Afghanistan: Quarterly Meeting
On Monday afternoon (9 March), the Security Council will hold an open briefing on Afghanistan. Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General (Political) and Officer-in-Charge of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) Georgette Gagnon is expected to brief. Several regional member states are also expected to participate in the meeting under rule 37 of the Council’s provisional rules of procedure. Closed consultations are scheduled to follow the open briefing.
Panama is expected to deliver a statement prior to the meeting on behalf of the signatories to the Shared Commitments on Women, Peace and Security (WPS)—Colombia, Denmark, France, Greece, Latvia, Liberia, Panama, and the UK. It seems that the statement is likely to condemn the rollback of women and girls’ rights in Afghanistan and legal measures that are institutionalising gender discrimination and weaking protections against domestic violence. Among other things, the statement may also express concern about the erasure of women and girls from public life, including in relation to education and the media, and express support for UNAMA’s mandate renewal. Some members of the Group of Friends of WPS may also join the statement.
Monday’s meeting will be the first opportunity for new Council members Bahrain, Colombia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Latvia, and Liberia to express their views on the situation in Afghanistan since joining the Council in January.
On Monday, Gagnon is expected to provide an update on the political, humanitarian, and human rights situation in the country, based on the Secretary-General’s latest report on the situation in Afghanistan and the activities of UNAMA, which was circulated to Council members on 27 February and covers developments since 3 December 2025 (S/2026/99).
Following her 24-25 January visit to Kabul, Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs Rosemary DiCarlo briefed Council members during an informal meeting organised on 26 February by China at its mission to the UN in New York. During her visit, she met with Taliban representatives; members of the diplomatic community; Afghan women, including national UN staff; and civil society representatives. DiCarlo raised concerns with the de facto authorities about restrictions on UN Afghan female staff and broader limitations on women’s access to education, employment, and public life, calling for their immediate reversal. In her briefing to Council members, she apparently noted that the Taliban’s position on these issues has become increasingly rigid. She also encouraged the de facto authorities to engage fully in the Doha Process and meet international obligations as a step towards Afghanistan’s reintegration into the international community. The Taliban representatives apparently indicated that they would establish a technical committee to examine the implementation of the UN-led “Mosaic Approach”, which aims to address fundamental issues related to Afghanistan’s reintegration into the international community.
As part of the Doha Process, the working groups on counter-narcotics and the private sector met on 3 and 9 February, respectively, bringing together member states, international organisations, Taliban representatives, and subject-matter experts. Discussions in the counter-narcotics group focused on alternative livelihoods for Afghans previously reliant on poppy cultivation and the illicit opium trade. The private sector group discussed job creation and entrepreneurship, including women’s participation, market integration, access to finance, and strengthening banking and financial infrastructure.
The human rights situation in Afghanistan is also likely to feature in Monday’s meeting. The Secretary-General’s report describes civilian harm resulting from cross-border violence, including clashes between Taliban and Pakistani security forces. The report documents casualties caused by unexploded ordnance and instances of extrajudicial killings, arbitrary arrests and detentions, and torture and ill-treatment of former government officials and members of the Afghan National Defence and Security Forces (the military and internal security forces of the previous government).
The situation remains particularly dire for Afghan women and girls. The Secretary-General’s report notes that women continue to be excluded from public sector employment, while the de facto authorities continue to strictly enforce the countrywide ban on Afghan women working in UN offices, in place since 7 September 2025. Furthermore, in early January, the Taliban issued a decree on “Criminal Rules of Courts”, which the Secretary-General’s report says contains stringent and discriminatory provisions inconsistent with Afghanistan’s international human rights obligations. In remarks to the Human Rights Council (HRC) on 26 February, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said that the decree provides for corporal punishment for numerous offences, legitimising violence against women and children, and criminalises criticism of the de facto leadership and its policies. On Monday, some Council members may call on the Taliban to comply with Afghanistan’s international obligations, including those under international human rights treaties, and may seek further information on the decree’s official status and its implementation.
