UN Council extends mandate of team monitoring sanctions against Taliban

Moses Kuwema

The Security Council, acting through its temporary silence procedure amid the ongoing COVID‑19 pandemic, decided Friday to extend for 12 months the mandate of the team monitoring sanctions against individuals and entities associated with the Taliban, emphasizing its serious concerns about ongoing violence in Afghanistan.

Unanimously adopting resolution 2557 (2020), the 15-member Council directed the Monitoring Team to gather information on instances of non-compliance with the measures, and to facilitate, upon request by Member States, capacity-building assistance.

The Council welcomed recent efforts by the Government of Afghanistan and the Taliban in facilitating intra-Afghan negotiations and highlighted the importance of ensuring that the Monitoring Team receives the necessary administrative and substantive support to effectively fulfil its mandate in a safe and timely manner.

Security Council resolutions are currently adopted through a written procedure vote under temporary, extraordinary and provisional measures implemented in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, as set out in a letter document S/2020/253 by its President for March (China).