By Sharif Amiri
“We all know that the conflict in Afghanistan has no military solution,” said Tadamichi Yamamoto, UN Secretary General’s Special Representative for Afghanistan.
Gerard van Bohmen, Chief of the UN sanctions committee on Monday night (Kabul time) briefed the UN Security Council on the Afghan peace process, and suggested the 15-member body ensure the complete implementation of sanctions against the Taliban within the legal framework that exists.
Bohemen suggested that the UN sanctions committee and Afghanistan’s Central Bank jointly work to terminate the Taliban’s access to their financial resources and that countries implement travel sanctions against the group’s leaders.
Briefing the UNSC members, meanwhile, Afghanistan’s permanent representative to the UN Mahmoud Saikal also urged the world body to include the names of Taliban leaders on its blacklist - as they continue to avoid joining purposeful peace negotiations with the Afghan government.
“Any type of outside contact with the Taliban, or other such groups, without the prior knowledge and approval of the Afghan government, was seen as a legitimization of terror, a direct breach of sovereignty, and a clear contravention of the sanctions regimes. Effectively enforcing existing resolutions, including the sanctions regimes, could have a significant impact. The timely inclusion of select irreconcilable Taliban leaders in the sanctions list and more meaningful interaction between counter-terrorism bodies and Afghan security agencies is essential,” said Saikal in his remarks to the UNSC members.
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