The Situation in Afghanistan

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

A Resolution of the General Assembly, under agenda item 34 The situation in Afghanistan, published in 2022.

What other versions does this mandate have?

17 versions · 2007–2025

This is an older version — the most recent is A/RES/79/317

Year	Symbol	Title	Word length	Text similarity
2025	A/RES/79/317	The situation in Afghanistan	5,302	46%Compare
2022	A/RES/77/10	The situation in Afghanistan	3,591	17%Compare
2020	A/RES/75/90	The situation in Afghanistan	7,790	48%Compare
2019	A/RES/74/9	The situation in Afghanistan	8,209	69%Compare
2018	A/RES/73/88	The situation in Afghanistan	7,525	72%Compare

Which reports were submitted under this mandate?

80 reports · 2007–2026

Year	Symbol	Title	Mandate resolution
2026	A/81/363 S/2026/724	The situation in Afghanistan and its implications for international peace and security report of the Secretary-General	A/RES/79/317
2026	A/80/745 S/2026/431	The situation in Afghanistan and its implications for international peace and security report of the Secretary-General	A/RES/79/317
2026	A/80/658 S/2026/99	The situation in Afghanistan and its implications for international peace and security report of the Secretary-General	A/RES/79/317
2025	A/80/556 S/2025/789	The situation in Afghanistan and its implications for international peace and security report of the Secretary-General	A/RES/79/317
2025	A/80/366 S/2025/554	The situation in Afghanistan and its implications for international peace and security report of the Secretary-General	A/RES/79/317

What subjects does this mandate have?

13 subjects

Afghan Refugees Afghanistan Afghanistan Situation Counter-Terrorism Drug Control Economic Development Governance Human Rights Humanitarian Assistance Internal Security Reconciliation Regional Cooperation Rule of Law

What’s in this document?

48 operative paragraphs

Expresses deep concern over the developments and the volatility in Afghanistan since the takeover of the Taliban, and the dire economic, humanitarian and social conditions, persistent violence and the presence of terrorist groups, the absence of political inclusivity and representative decision-making, as well as abuse of human rights, including those of women, girls and persons belonging to minorities;

Maintains that sustainable and lasting peace can be achieved only through long-term social, economic and political stability, which requires full respect for civil, political, social, economic and cultural rights as well as commitment to inclusive and representative governance;

Pledges its continued support to the people of Afghanistan in order to rebuild a stable, secure and economically self-sufficient State, free of terrorism, narcotics, transnational organized crime, including trafficking in persons, and corruption, and to strengthen the foundations of a constitutional democracy as a responsible member of the international community;

Acknowledges the efforts of the international community, including neighbouring countries, donor agencies and other international organizations in urgent provision of humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan, and emphasizes that long-term peace, security, prosperity and sustainable development in Afghanistan and the region require closer and more effective cooperation as well as greater coherence and complementarity of approach within the international community;

Reaffirms its expectation that the Taliban live up to their commitments regarding the safe, secure and orderly departure from Afghanistan of all Afghans willing to leave and of all foreign nationals, with no one preventing them from travelling from the country, as well as facilitating the voluntary, safe, dignified and sustainable return of all refugees, and also reaffirms its expectation that the Taliban build upon their announcement of general amnesty to encourage the return of former Afghan officials and to promote inclusivity in the governance of Afghanistan;

Urges Afghanistan to honour and fully respect and implement all treaties, covenants or conventions, bilateral or multilateral, to which it is party;

Calls upon the Taliban to fulfil and respect their assurances for the safety and security of diplomatic personnel and premises, humanitarian workers and international organizations in Afghanistan;

Emphasizes that relations of all relevant Afghan political actors and stakeholders with the international community will be informed by their commitments, actions and achievements with regard to the expectations of the Afghan people widely shared by the international community;

Human rights, governance and the rule of law

Expresses its deep concern about abuse of human rights, especially those of women and girls, including sexual violence, and persons belonging to minorities, and about the growing repression of fundamental freedoms, recalls the obligations of Afghanistan under international law, in particular human rights, refugee and humanitarian law, and stresses the need to ensure respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, in particular the full enjoyment by women and girls, children, persons with disabilities and persons belonging to minorities of their human rights;

