Explanation of Vote by Deputy Permanent Representative Anna Evstigneeva after the UNSC Vote on a draft resolution to extend the mandate of the Taliban Sanctions Monitoring Team
Mr. President,
The Russian Federation voted in favor of the Security Council resolution 2816 extending the mandate of the Monitoring Team on the Taliban sanctions established pursuant to resolution 1988 for a period of twelve months. We support its activities and we note the assistance provided by experts to the work of the 1988 Taliban Sanctions Committee.
We took a constructive approach to the process of negotiating the draft, while focusing on the importance of prompt technical renewal of the mandate. We are pleased that the policy of maintaining the Team’s tasks unchanged was supported by the US penholders of this file.
Russia consistently supports comprehensive cooperation between the international community and the Afghan authorities on all key matters. There has been no alternative to this approach, and there will never be any. In this regard, we support the premise about the needs to maintain contacts between specialized experts of the Monitoring Team and the Taliban in accordance with their mandate. We support their intent to visit Kabul.
We still stand by our position vis-à-vis the conduct of the 1988 sanctions review and the corresponding review of the sanctions regime, on the basis of the recommendations drafted by the Monitoring Team following consultations with Member States.
We are pleased at the fact that the resolution retains provisions concerning the threat posed by ISIL and other terrorist groups, as well as the need to shore up efforts to combat this threat. We do believe that stability in Afghanistan will shape the situation in the region and beyond.
At the same time, it is noteworthy that the text of the resolution is strikingly oversaturated with elements that are not directly related to the implementation of the 1988 Security Council sanctions regime, not to mention the mandate of the Monitoring Team itself. We deem counterproductive any attempts by certain delegations to shift the focus from the core issues of combating terrorism and drug trafficking to the human rights situation in the country; such attempts are unlikely to contribute to the effective implementation by the experts of their tasks. Here we proceed from the assumption that the Security Council discusses these issues on an annual basis when extending the mandate of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan.
Thank you.
