Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Wednesday, Oct 08, 2025

UN Security Council Pushes For Talks To Form New Afghan Government

UN Security Council Pushes For Talks To Form New Afghan Government

The 15-member council issued a statement, agreed by consensus, after U.N. chief Antonio Guterres appealed to the body to "use all tools at its disposal" to suppress a global terrorist threat from Afghanistan and guarantee respect for human rights.

The U.N. Security Council on Monday called for talks to create a new government in Afghanistan and an end to fighting and abuse after U.N. chief Antonio Guterres warned of "chilling" curbs on human rights and mounting violations against women and girls.

The 15-member council issued a statement, agreed by consensus, after Guterres appealed to the body to "use all tools at its disposal" to suppress a global terrorist threat from Afghanistan and guarantee respect for human rights.

"We cannot and must not abandon the people of Afghanistan," Guterres told the Security Council.

The Taliban entered https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/talibans-rapid-advance-across-afghanistan-2021-08-10 the capital Kabul on Sunday and President Ashraf Ghani left Afghanistan, the culmination of a rapid offensive by the Islamist militants to take back the country 20 years after they were ousted by a U.S.-led invasion.

The return to Taliban rule came as U.S. and other foreign forces were leaving the country after two decades.

The Security Council stressed the importance of combating terrorism in Afghanistan to ensure other countries were not threatened or attacked, and said "that neither the Taliban nor any other Afghan group or individual should support terrorists operating on the territory of any other country."

It called for an immediate cessation of all hostilities and the establishment, through inclusive negotiations, of a new government that should include women.

U.S.-backed Afghan forces toppled the Taliban from power in 2001 for refusing to hand over al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.

Independent U.N. experts reported to the Security Council last month that al Qaeda is present in at least 15 Afghan provinces, consisting mainly of Afghan and Pakistani nationals, but also people from Bangladesh, India and Myanmar.

"Afghanistan must never again become a haven for terrorists. This is the bottom line," China's deputy U.N. Ambassador Geng Shuang told the council. "We hope that the Taliban... make a clean break with the terrorist organizations."

Russian U.N. Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia said the Taliban's quick defeat of government forces "took everyone by surprise."

"Currently we believe that there is no point in panicking... a widespread bloodbath amongst civilians has been avoided. We urge all Afghan parties to refrain from hostilities and to foster a settlement peacefully," he said.

STAND WITH WOMEN


The Taliban ruled Afghanistan between 1996 and 2001. They did not allow women to work, girls were not allowed to attend school, and women had to cover their faces and be accompanied by a male relative if they wanted to venture out of their homes.

"We are receiving chilling reports of severe restrictions on human rights throughout the country. I am particularly concerned by accounts of mounting human rights violations against the women and girls of Afghanistan," Guterres said.

Taliban has issued statements saying they want peaceful international relations and promising to respect women's rights.

Ireland's U.N. Ambassador Geraldine Byrne Nason called on the Security Council to stand with the women of Afghanistan amid "multiple and credible reports of summary executions, forced marriage and of sexual and gender-based violence."

"The Taliban have reportedly said that women have nothing to fear from them," she told the council. "Telling the international community what it wants to hear will fool no one. We will not turn a blind eye to the truth."

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield called for a stop to attacks on civilians and respect for human rights and freedoms.

Afghanistan's U.N. ambassador Ghulam Isaczai, speaking for millions of people "whose fate hangs in the balance," called on the United Nations not to recognize any administration that achieves power by force or any government that is not inclusive.

The United Nations has about 3,000 national staff and about 300 international staff on the ground in Afghanistan. Some have been relocated to Kabul, but none have been evacuated.

"The United Nations presence will adapt to the security situation. But above all, we will stay and deliver in support of the Afghan people in their hour of need," Guterres said.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Wave of Complaints Against Apple Over iPhone 17 Pro’s Scratch Sensitivity
Syria Holds First Elections Since Fall of Assad
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
UK, Canada, and Australia Officially Recognise Palestine in Historic Shift
New Eye Drops Show Promise in Replacing Reading Glasses for Presbyopia
Dubai Property Boom Shows Strain as Flippers Get Buyer’s Remorse
Top AI Researchers Are Heading Back to China as U.S. Struggles to Keep Pace
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
UAE-US Stargate Project Poised to Make Abu Dhabi a Global AI Powerhouse
Trump and Starmer Clash Over UK Recognition of Palestinian State Amid State Visit
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Sam Altman sells the 'Wedding Estate' in Hawaii for 49 million dollars
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Kuwait opens bidding for construction of three cities to ease housing crunch.
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Did the Houthis disrupt the internet in the Middle East? Submarine cables cut in the Red Sea
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Iran Faces Escalating Water Crisis as Protests Spread
More Than Half a Million Evacuated as Typhoon Kajiki Heads for Vietnam
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
×