Reiterates its unwavering commitment to international humanitarian law and the human rights of all Afghans, emphasizing the importance of the meaningful participation of women in all spheres of life and of upholding human rights, including for women, children and persons belonging to minorities, expresses, in particular, its serious concern about the situation of women and girls, the imposition of restrictions on their full, equal, meaningful and safe participation in public life, including their freedom of movement, and the lack of equal access to education, especially the decision by the Taliban not to reopen secondary schools to Afghan girls, economic and job opportunities, justice and other services, and calls upon the Taliban to reverse the policies and practices restricting the enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms by Afghan women and girls;

Emphasizes the need to ensure respect for the human rights and fundamental freedoms of children in Afghanistan and to end and prevent all abuses against children, encourages the full implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Optional Protocols thereto,² and strongly condemns all forms of violence against children;

²United Nations, Treaty Series, vols. 1577, 2171, 2173 and 2983, No. 27531.

Reiterates the importance of dialogue between all relevant Afghan political actors and stakeholders with a focus on the establishment of inclusive, representative, participatory and responsive governance at the national and subnational levels, without any discrimination based on gender, religion or ethnicity, with the full, equal, meaningful and safe participation of women and the meaningful participation of persons belonging to minorities, youth and persons with disabilities;

Strongly emphasizes the necessity of investigating allegations of current and past human rights abuses and violations in Afghanistan, and stresses the importance of facilitating the provision of efficient and effective remedies to the victims and survivors and of bringing those responsible to justice in accordance with national and international law;

Condemns in particular all attacks, reprisals and violence against journalists and media workers, as well as the particular restrictions that women media workers face, urges that the perpetrators of harassment of and attacks on journalists be brought to justice in accordance with national and international law, and urges all relevant Afghan political actors and stakeholders to ensure and respect freedom of opinion and expression, media freedom and access to media;

Expresses its concern about reports of extrajudicial punishments, such as reprisals and summary executions, disappearances and detentions, including those against former members of the Afghan National Defence and Security Forces and other officials;

Reiterates that sustained and effective efforts in fighting corruption in Afghanistan remain critical for the country’s future, and urges all relevant Afghan political actors and stakeholders to promote the rule of law and address impunity for corruption, and establish a more effective, accountable and transparent administration at the national, provincial and local levels;

Security, counter-terrorism and counter-narcotics

Reiterates its serious concern about the security situation and the continuing violence in Afghanistan, the presence of terrorist groups such as Al-Qaida and Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) (Da’esh) and their affiliates, including ISIL-Khorasan Province, as well as the presence of foreign terrorist fighters, and expresses its serious concern about cowardly and heinous attacks by ISIL-Khorasan Province against civilians and civilian infrastructure, which have especially targeted educational facilities, diplomatic premises and personnel and religious sites belonging to minorities, as well as deplorable attempts to undermine relations between communities, posing a serious threat to the security of Afghanistan, its immediate neighbours and the countries of the region;

Reaffirms the importance of combating terrorism in Afghanistan, including those individuals and groups designated by the Security Council Committee pursuant to resolutions 1267 (1999), 1989 (2011) and 2253 (2015) and of preventing violent extremism as and when conducive to terrorism, demands that the territory of Afghanistan not be used as a platform or safe haven by any terrorist group, organization or individual to threaten or attack any country, to plan or finance terrorist acts or to shelter and train terrorists, and that no Afghan group or individual should support terrorists operating on the territory of any country, and calls upon the Taliban to take concrete steps against all terrorist organizations, in particular Al-Qaida and Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) (Da’esh) and their affiliates;

Recognizes that terrorism has devastating consequences on the human rights and fundamental freedoms of victims and their families, deplores the suffering of the people of Afghanistan, and reaffirms its profound solidarity with them, and emphasizes the need to promote international solidarity in support of victims of terrorism and to ensure that victims of terrorism are treated with dignity and respect, and that their right to access to justice and redress mechanisms, as provided for in applicable domestic law and in accordance with principles of international law, is fully respected;

Stresses the need for neighbouring and regional countries and the international community to continue to work closely together and to improve coordination in countering all acts of terrorism and the associated threats, including the threat posed by foreign terrorist fighters and terrorism financing in Afghanistan and the region, and affirms its support for continued efforts in this regard;

