UNSC extends mandate of UN assistance mission in Afghanistan by one year

The UN Security Council (UNSC) on Thursday extended the mandate of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan by one year, with Russia abstaining.

"Votes in favour -14, votes against - 0, abstentions - 1," Lana Nusseibeh, Permanent Representative of the United Arab Emirates to the United Nations (UAE) and President of the Security Council for the month of March, said.

The UAE Mission to the UN described this as a crucial step forward that the UNSC needed to take to address the situation in Afghanistan.

The 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.

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 extended for six months, on 17 September 2021, by UN Security Council Resolution 2596 (2021).

( With inputs from ANI )