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The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) is a UN Special Political Mission established to assist the state and the people of Afghanistan in laying the foundations for sustainable peace and development. UNAMA was established on 28 March 2002 by United Nations Security Council Resolution 1401 and it is led by the Special Representative of the Secretary General of the UN. Its original mandate was to support the implementation of the Bonn Agreement (December 2001). Reviewed annually, this mandate has been altered over time to reflect the needs of the country and was unanimously extended by the UNSC resolution 2626 (2022) on March 17, 2022, for one year. The resolution also created the position of the Special Rapporteur for Human Rights. The Taliban also wants the mission to remain in place. The exact terms on which it does so, however, remain uncertain. After the Taliban takeover, UNAMA adapted on the fly, halting activities that no longer made sense or might have been controversial during the period of nervous calm as the war ended. Leading up to resolution 2626, there were significant splits in the Council over how much emphasis the mission should place on human rights issues and whether it should engage in political – as opposed to primarily humanitarian – dialogue with the new government. Ultimately, UNAMA's mandate was decided to comprise the following priorities: "the provision of good offices; support for the organization of future elections; strengthening capacity in the protection and promotion of human rights, including the protection of children affected by armed conflict and prevention of child recruitment; support for gender equality and women's and girls' empowerment; the coordination and facilitation of humanitarian assistance; and support for Afghanistan's development and governance priorities, including the rule of law, transitional justice as an essential component of the ongoing peace process, budget execution and the fight against corruption throughout the country. UNAMA has encouraged cooperation with the Taliban – most immediately, to address the humanitarian and economic crisis. The staff at UNAMA helped draw up a new Transitional Engagement Framework with an appeal of $8 billion for 2022. In addition, donors pledged $2.44 billion towards the UN's $4.4 billion appeal for humanitarian aid.

Structure

The new UNAMA mandate, announced on March 17, has involved a few changes to the mission. The UN adjusted the mission to suit the new circumstances while keeping the old structure and the UNAMA name and making it suitably staffed to carry out the mandate. UNAMA will continue to lead the coordination and facilitation of humanitarian aid delivery. The new priorities are understanding the Afghan political economy and strengthening coordination among international donors. Another priority is the protection of human rights, especially of women, minorities, and children, as evidenced by the appointment of Richard Bennet as the Special Rapporteur for Human Rights to oversee and document the violation of human rights under the Taliban.

Key Interests & Priorities

1. Humanitarian Assistance

UNAMA's most immediate priority has been to fight the humanitarian crisis brought about by the swift assumption of power by the Taliban. The military takeover by the insurgent group resulted in the closure of all western donor embassies and the freezing of aid and foreign reserves. As a result, UNAMA is the only representative of the western governments still in Afghanistan and has been entrusted with the coordination of the delivery of humanitarian and some development aid. Since the Taliban takeover, the UN made a Flash Appeal in September 2021 for $606 million for the Flash Appeal to provide prioritized multi-sectoral assistance to 11 million people in the four remaining months of 2021 ($193 million is needed to address new emerging needs and changes in operating costs, while $413 million is required for urgent unfunded assistance that was included in the original 2021 HRP). On March 31, 2022, the UN made another appeal of $4.4 billion (more than three times the amount asked for last year) to address the urgent humanitarian response in Afghanistan and help neighboring countries with the flow of refugees. A total of $2.44 billion was collected to help 2/3 of the population suffering from acute hunger. UNAMA has focused on providing basic human needs. Due to the lack of aid sustainability, UNAMA has tried to shift to the Development Minus approach. Although the humanitarian crisis over the 2021-2022 winter was not as bad as predicted, save for some incidents of selling body organs or children, next winter is expected to be worse. The Afghans will no longer have the resources they used last winter. A combination of lowered living standards, international food shortages, and decreased international focus is predicted to worsen the humanitarian situation significantly. Without interventions to reignite the collapsed economy, the UN needs approximately $8 billion annually to maintain assistance to avert another humanitarian catastrophe.

2. Human Rights

An essential part of UNAMA's mandate has always been promoting human rights, including reporting on women's and girls' situations. In renewing the mission's mandate, the UNSC established the position of Special Rapporteur for Human Rights to oversee and report on human rights abuses in Afghanistan under the Taliban. The mission's new mandate promotes gender equality, empowerment of women and girls, and human rights of all Afghans. The Taliban expect the UN to talk about human rights. The Taliban have recently told UN officials that they want the UN to continue reporting publicly. Despite the Taliban's mistrust of international observers, they may prefer the factual narratives from the UN and other impartial watchdogs. Although they recognize that adhering to minimum standards of UN charter on human rights issues could be a pathway toward increased international acceptance of their regime, the IEA has prioritized hardline ideology such as banning girls' from attending secondary school.

3. Inclusive Government

UNAMA renewed mandate from March 2022 calls for creating an inclusive and representative government. On multiple occasions, the UNAMA representatives have emphasized to the Taliban the need to form a government representing all ethnic groups and religious minorities in Afghanistan. UNAMA plans to create a multi-level process at the local and national levels for the ushering of an inclusive government. The Delawar Commission allows for the return of former leaders as a platform for broader negotiations. At the local levels, the Taliban government can be opened up to the views and participation of the communities they represent.

4. International Terrorism

On August 17, 2021, the Taliban announced a general amnesty for all government officials and security and defense forces. Not long after, reports of the Taliban's arbitrary detentions and summary executions demonstrated the group were engaged in revenge killings. The Taliban repression, including executions and kidnappings for ransom, spurred the resistance into open opposition. By Spring 2022, armed resistance against the Taliban had picked up across northern Afghanistan with militias funded by former political and military leaders of the collapsed republic and fought by the U.S.-trained security forces. In May 2022, there are active actions in 17 provinces, most notably in Panjshir and Baghlan provinces, but also in Kapisa, Parwan, Badakhshan, Takhar, Sar-e-Pol, Ghor, and Jawzjan provinces that have claimed significant casualties on both sides.

Relationships

Allies

Partners

US
RUS
PRC
TUR
IND
UZB
KAZ
TKM
KGZ
TJK
ACS
QAT
UAE
KSA
PAK
UK
GER
FRA

Rivals

Adversaries

AAOs

IEA
HQN
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