Mike Waltz Calls on Taliban to Take Action on Detentions, Terrorism and Rights

DID Press: U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz told the Security Council that the Taliban must take concrete steps rather than make statements if it wants greater international legitimacy, while calling for the release of detained U.S. citizens and other foreign nationals.

Waltz said the United States would not tolerate the detention of American citizens by the Taliban or their use as political leverage. He urged the Security Council to demand the release of U.S. and other foreign nationals detained by the Taliban.

The U.S. envoy also accused the Taliban of sheltering terrorist groups and cited allegations of arbitrary detention, torture, mistreatment, extrajudicial killings and severe restrictions on women and girls. The UN’s acting head of UNAMA similarly told the Council that terrorist groups remain present in Afghanistan and that restrictions on women and girls and the human-rights situation remain major concerns.

On education, Waltz referred to the continued exclusion of Afghan girls from education beyond the sixth grade and cited a figure of about 2.2 million girls deprived of access to secondary education. He also criticized restrictions preventing Afghan female UN staff from entering UN facilities, saying such measures hinder the organization’s work in the country.

Waltz welcomed the continuation and reform of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) but said Washington wanted measurable results, greater accountability and a stronger focus on Afghanistan’s core challenges. The UN Security Council has been considering the mission’s mandate amid wider debate over the international community’s approach to Afghanistan.

Waltz concluded by calling on the Security Council to demand “action, not words” from the Taliban, arguing that the group’s adherence to its commitments would affect the future course of peace, international engagement and conditions for Afghans.