Remains deeply concerned about the persistent harm to civilians, including the disproportionate impact on children, caused by anti-personnel landmines, explosive remnants of war, improvised explosive devices and weapons, encourages all relevant Afghan political actors and stakeholders to continue efforts to eradicate the threat posed by anti-personnel landmines and improvised explosive devices, and encourages steps towards addressing the illicit trade in and destabilizing accumulation of small arms and light weapons in Afghanistan;

Expresses its continued deep concern at the undiminished serious threat and harm that illicit opium cultivation and methamphetamine production as well as consumption and trafficking of these drugs continue to cause to the security, development and governance of Afghanistan, as well as to the region and beyond, and, recognizing that such activities can significantly contribute to the financial resources of terrorist groups operating in the region, calls upon States to strengthen international and regional cooperation to counter this threat, and recognizes the important role played by neighbouring countries of Afghanistan in combating and countering international drug trafficking, as well as the efforts of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime;

Stresses the importance of the narcotics ban on the cultivation, production, trafficking and consumption of illicit drugs, takes note of the announcement by the Taliban of a ban on opium cultivation and calls for its full implementation, and emphasizes the importance of a comprehensive and balanced approach in addressing the drug problem of Afghanistan, which, to be effective, must be integrated into the wider context of efforts carried out in the areas of security, governance, the rule of law, human rights, public health and economic and social development, in particular in rural areas, including the development of improved alternative livelihood programmes;

Notes with great concern the strong nexus between drug trafficking and terrorism in Afghanistan, stresses the importance of continued attention to the linkages in Afghanistan between the proceeds of organized crime, inter alia, the illicit production of and trafficking in drugs and their chemical precursors and the financing, respectively, of those individuals and groups designated by the Security Council Committee pursuant to resolutions 1267 (1999), 1989 (2011) and 2253 (2015), and underscores the need to improve the necessary capacity of the relevant Afghan institutions to address challenges posed by terrorism, narcotics, smuggling, money-laundering and organized crime;

Humanitarian assistance

Notes with grave concern the dire humanitarian situation affecting Afghanistan, with millions of people facing emergency levels of food insecurity, acknowledges that women and children, including girls, are disproportionally affected by the humanitarian and economic crisis, urges the international community to provide, in accordance with international law, including international humanitarian law, and consistent with humanitarian principles, humanitarian assistance and financial resources to support humanitarian activities across Afghanistan, and calls for support to the 2022 Afghanistan Humanitarian Response Plan;

Takes note of Security Council resolution 2615 (2021) of 22 December 2021, in which the Council underlined that humanitarian assistance and other activities that support basic human needs in Afghanistan were not a violation of paragraph 1 (a) of Council resolution 2255 (2015) of 21 December 2015, while recalling the need to minimize and monitor the risk of aid diversion;

Calls upon all actors to work towards improving the accessibility of the full spectrum of activities by humanitarian and development agencies and personnel, including all Afghans across all ethnic groups, in all areas of the country, in support of all people in need, including women, children, displaced persons, minorities and persons with disabilities, as well as to support efforts to create conditions conducive to a voluntary, safe, dignified and sustainable return and reintegration of internally displaced persons and refugee populations, in particular those in neighbouring countries which have faced a major influx of refugees;

Emphasizes in particular that the effective delivery of humanitarian assistance requires all actors to allow full, safe and unhindered humanitarian access for all humanitarian personnel, including women, for United Nations agencies, international and national non-governmental organizations, and other humanitarian actors, and affirms the importance of sustained engagement of the international community with Afghanistan, especially in supporting humanitarian and basic human needs of the Afghan people;

Social and economic development

Recognizes the necessity of improving the living conditions of the Afghan people, and therefore emphasizes the need to address basic human needs across Afghanistan, in particular equal access to basic services such as education and public health services, taking into account Security Council resolution 2615 (2021);

Also recognizes the need to help to address the substantial challenges facing the economy of Afghanistan, including through efforts to restore the banking and financial systems as well as enabling access to assets belonging to the Central Bank of Afghanistan for the benefit of the Afghan people, acknowledges that the financial system of Afghanistan continues to face serious challenges, and calls upon all relevant Afghan political actors and stakeholders to create favourable conditions for economic activity and recovery by adhering to the rule of law, respecting fully civil, political, social, economic and cultural rights, ensuring educational rights for all Afghans, including women and girls, by providing responsible and accountable governance, and expanding the capacities and professionalism of Afghan institutions;

