KABUL, Afghanistan — A key element of the UN’s proposed Mosaic Plan for Afghanistan — which includes lifting UN sanctions on senior Taliban officials — has drawn sharp criticism from civil society and women’s rights advocates, who argue that the plan risks legitimizing the Taliban without securing commitments on human rights or political inclusion.
The sanctions relief, one of three Taliban demands folded into the six-point UN framework now under consultation, is viewed by critics as a concession that could undermine international leverage.
The sanctions, imposed by the UN Security Council, currently target over 130 Taliban members and affiliated entities, including key figures such as Prime Minister Hasan Akhund, Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani, and Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi. The measures include travel bans, asset freezes, and arms embargoes.
The proposed removal of these sanctions is one of three core Taliban demands incorporated into UNAMA’s so-called “Mosaic Plan” — a six-point roadmap currently under consultation. Other Taliban priorities in the proposal include regaining control of Afghanistan’s frozen assets and assuming control of the country’s diplomatic representation abroad.
While the plan has not been finalized, critics say even raising the prospect of lifting sanctions undermines accountability for the Taliban’s ongoing human rights violations, particularly those targeting women and girls.
“Why is UNAMA trying to finalize a plan that legitimizes the Taliban — a group that has never served the interests of the Afghan people?” asked Nailab Omar Khil, a member of the Afghan Women’s Voice Movement. “This feels like complicity.”
In a separate comment, Mujda Siddiqi, a women’s rights activist, accused UNAMA of trying to “whitewash” Taliban abuses.
“This is a slap in the face of Afghan women and girls who have been systematically erased from public life,” she said.
The inclusion of sanctions relief also recalls the 2020 Doha Agreement between the Taliban and the United States, which called for a review of sanctions. Like many provisions of that deal, the commitment to remove sanctions was never implemented.
According to Mohibullah Tayeb, a human rights official at Afghanistan’s UN mission in Geneva, some UN staff in Kabul have pushed to include Taliban-appeasing provisions in the proposal in an effort to restart diplomatic processes.
“Unfortunately, UNAMA has failed to play the impartial role expected of it,” Tayeb said.
UNAMA has said the Mosaic Plan is still in its consultation phase and that it continues to engage with a broad range of stakeholders, including members of the G7 and regional actors. However, multiple civil society sources say the mission has yet to consult meaningfully with opposition groups, women’s representatives, or non-Taliban political leaders.
The draft framework does include global demands such as the formation of an inclusive government, respect for human rights, and counterterrorism commitments. But for many Afghans who have borne the brunt of Taliban rule — particularly women — these promises ring hollow without mechanisms for enforcement or inclusion.
