Resolution 2543 (2020)

Adopted by the Security Council on 15 September 2020

The Security Council,

 Recalling its previous resolutions on Afghanistan, in particular its resolution

2489 (2019) extending through 17 September 2020 the mandate of the United Nations

Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA),

 Stressing the important role that the United Nations will continue to play in

promoting peace and stability in Afghanistan, while also addressing the challenges

facing the country and its people, especially consequences of the COVID-19

pandemic, recognizing that the impact of the pandemic presents a profound challenge

to Afghanistan’s health system, socio-economic and humanitarian situations, and is

worsening the food crisis and acknowledging the launch of the Global Humanitarian

Response Plan for COVID-19 by the United Nations, which puts the people at the

center of the response, as well as recognizing the efforts and measures taken by the

Government of Afghanistan in response to COVID-19,

 Reaffirming its strong commitment to the sovereignty, independence, territorial

integrity and national unity of Afghanistan, as well as its continued support for the

Government and people of Afghanistan,

 Recognizing that a sustainable peace can be achieved only through a

comprehensive and inclusive Afghan-led and Afghan-owned political process that

aims at a permanent and comprehensive ceasefire as well as an inclusive political

settlement to end the conflict in Afghanistan and reaffirming the importance of the

United Nations in this regard, as well as welcoming the efforts of all regional and

international partners of Afghanistan and recognizing the efforts of the Government

of Afghanistan and of all other Afghan actors in facilitating intra-Afghan negotiations,

 Calling for an inclusive and meaningful peace process with the participation of

women, youth and ethnic, religious and other minorities and underlining that the

economic, social, political and development gains made in the last 19 years as well

as respect for human rights, especially for women, children and minorities, must be

protected and built upon,

 Recalling the desire of the Government and the people of Afghanistan to

reinvigorate their country’s standing as a platform of international cooperation, and in this regard welcoming the efforts of regional and international partners and

organizations in advancing sustainable development, regional connectivity, and

reconstruction, which is vital to ensuring stability and economic prosperity in

Afghanistan,

 Welcoming the international community’s continued support for a peaceful,

secure, stable and prosperous Afghanistan and expecting a renewal of strategic

consensus and commitment between the international community and the

Government of Afghanistan in the forthcoming Afghanistan Donors’ Conference in

Geneva,

Expressing its deep concern about the continuing high level of violence and the

security situation in Afghanistan, especially the number of civilian casualties, and

stressing the importance of sustained efforts to reduce violence,

Further expressing its deep concern about the threat posed by terrorism to

Afghanistan and the region, expressing serious concern over the continuing presence

of Al-Qaida, ISIL as well as other international terrorist organizations and their

affiliated groups in Afghanistan, condemning in the strongest terms all terrorist

activity and all terrorist attacks, and reaffirming the importance of ensuring that the

territory of Afghanistan should not be used by Al-Qaida, ISIL or other international

terrorist groups to threaten or attack any other country, and that neither the Taliban

nor any other Afghan group or individual should support terrorists operating on the

territory of any country,

 Emphasizing the importance of supporting the Government of Afghanistan in

capacity building, in particular of the Afghan National Defence and Security Forces

(ANDSF) including the Afghan National Police (ANP) in securing their country and

in their fight against terrorism,

 Expressing concern over the cultivation, production, trade and trafficking of

illicit drugs in Afghanistan which continue to pose a threat to peace and stability in

the region and beyond, calling upon states to strengthen international and regional

cooperation to counter this threat and recognizing the important role of the United

Nations Office on Drugs and Crime in this context,

 Noting the ongoing work of the Committee established pursuant to Security

Council resolution 1988 (2011) and the continuation of the cooperation of the Afghan

Government and UNAMA with the Committee, including its Analytical Support and

Sanctions Monitoring Team,

 1. Welcomes the report of the Secretary-General of 18 August 2020

(S/2020/809);

 2. Expresses its appreciation for the United Nations’ long-term commitment

to support the Government and the people of Afghanistan and reiterates its full

support to the work of UNAMA and the Special Representative of the Secretary-

General, and stresses the need to ensure continued adequate resourcing for UNAMA

to fulfil its mandate;

