Thank you, Madam President, and thank you SRSG Roza Otunbayeva for your briefing. I would also like to thank Ms. Azadah Raz Mohammad for your remarks and I welcome the representative of Afghanistan.
Ambassador Dorothy Shea, Chargé d’Affaires, addressed the UN Security Council regarding the situation in Afghanistan. She acknowledged the efforts of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) amid challenging conditions. UNAMA's role includes coordinating humanitarian aid, promoting governance, and reporting on political and social developments in Afghanistan.
"The security threat emanating from Afghanistan is a continuing driver of regional instability," Shea noted. The United States highlighted concerns about ISIS-K's transnational threat and urged the Taliban to honor their counterterrorism commitments.
Shea emphasized that "the Taliban must ensure Afghanistan can never again be used as a safe haven for terrorist groups to threaten the security of the United States, our allies, or any country."
The ambassador expressed concern over Taliban restrictions impacting Afghan women and girls. She stated that these restrictions "strangle the economy" and noted over 80 edicts targeting women's access to education and economic participation. The ban on women attending medical institutes was particularly troubling due to its potential consequences.
With over 22 million Afghans dependent on emergency assistance, Shea described Afghanistan as facing one of the world's worst humanitarian crises. She attributed this crisis partly to Taliban policies and an unstable economy leading to human displacement.
Expressing skepticism about the Taliban's commitment to peace talks under the Doha Process, Shea said: "We cannot build confidence with a group that unjustly detains Americans, has a long history of harboring terrorist groups on its soil, and ignores the basic rights and needs of its own people."
She concluded by looking forward to collaboration with other Council members in urging responsible actions from the Taliban.
I thank you.