came after hard negotiations that began one week
ago, diplomats said Monday.
China requested in the last draft, already revised three times, that the
resolution mention “regional cooperation,” the sources told AFP.
The resolution comes amid a series of institutional crises in Afghanistan,
following the double swearing-in Monday of President Ashraf Ghani and his
rival and former chief executive Abdullah Abduallah, both of whom claimed
victory in the recent presidential election.
According to the draft text seen by AFP, the Security Council “urges the
Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan to advance the peace
process, including by participating in intra-Afghan negotiations through a
diverse and inclusive negotiating team composed of Afghan political and civil
society leaders, including women.”
The US’s request that the Security Council adjust its agreement with the
Taliban is a rare move in the forum for an accord between a foreign country
and an insurgent group, diplomats said. Diplomats were also surprised that
the agreement included two secret appendices on the fight against terrorism
that Council members must approve without even knowing what they say. One
diplomat described it as “unbelievable.”
Russia’s position on the resolution remains uncertain. Moscow had hinted
on Friday that it might oppose the text after the US rejected a statement
endorsing a ceasefire agreement in Syria between Russia and Turkey.
The US draft on Afghanistan “welcomes” the February 29 pullout deal and
“calls upon all States to provide their full support to promoting the
successful negotiation of a comprehensive and sustainable peace agreement
which ends the war for the benefit of all Afghans.”
Washington’s plan also puts pressure on the Afghan government to engage in
negotiations with the Taliban to achieve a “permanent and comprehensive
ceasefire.”
Although the first version of the text, released last week, omitted any
mention of women, the latest text mentions them several times.
That text, which will be put to a vote, “emphasises the importance of the
effective and meaningful participation of women, youth and minorities, and
affirms that any political settlement must protect the rights of all Afghans,
including women, youth and minorities.”
The US resolution also states that the Security Council “expresses its
readiness upon the commencement of the intra-Afghan negotiations to review
the status” of UN sanctions imposed on individuals and groups in 2011 “in
order to support the peace process.”
BSS/AFP/FI/ 0949 hrs