 3. Welcomes UNAMA’s ongoing efforts in the implementation of the

mandated tasks, priorities and related resources of UNAMA especially during the

COVID-19 pandemic, and calls for the implementation of the recommendations of the Secretary-General’scall for a globalceasefire assupported in resolution 2532(2020);

4.Welcomesthe start of intra-Afghan negotiations in Doha, Qatar on

12September 2020,stronglyencouragespartiesto the negotiations to continuepursuing confidence-buildingmeasuresincludingadditionalreductionsinviolence,

further encouragespartiesto thenegotiations toengage in good faithwith theaim ofapermanentand comprehensiveceasefire and an inclusive political settlement to end

theconflict inAfghanistan, and emphasizestheimportance ofthe implementation ofresolution 2513 (2020);

5.Decidesto extend until 17 September 2021the mandate of UNAMA, asdefined in itsresolutions1662 (2006), 1746 (2007), 1806 (2008), 1868 (2009), 1917(2010), 1974 (2011), 2041 (2012), 2096 (2013), 2145 (2014), 2210 (2015), 2274(2016), 2344 (2017), 2405 (2018), 2460 (2019), 2489 (2019);

6.Decidesfurtherthat UNAMAandthe Special Representativeof theSecretary-General, within their mandateand in a manner consistent with Afghan

sovereignty, leadership andownership, will continue to lead and coordinate theinternational civilianefforts, in fullcooperation with the Government ofAfghanistanand in accordancewiththe relevant internationalcommuniqués,with a particularfocus on the prioritieslaid out below:

(a)provide outreach aswell asgood officesto support, if requested by and in

close consultation with the Government ofAfghanistan,theAfghan-led and Afghan-

owned peace process, particularly in viewof intra-Afghan negotiations started in

Doha on 12 September2020,proposing and supporting confidence-building measureswithin the framework oftheAfghanConstitutionandwith full respect for theimplementation of measures and applicationofthe procedures introducedby theSecurityCouncil in resolutions1267 (1999), 1988 (2011)and its other relevantresolutions;

(b)support, in closeconsultation and coordination with theGovernment ofAfghanistan,the organization offuturetimely, credible,transparent, and inclusiveAfghan elections, work closely with the election management bodies, supporting

them to delivera robust and transparent resultsmanagement process, coordinateinternational community effortsandstrengthen, insupport of theGovernment ofAfghanistan’s electoralreform efforts, the sustainability,integrity and inclusivenessof the electoralprocess, as wellasincrease effortsto provide capacity-building andtechnical assistance to theelectionmanagement bodies and other relevantAfghaninstitutions involved in this process;

(c)promote, asco-chair ofthe Joint Coordination andMonitoring Board

(JCMB),coherent supportby the internationalcommunity to the developmentandgovernance prioritiesof theGovernment ofAfghanistan, including through

supporting the ongoing development and sequencing of the Government’s reformagenda, mobilization of resources, coordination ofinternationaldonors and

organizationsas facilitatorand co-convener of development policy fora, at thesametime,coordinate internationalpartners for follow-up,inparticularthroughinformation sharing, and support efforts to increase accountability,transparency, andeffectiveness of aiduse, includingcost-effectiveness, in line with the commitmentsmade atthe Geneva Conference in 2018 and to bereviewed at the forthcomingAfghanistan Donors’ Conferencein Geneva;

 (d) support regional cooperation, with a view to promoting stability and peace,

as well as assisting Afghanistan in utilizing its role at the heart of Asia to promote

regional cooperation and connectivity, and to work towards a prosperous Afghanistan,

building on the achievements made, to promote partnership on connectivity, based on

transparency, openness, and inclusiveness, welcome joint efforts to enhance dialogue

and collaboration and to advance shared goals of economic development across the

region;

