US calls on UNSC members to hold Taliban accountable

United Nations - Five permanent members urged to remain 'united'

The US has called on fellow permanent members of the UN Security Council to remain “united” on Afghanistan, to hold the Taliban accountable to its commitments and to work together to ensure humanitarian access and availability of funds to meet humanitarian needs in the war-torn country. The US, the UK, France, China and Russia, known as P5, are the five permanent and veto-wielding members of the 15-nation powerful UN organ.

UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss chaired a meeting of the Foreign Ministers of the P5 and United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday on the margins of the high-level 76th session of the UN General Assembly.

US State Department spokesperson Ned Price said that in the meeting, Secretary of State Antony Blinken emphasised the importance of a constructive P5 action to maintain international peace and security.

“On Afghanistan, the Secretary called for P5 coordination to mitigate the emerging humanitarian crisis and prevent an economic collapse.?He noted the shared expectations for an inclusive and representative government.

“The Secretary encouraged the P5 to remain united on Afghanistan, to hold the Taliban accountable to its commitments, and to work together to ensure humanitarian access, respect for humanitarian principles, and availability of funds to meet humanitarian needs,” Price said in a statement.

On Iran, Blinken reiterated the US’ intent to pursue a path of meaningful diplomacy to achieve a mutual return to compliance with the Iran nuclear deal and to address a full range of concerns with Iran.

In the meeting, Truss called for greater cooperation among the P5 on maintaining international peace and security.

Ahead of the meeting, the UK Mission to the UN had said that the P5 will discuss the vital role the Security Council, including its permanent members, has to play in maintaining international peace and security, amid a backdrop of ongoing conflicts and crises, including in Afghanistan, Myanmar, Yemen and Tigray Region of Ethiopia.

Truss will call for Russia and China to agree a coordinated international approach to Afghanistan, the UK Mission had said.

Speaking ahead of the meetings, Truss had said “The P5 have clear shared interests in maintaining stability in volatile regions to prevent terrorism and keep our citizens safe.

“If we want to avoid Afghanistan becoming a haven for global terror then the international community – including Russia and China – needs to act as one in its engagement with the Taliban”.

The last meeting of P5 Foreign Ministers with the UN Secretary General was in 2019 and convened by China.

Russia’s Mission to the UN tweeted “The ministerial meeting of P5 with UNSG addressed pressing issues of SC agenda with a focus on the situation in #Afghanistan.”

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov “emphasised that it’s imperative to search for collective response to global challenges on the basis of” UN Charter and international law, it said on Twitter.

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