In a stark rebuke of the current international strategy toward Afghanistan, Jonathan Shrier, the US representative to the UN Economic and Social Council, in his a detailed address to the General Assembly, said that continued engagement with the Taliban without meaningful demands for reform has only served to bolster a regime that resists accountability.
“Nearly four years following the Taliban takeover, we continue the same conversations and engage with the same so-called Taliban officials about improving the situation in Afghanistan without demanding results from them,” Shrier said. “In fact, we have rewarded the Taliban’s failure with more engagement and more resources. This resolution is more of the same.”
Shrier thanked Germany for its work in drafting the resolution, but made clear that the United States could not support a measure that fails to deliver tangible progress. “We also want to thank Germany for their work on Afghanistan and this resolution A‑79‑L‑100. However, the United States must vote no on the resolution.”
He warned that humanitarian aid and diplomatic outreach have become unsustainable without corresponding Taliban reforms. “The existing approach to humanitarian assistance for the Afghan people is not sustainable and will continue to fail to yield the intended results,” he said. He criticized the UN-led Doha process as having produced “few sustainable results,” and said that when the Taliban do engage, they do so on their own terms and to the detriment of international interests.
The US envoy placed particular emphasis on issues of security and counterterrorism. “In the areas of counterterrorism, counter‑narcotics and security writ large, it is in our mutual interests to ensure that Afghanistan never again harbors terrorists and is a net contributor to regional stability and cooperation rather than a detractor,” he said, also calling out the Taliban’s “hostage diplomacy” and demanding the release of all detained Americans.
Shrier invoked the sacrifices of the past two decades to illustrate the depth of US investment in Afghanistan. “For decades, the United States sacrificed American lives and trillions of dollars to achieve these mutually shared goals and to support the people of Afghanistan. Many of the countries represented in this assembly did the same.” He added that the US could no longer support the Taliban “while simultaneously demanding they meet their international commitments and respect Afghanistan’s international obligations. These stand in direct contradiction to each other.”
He further decried language in the resolution praising Iran, asserting that the Islamic Republic is “the world’s leading sponsor of terrorism,” executing Afghans without due process, and forcibly conscripting Afghans into militia movements that are destabilizing for the Middle East.
“Mr. President, the United States calls upon the Taliban to stop behaving as an insurgency. Accordingly, we demand the Taliban release all detained Americans and end their hostage diplomacy. Change in Afghanistan must come from within,” Shrier declared. “For decades, we shouldered the burden of supporting the Afghan people with time, money and, most important, American lives. It is due time for the Taliban to step up. The United States will no longer enable their heinous behavior.”
His remarks mark a significant shift in messaging, signaling a harder line that aligns American aid and engagement with measurable Taliban compliance on counterterrorism, human rights, and international obligations.
