José Javier De La Gasca (Ecuador), the chair of the 1988 Afghanistan Sanctions Committee, said that since the Taliban's rise to power, terrorist groups have gained more freedom of action in Afghanistan.
Gasca, speaking at the UN Security Council, mentioned that several countries are concerned that these groups have found sanctuary among the Taliban.
He stated, on Wednesday, to the council that the measures the Taliban have taken against terrorist groups are still unclear.
Gasca added that the fighters of these terrorist groups pose a threat beyond Afghanistan's borders, and several member countries are worried that these terrorists have found refuge among the Taliban.
He mentioned that although the Taliban are fighting against ISIS-Khorasan, this group still has the capability to target Afghanistan and its neighbours.
He also named the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan and Al-Qaeda as threats to the region.
The chair of the 1988 Afghanistan Sanctions Committee further stated in his speech at the Security Council meeting that although opium cultivation in Afghanistan has decreased, the price of opium has significantly increased.
Gasca, who was discussing the UN sanctions regime, said that the primary goal of the sanctions is to prevent threats to peace and stability by blocking assets, travel bans, and arms embargoes.
He noted that the sanctions regime against the Taliban remains a useful tool, although the Taliban have repeatedly called for the lifting of these sanctions.
However, this UN official said that his group still lacks sufficient information to determine the extent to which these sanctions have influenced the Taliban's decisions.
He also spoke about the exemption of Taliban officials from sanctions during travel requests, noting that in 2023 they have recorded eight instances of such travel.
Gasca expressed concern about the "last-minute requests" for travel by Taliban officials, as some countries do not know how to properly handle these requests in a timely manner.
He said that the Monitoring Committee has called for a review of how these travel exemption requests for sanctioned Taliban officials are handled. The chair of the committee mentioned that they have not been able to reach an agreement on this matter, and the Security Council will discuss it later.
