Participation

Welcomes the commitment of the Government of Afghanistan to empower women politically and economically, and reiterates in this regard the importance of increasing the full and effective participation and leadership of women in decision - making, including in peace talks and overall peacebuilding strategies at the national and subnational level, and calls on the Government of Afghanistan to fully implement and finance the 1325 National Action Plan, and encourages the Government of Afghanistan to identify further opportunities to support participation of women in the Afghan-led and Afghan-owned peace process, and requests the support of UNAMA in this regard, 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 and further calls upon members of the international community to provide assistance as appropriate

Encourages the engagement of relevant local communities and non-governmental actors and the participation and leadership of women and women’s organizations in developing strategies to counter terrorism and violent extremism as and when conducive to terrorism, including through countering incitement to commit terrorist acts, creating counter narratives and other appropriate interventions, and building their capacity to do so effectively

Welcomes the new Afghanistan National Peace and Development Framework (ANPDF) setting out the strategic policy priorities of Afghanistan towards achieving Self-Reliance and the presentation of 5 new national priority programs, on a citizens’ charter, women’s economic empowerment, urban development, comprehensive agriculture and national infrastructure, to improve the conditions for advancing sustainable development and stability, and welcomes the international community’s long-term support for Afghanistan on the basis of mutual accountability as stated in the SMAF, and underlines the crucial importance of continued and sequenced implementation of the reform agenda, national priority programs and the development and governance goals as agreed in the SMAF

Underscores the importance of a sustainable democratic development in Afghanistan based on inclusive, transparent and credible elections, welcomes in that regard the forthcoming organization of parliamentary and district council elections in 2018 and presidential elections in 2019 in line with the relevant international conferences and the commitment of the Government of Afghanistan to deliver further improvements to the electoral process and emphasizes the importance of accelerated progress in this regard, and requests that, upon the request of the Government of Afghanistan, UNAMA provides 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, both as voters and candidates

Welcomes the continuing efforts of the Afghan Government to advance the peace process, including by the High Peace Council and the provincial peace committees, 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, including the effective and meaningful participation of women and women’s rights groups, as laid forth in the Kabul Conference Communiqué

Reaffirming that all parties to armed conflict must take all feasible steps to ensure the protection of civilians, especially women, children and displaced persons, including from sexual and gender-based violence, and that perpetrators of such violence must be held accountable [...] Expressing its deep concern about the continued high level of civilian casualties, as noted in the February 2018 UNAMA report on Protection of Civilians in armed conflict, and condemning the suicide attacks, often in civilian-populated areas, and the targeted and deliberate killings, in particular of women and girls, including high - level women officials and those promoting women’s rights, as well as journalists [...] Reaffirming that gender equality and women’s and girl’s empowerment, education, human rights, and full participation and engagement in all levels of decision-making are critical to efforts to maintain peace and security in Afghanistan, urging the full implementation of resolution 1325 (2000), and emphasizing the need for protection for women’s rights activists

Stressing the particular impact that armed conflict has on women, children, including as refugees and internally displaced persons, and other civilians who may have specific vulnerabilities including persons with disabilities and older persons, and stressing the protection and assistance needs of all affected civilian populations [...] Reaffirming the important role of women in the prevention and resolution of conflicts and in peacebuilding, and stressing the importance of their equal participation and full involvement in all efforts for the maintenance and promotion of peace and security, and the need to increase their role in decision-making with regard to conflict prevention and resolution

Requests the Secretary-General to seek to increase the number of women in UNISFA, as well as to ensure the meaningful participation of wome n in all aspects of operations