The situation in Afghanistan and its implications for international peace and security

Endorses the proposal of the Secretary-General to establish a separate civil affairs unit by adding a new monitoring function to the UN Special Mission to Afghanistan, with the primary objective of deterring grave violations of human rights and promoting respect for minimum humanitarian standards in the future, and to send an assessment mission to Afghanistan, as soon as security conditions permit, in order to determine the exact mandate, composition and location of the civilian monitors; calls upon the Taliban to provide security guarantees to enable an investigation to be carried out under the auspices of UNHCR on the reports of massacres of innocent civilians and of mass executions of prisoners of war as well as on report of killings in Mazar-e Sharif and Bamian; urges the Taliban to proceed with the immediate and thorough investigation of the death, serious injury or disappearance of international or national staff members and other persons employed by the UN; strongly condemns the killing of the diplomatic and consular staff of the Consulate-General of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Mazar-e Sharif and the correspondent of the Islamic Republic News Agency, which the Taliban has accepted as having been perpetrated by its militia.

Adopted without vote, 93rd meeting

Adopted at the 93rd plenary meeting, 18 Dec. 1998.