Regarding the security situation, the Secretary-General’s report documented 2,660 safety- and security-related incidents between 1 November 2025 and 31 January, marking a 27.8 percent increase compared with the same period in the previous year. The report adds that armed opposition groups posed no significant challenge to the de facto authorities’ control over national territory. Meanwhile, the threat of terrorism emanating from Afghanistan remains a serious concern for Council members. The latest report of the Monitoring Team assisting the 1267/1989/2253 Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL/Da’esh) and Al-Qaida Sanctions Committee, dated 3 February, noted that the de facto authorities continued to provide a permissive environment for several terrorist groups, notably Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). It also assessed that Al-Qaida continued to benefit from the patronage of the Taliban and acted as a facilitator for other groups, including through training and advisory support.
Recent weeks have seen a marked escalation in hostilities between Pakistani security forces and the Taliban authorities in Afghanistan, raising serious concerns about regional stability. In recent months, Pakistan has experienced an increase in militant attacks resulting in casualties among its security forces and civilians, and accused the Taliban of allowing militant groups, such as the TTP, to operate from Afghan territory—allegations that the Taliban deny. Tensions escalated notably in October 2025 and have since been marked by intermittent clashes, while mediation efforts have failed to resolve the dispute. (For background, see the brief on Afghanistan in our December 2025 Monthly Forecast.)
Late on 21 February, Pakistan launched airstrikes along the Afghan border, targeting what it described as “terrorist camps and hideouts” in Nangarhar and Paktika provinces in Afghanistan. UNAMA has confirmed civilian casualties resulting from the strikes. Clashes intensified in late February as Pakistan reportedly carried out airstrikes targeting 22 locations across Afghanistan, including the capital Kabul and Kandahar, while Taliban forces targeted dozens of Pakistani border posts and reportedly launched a series of drone attacks against military targets in Pakistan. In the ensuing days, fighting continued, with the two sides providing differing casualty and damage assessments. Media reports suggest that the airstrikes and skirmishes resulted in casualties among both combatants and civilians. Rhetoric between the two sides has also hardened, with Pakistani Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif describing the situation as an “open war” with Afghanistan.
In a 6 March statement, UNAMA said that, between 26 February and 5 March, 185 civilian casualties were recorded and verified due to indirect fire and aerial attacks, including 56 civilians killed and 129 injured, 55 percent of whom were women and children. The mission called on all parties to implement protocols to prevent civilian casualties and meet their obligations under international humanitarian law to protect civilians. On Monday, members are likely to reiterate these messages, while also underlining the need to protect civilian infrastructure.
On Monday, Gagnon and several Council members might also raise concerns about the dire humanitarian situation in Afghanistan, with nearly half of the country’s population (21.9 million people), projected to require humanitarian assistance this year. The Secretary-General’s report highlighted worsening humanitarian and economic conditions amid declining international assistance, severe underfunding of the humanitarian response, large-scale returns of Afghans from neighbouring countries, drought and intensifying climate shocks, the aftermath of major earthquakes, as well as growing food insecurity, malnutrition, and public health risks.
The situation has been further compounded by the recent clashes with Pakistan. In a 5 March situation update, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported that airstrikes and border clashes affected ten provinces and displaced approximately 115,000 people, while damaging civilian infrastructure, including healthcare facilities and humanitarian sites. Access in affected areas has been limited, forcing aid workers to suspend some operations, including World Food Programme (WFP) activities that had been providing food assistance to around 160,000 people. Meanwhile, the five border crossings between Afghanistan and Pakistan have remained closed for trade and vehicular movement since 11 October 2025.
The Council is expected to renew UNAMA’s mandate ahead of its expiry on 17 March. At the time of writing, Council members were negotiating a draft resolution authored by China (the penholder on Afghanistan), with the first round of negotiations having taken place yesterday (5 March).
