KABUL — In comments to Amu, Stefan Smith, spokesperson for the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), clarified that the UN mission’s ongoing engagement with the Taliban under its new “Mosaic Plan” does not amount to recognition or normalization of the Taliban.
Smith said the mission continues to operate “under its Security Council-mandated engagement, good offices and engagement functions,” emphasizing that recognition is a prerogative of UN member states.
“This engagement does not constitute normalization or recognition, which are matters for Member States,” Smith stated.
A structured approach for ‘multilateral engagement’
According to UNAMA, the Mosaic Plan is part of a broader “Comprehensive Approach” or roadmap designed to offer a more structured, coherent and coordinated framework for multilateral engagement with Afghanistan. The mission says it is consulting widely with all stakeholders — including the Taliban, member states, and Afghan civil society — on the plan.
“It is the result of many consultations with all stakeholders that have been taking place since the Independent Assessment was released, and that it was provided to member states as a basis of discussion,” said Smith.
The roadmap includes two lines of effort: thematic working groups to address the immediate needs of the Afghan population, and the Mosaic component, which targets complex, longer-term political and legal challenges that hinder Afghanistan’s reintegration into the international community.
Origin in the independent assessment
UNAMA emphasized that the foundation of the plan is the Independent Assessment conducted by UN envoy Feridun Sinirlioğlu in late 2023. That report outlined a vision of “an Afghanistan at peace with itself and its neighbors, fully reintegrated into the international community, and meeting international obligations — without passing through a further cycle of violence.”
The UN Security Council welcomed the report in Resolution 2721, and the Mosaic Plan is being presented as a way to operationalize that vision.
However, some Western diplomats familiar with the Mosaic Plan have expressed concern to Amu that it diverges from Sinirlioğlu’s original roadmap. One senior Western diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter, said: “UNAMA has essentially sidelined the Independent Assessment and taken a new direction.”
UNAMA’s thematic work and Taliban engagement
According to the UNAMA spokesperson, so far, thematic working groups have been established in areas such as narcotics control and private sector development. These are described as “confidence-building measures” between the international community and the Taliban.
Smith stated that UNAMA’s role is to maintain contact with all Afghan parties, including the Taliban, as part of its UN-mandated obligation to support the Afghan people.
“UNAMA is mandated to engage with all Afghan stakeholders — including the de facto authorities — in support of the Afghan people and on behalf of the international community,” he said.
Inclusion of Afghan voices still unclear
While UNAMA confirmed it is consulting with non-Taliban actors, it declined to specify exactly which Afghan stakeholders outside the Taliban have been engaged.
“UNAMA and its leadership meet and engage regularly with all Afghan stakeholders, such as community leaders, women, youth, entrepreneurs, scholars and experts, in Kabul and across Afghanistan (through our field offices), as well as diaspora, on all priority issues outlined in the mandate,” Smith said.
Yet critics remain concerned that Afghan civil society — particularly women and those inside the country — have been left out of a process that could shape the future of international engagement with the Taliban.
Key points of negotiation
Sources familiar with the discussions told Amu that the UN and international community have three core expectations from the Taliban in the context of the plan, which include establishing an inclusive government, respecting human rights, particularly those of women and minorities and combating terrorism.
The Taliban, in turn, have reportedly put forward their own demands, which include the removal of international sanctions, access to Afghanistan’s frozen foreign assets and formal control over Afghanistan’s diplomatic missions abroad.
UNAMA has not confirmed these points directly, but acknowledged that the Mosaic Plan is attempting to reconcile “difficult issues blocking Afghanistan’s reintegration into the international community.”
Uncertain future for Afghan representation
The issue of who represents Afghanistan in the implementation of the plan remains ambiguous.
Smith noted that while the Mosaic framework is a condensed version of the wider roadmap, the mission is still “consulting with all stakeholders, including Member States, the de facto authorities and other Afghan stakeholders.”