 (e) continue, with the support of the Office of the United Nations High

Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), to cooperate with and strengthen the

capacity of the Government of Afghanistan, the Afghanistan Independent Human

Rights Commission (AIHRC), and civil society in the protection and promotion of

human rights, to cooperate also with the Government of Afghanistan and relevant

international and local non-governmental organizations to monitor the situation of

civilians, to coordinate efforts to ensure their protection, to monitor places of

detention, and the treatment of those deprived of their liberty, to promote

accountability, and advise, in close consultation with the Government of Afghanistan,

stakeholders on the establishment and implementation of judicial and non-judicial

processes to address the legacy of large-scale human rights violations and abuses as

well as international crimes and to prevent their recurrence and to assist in the full

implementation of the fundamental freedoms and human rights provisions of the

Afghan Constitution and international treaties to which Afghanistan is a State party,

in particular those regarding the full enjoyment by women of their human rights,

including the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against

Women (CEDAW);

 (f) support in this regard the importance of gender equality and women’s and

girls’ empowerment, education, human rights, and the full, safe, equal, effective and

meaningful participation, engagement and leadership of women in all levels of

decision-making, including in peace talks, overall peacebuilding strategies, at the

national and subnational level, call on the Government of Afghanistan and the

international community to fully implement and finance the 1325 National Action

Plan and to ensure the protection of civilians, especially women, children, displaced

persons, and minorities, including from sexual- and gender-based violence, and that

perpetrators of such violence and abuse are held accountable;

 (g) strengthen capacity to report on violations and abuses against children, and

to support efforts to strengthen the protection of children affected by armed conflict,

including through engagement with all parties to the conflict to undertake specific

commitments and measures to end and prevent violations and abuses against children

and sustained dialogue with the Government of Afghanistan on the swift and full

implementation of the Action Plan and Road Map to End and Prevent Child

Recruitment;

 (h) support the efforts of the Government of Afghanistan in fulfilling its

commitments to improve governance and the rule of law, including transitional justice

as an essential component of the ongoing peace process, budget execution and the

fight against corruption throughout the country;

 (i) coordinate and facilitate the delivery of humanitarian assistance efforts

and work towards improving the accessibility of humanitarian assistance, in support

of Afghans in need and consistent with humanitarian principles, including by providing effective support as appropriate to national and local authorities in assisting

and protecting internally displaced persons and to creating conditions conducive to a

voluntary, safe, dignified and sustainable return of internally displaced persons and

refugee populations to one’s home or local integration or resettlement, with a

particular focus on durable development solutions to these issues;

 (j) promote, through an appropriate UNAMA presence and in support of the

efforts of the Government of Afghanistan, enhanced cooperation with the United

Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC);

 (k) closely coordinate and cooperate, where relevant, with the non-combat

Resolute Support Mission agreed upon between NATO and the Government of

Afghanistan, as well as with the NATO Senior Civilian Representative;

 7. Stresses the critical importance of a continued and appropriate presence of

UNAMA and other United Nations Agencies, Funds and Programmes in the

provinces, based on a “One UN” approach and in close consultation and coordination

with and in support of the priorities of the Government of Afghanistan;

 8. Calls on UNAMA and the Special Representative to further increase

efforts to achieve greater coherence, coordination and efficiency among relevant

United Nations Agencies, Funds and Programmes in Afghanistan with a view to

maximizing their collective effectiveness in full alignment with the reform agenda of

the Government of Afghanistan, and to continuing to lead international civilian efforts

in full cooperation with the Government of Afghanistan aimed at reinforcing the role

of Afghan institutions to perform their responsibilities;

 9. Calls upon all Afghan and international parties to coordinate with

UNAMA in the implementation of its mandate and in efforts to promote the security

and freedom of movement of United Nations and associated personnel throughout the

country, notes that UNAMA staff are deployed in deteriorating and complex security

and health environments and stresses the importance of measures to ensure the safety,

security and health support of the mission;

 10. Requests that the Secretary-General reports to the Council every three

months on developments in Afghanistan including the security situation, and to

include in his reports an evaluation of progress made against the benchmarks for

measuring and tracking progress in the implementation of UNAMA’s mandate,

including at the subnational level, and priorities as set out in this resolution;

 11. Decides to remain actively seized of the matter.