Encourages continued efforts, working with all relevant Afghan political actors and stakeholders, to contribute to supporting the provision of essential services to the Afghan population and to creating economic and social conditions that can lead to self-reliance and stability and to facilitate commercial and financial activity in Afghanistan for the benefit of the Afghan people, including through efforts to restore the banking and financial systems in Afghanistan;

Recalls its concern about the adverse impact of climate change, natural disasters and environmental issues in Afghanistan, and emphasizes the urgent need to build resilience, especially for the most vulnerable, including through the revitalization of sustainable food systems;

Refugees

Expresses its concern over the increase in the number of internally displaced persons in and refugees from Afghanistan, recalls the respective obligations of States under international refugee law with respect to the protection of refugees, to respect the principle of voluntary return of refugees and the right to seek asylum and to ensure full, safe and unhindered access for humanitarian relief agencies in order to provide protection and assistance to internally displaced persons and refugees, and calls upon States to continue to accept an appropriate number of Afghan refugees for resettlement, as a manifestation of their shared responsibility and solidarity;

Expresses its appreciation to those Governments that host Afghan refugees, in particular the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and the Islamic Republic of Iran, acknowledging the huge burden that they have so far shouldered as neighbouring States, calls for continued generous support by the international community, and also asks relevant international organizations, in particular the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the International Organization for Migration, to continue to work closely with all relevant Afghan political actors and stakeholders and the countries hosting Afghan refugees with a view to facilitating their voluntary, safe and dignified return and sustainable reintegration;

Recognizes the important role played by Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and other neighbouring and regional States in coordinating wider regional and global resettlement efforts for Afghan refugees;

Underlines the centrality of international cooperation to the refugee protection regime, recognizes the burden that large movements of refugees place on major and long-standing refugee-hosting countries and communities, as well as their national resources, especially in the case of developing countries, and calls for a more equitable sharing of the burden and responsibility for hosting and supporting the world’s refugees, addressing the needs of refugees and hosting States, while taking account of existing contributions and the differing capacities and resources among States;

Reaffirms that peace and stability, social and economic development, respect for human rights and inclusive government in Afghanistan would also contribute to the voluntary, safe, dignified and sustainable return of all Afghan refugees and internally displaced persons to play their constructive role in Afghanistan;

Recognizes the important role played by neighbouring and regional States, including Pakistan, in coordinating wider regional and global resettlement efforts for Afghan refugees as well as facilitating the relocation of people of various nationalities from Afghanistan;

Regional cooperation

Stresses the crucial importance of advancing constructive and sustainable regional cooperation as an effective means of promoting and complementing peace, security, stability and economic and social development in Afghanistan and the region, and recognizes in this regard the importance of the contribution of neighbouring and regional partners and regional organizations;

Recognizes the importance of the potential role of Afghanistan in connecting Central and South Asia, as well as its economic development and integration into interregional economic processes for lasting peace and stability;

Notes the historical role of Afghanistan as a land bridge in Asia, and recalls that regional economic cooperation plays an important role in achieving stability and development in Afghanistan;

Recognizes the importance of regional connectivity projects with Central Asia that can provide a pathway to economic growth and stabilization in Afghanistan;

Expresses appreciation for the commitment of neighbouring and regional partners to peace and stability in Afghanistan and Central Asia, for demonstrating unwavering support to the United Nations, and in this respect recognizes the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan for hosting in Almaty in crucial times a temporary remote office of the United Nations presence in Afghanistan;

Welcomes the work of the United Nations Regional Centre for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia;

United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan

Fully supports the work of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, as mandated by the Security Council in its resolution 2626 (2022), stresses the critical importance of the continued presence of the Mission and other United Nations agencies, funds and programmes across Afghanistan, and expresses its appreciation for the appointment of the new Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Afghanistan;

Reiterates the necessity for all relevant Afghan political actors and stakeholders as well as international actors to coordinate with the Mission and other United Nations agencies, funds and programmes across Afghanistan in the implementation of their mandates and to ensure the safety, security and freedom of movement of United Nations and associated personnel, irrespective of gender, throughout the country;

Requests the Secretary-General to continue to report every three months on developments in Afghanistan, as well as on the progress made in the implementation of the present resolution;

Decides to include in the provisional agenda of its seventy-ninth session the item entitled “The situation in Afghanistan”.