The UN Security Council on Thursday extended the mandate of the sanctions monitoring team overseeing measures against the Taliban and entities deemed a threat to Afghanistan’s peace and security for another year.
The 15-member council adopted the resolution unanimously. The draft text was prepared and submitted by the United States.
The decision renews the 1988 sanctions regime on the Taliban for another year. Travel ban exemptions previously granted to some Taliban leaders were not continued.
The Taliban have previously called on the international community to lift sanctions. However, concerns over the continued presence of militant groups in Afghanistan, restrictions on women and the absence of an inclusive government have been cited by council members as key reasons for maintaining the measures.
The US representative to the United Nations said after the vote that adoption of the resolution underscored the Security Council’s commitment to enforcing the 1988 sanctions regime.
