UN envoy calls on SC to take action on Afghanistan

The UN secretary-general's special representative for Afghanistan, Deborah Lyons, on Friday called on the Security Council to take action to prevent the war-torn country from descending into a situation of catastrophe "so serious that it would have few, if any, parallels in this century."

The Security Council must issue an unambiguous statement that attacks against cities must stop now, she told the Security Council in a briefing, reported Xinhua.

In the past weeks, the war in Afghanistan has entered a new, deadlier, and more destructive phase. The Taliban campaign during June and July to capture rural areas has achieved significant territorial gains. From this strengthened position, they have begun to attack the large cities, said Lyons.

The provincial capitals of Kandahar, Herat, and Helmand have come under significant pressure. This is a clear attempt by the Taliban to seize urban centers with the force of arms. The human toll of this strategy is extremely distressing, and the political message is even more deeply disturbing, she said.

Those countries that meet with the Taliban Political Commission should insist on a general cease-fire, a resumption of the negotiations, as well as reiterate the position of the Security Council and that of the regional and international community that a government imposed by force in Afghanistan will not be recognized, she said.

The Security Council should give serious consideration to providing the United Nations with a mandate that allows it to play, when requested by both parties, a greater role in facilitating the negotiations, she said.

The travel ban exemption on Taliban members exists to allow them to travel for the sole purpose of peace negotiations. The exemption is to be renewed on Sept. 20. Further extension must be predicated on real progress in peace, she said.

The Security Council and those states who meet with the Taliban must urge them to grant humanitarian access to areas it controls and commit to humanitarian cease-fires in contested areas -- if it will not agree to the general cease-fire. At the same time, UN member states should contribute to the severely underfunded humanitarian appeal for Afghanistan. This humanitarian appeal right now stands at only 30 percent funded, she said.

Her mission strongly supports greater efforts by the United Nations and regional and international community to find ways to hold the perpetrators of the most serious human rights violations accountable, she said.

"We, as the members of the regional and international community so well represented by this council, must put aside our own differences on the question of Afghanistan and send a strong signal -- not only in our public statements but also in our bilateral communications with both parties -- that it is essential to stop fighting and negotiate, in that order. Otherwise, there may be nothing left to win," said Lyons.