Security Council Resolution 2210

Welcomes the Afghan Government’s commitment to strengthen the participation of women in the Afghan political life and in all Afghan governance institutions, including elected and appointed bodies and the civil service, notes the progress in this regard, welcomes its continued efforts to protect and promote the full participation of women in the electoral process, supports efforts to accelerate full implementation of the National Action Plan for Women in Afghanistan and to integrate its benchmarks into the National Priority Programmes, calls on the Government of Afghanistan to urgently develop a strategy to implement fully the Elimination of Violence against Women law, including services to victims and access to justice, welcomes in this regard the launch in November 2014 by the Ministry of Public Health of the Gender-based Violence Treatment Protocol for Healthcare Providers recalls that the promotion and protection of women’s rights are an integral part of peace, reintegration and reconciliation, recalls that women play a vital role in the peace process, welcomes the Afghan Government’s commitment to developing, implementing and monitoring the National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security and identifying further opportunities to support participation of women in the Afghan-led and Afghan-owned peace and reconciliation process, notes the UNAMA report into the Implementation of the Law on Elimination of Violence against Women in Afghanistan, and the importance of its full implementation, and requests the Secretary-General to continue to include in his reports to the Security Council relevant information on the process of integration of women into the political, economic and social life of Afghanistan;

continue, with the support of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, to cooperate with and strengthen the capacity of the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC), to cooperate also with the Afghan Government and relevant international and local non-governmental organizations to monitor the situation of civilians, to coordinate efforts to ensure their protection, to promote accountability, and to assist in the full implementation of the fundamental freedoms and human rights provisions of the Afghan Constitution and international treaties to which Afghanistan is a State party, in particular those regarding the full enjoyment by women of their human rights, including the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW);

Encourages all Afghan institutions, including the executive and legislative branches, to work in a spirit of cooperation, recognizes the Afghan Government’s continued efforts in pursuing legislative and public administration reform in order to tackle corruption and to ensure good governance, as agreed at the Bonn Conference, with full representation of all Afghan women and men, and accountability at both national and subnational levels, welcoming the issuance of the Presidential decree of July 2012, and stresses the need for further international efforts to provide technical assistance in this area, recognizes Government of Afghanistan efforts in this regard, and reiterates the importance of the full, sequenced, timely, and coordinated implementation of the National Priority Programme on National Transparency and Accountability;

Recalling its resolutions 1674 (2006), 1738 (2006) and 1894 (2009) on the protection of civilians in armed conflict, expressing its serious concern with the high number of civilian casualties in Afghanistan, in particular women and children, the increasingly large majority of which are caused by the Taliban, Al-Qaida and other violent and extremist groups and illegal armed groups, condemning the targeted killing of women and girls, in particular high-level female officials, reaffirming that all parties to armed conflict must take all feasible steps to ensure the protection of affected civilians, especially women, children and displaced persons, including from sexual violence and all other forms of gender-based violence, and that perpetrators of such violence must be held accountable, calling for all parties to comply with their obligations under international law includi ng international humanitarian law and human rights law and for all appropriate measures to be taken to ensure the protection of civilians, and recognizing the importance of the ongoing monitoring and reporting to the United Nations Security Council, of the situation of civilians and in particular civilian casualties, taking note of the efforts made by Afghan and international forces in minimizing civilian casualties, and noting the 18 February 2015 report by UNAMA on the protection of civilians in armed conflict,

Reiterates the importance of increasing, in a comprehensive framework, the functionality, professionalism and accountability of the Afghan security sector through appropriate vetting procedures, training, including on child rights, mentoring, equipping and empowerment efforts, for both women and men, in order to accelerate progress towards the goal of self-sufficient, ethnically balanced and women-inclusive Afghan security forces providing security and ensuring the rule of law throughout the country, and stresses the importance of the long-term commitment by the international community to ensure a capable, professional and sustainable Afghan National Security Force and notes in this context the establishment of the non-combat, train, advise and assist Resolute Support Mission, based on the bilateral agreements between NATO and Afghanistan and at the invitation of Afghanistan;

Stressing the importance of a comprehensive and inclusive, Afghan-led and Afghan-owned political process in Afghanistan to support reconciliation for all those who are prepared to reconcile as laid forth in the 20 July 2010 Kabul Conference Communiqué on dialogue for all those who renounce violence, have no links to international terrorist organizations, including Al-Qaida, respect the constitution, including its human rights provisions, notably the rights of women, and are willing to join in building a peaceful Afghanistan, and further elabo rated in the 5 December 2011 Bonn Conference Conclusions supported by the Government of Afghanistan and the international community, with full respect for the implementation of measures and application of the procedures introduced by the Security Council in its resolutions 1267 (1999), 1988 (2011), 2082 (2012), 2160 (2014), as well as other relevant resolutions of the Council,

Takes note of the ongoing efforts of the Afghan authorities to enhance the capabilities of the Afghan National Police, calls for further efforts towards that goal and stresses the importance, in this context, of international assistance through financial support and provision of trainers and mentors, including the contribution of the NATO Resolute Support Mission, as agreed to and accepted by the Government of Afghanistan the European Gendarmerie Force (EGF) contribution to this mission and the European Union through its police mission (EUPOL Afghanistan), as well as the German Police Project Team (GPPT), noting the importance of a sufficient and capable police force for Afghanistan’s long-term security, welcomes the ten-year vision for the Ministry of Interior and Afghan National Police, including the commitment to develop an effective strategy for coordinating increased recruitment, retention, training, and capacity development for women in the Afghan National Police, as well as furthering the implementation of their gender integration strategy, and welcomes UNAMA’s continued support for women police associations;

Underscores the importance of a sustainable democratic development in Afghanistan with all Afghan institutions acting within their clearly defined areas of competence, in accordance with the relevant laws and the Afghan Constitution, and welcomes, in this regard, the commitment of the Government of Afghanistan at the Kabul Conference, reaffirmed at the Bonn and Tokyo Conferences, to deliver further improvements to the electoral process, including addressing the sustainability of the electoral process, and, taking into account the commitments by the international community and the Afghan Government made at the London, Kabul, Bonn, and Tokyo Conferences, reaffirms UNAMA’s supporting role, at the request of the Afghan Government, in the realization of these commitments, and requests that, upon the request of the Government of Afghanistan, UNAMA provide assistance to the relevant Afghan institutions to support the integrity and inclusiveness of the electoral process, including measures to enable the full and safe participation of women, welcomes the participation of women in the electoral process as candidates, registered voters and campaigners, and further calls upon members of the international community to provide assistance as appropriate;

Welcomes the continuing efforts of the Afghan Government to advance the peace and reconciliation process, including by the High Peace Council and the implementation of the Afghanistan Peace and Reintegration Programme, to promote an inclusive, Afghan-led and Afghan-owned dialogue on reconciliation and political participation as laid forth in the 20 July 2010 Kabul Conference Communiqué on dialogue for all those who renounce violence, have no links to international terrorist organizations, including Al-Qaida, respect the constitution, including its human rights provisions, notably the rights of women, and are willing to join in building a peaceful Afghanistan, and as further elaborated in the principles and outcomes of the 5 December 2011 Bonn Conference Conclusions, and encourages the Government of Afghanistan to make use of UNAMA’s good offices to support this process as appropriate, in full respect of the implementation of measures and procedures introduced by the Security Council in its resolution 1267 (1999), 1988 (2011), 2082 (2012) and 2160 (2014), as well as other relevant resolutions of the Council;