The Security Council passes a resolution calling on the Taliban to guarantee the safe departure of Afghans

Members of the UN Security Council at headquarters in New York.TIMOTHY A. CLARY / AFP

Minutes before the United States announced the total withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan, the United Nations Security Council approved on Monday a resolution that "hopes" that the Taliban fulfill their commitment to allow Afghans to leave the country and "requests" the “fast and safe” reopening of the Kabul airport. The document drawn up by the United States, France and the United Kingdom does not describe what consequences there will be if the insurgent militia does not keep their word, nor does it demand a protected area under the mandate of the UN in the Afghan capital, as Paris wanted. The resolution had 13 votes in favor and the abstention of China and Russia.

The text calls on the Taliban to allow "full, safe and unhindered access" to the UN and other agencies to provide humanitarian assistance, "reaffirms the importance" of defending human rights, including those of children, women and minorities, and encourages all parties to seek an inclusive and negotiated political settlement with the “full, equal and meaningful representation of women”. It also asks that Afghanistan "not be used to threaten or attack any country or to harbor or train terrorists, or to plan or finance terrorist acts."

The vote on the resolution came just moments before Washington ended evacuation operations for foreign nationals and vulnerable Afghans at midnight in Afghanistan. The Pentagon announced that after nearly 20 years of war, the longest in US history, the withdrawal of troops had ended. It was already August 31 in the Central Asian country, the deadline for the final departure of the Americans. The Taliban, who celebrated with gunfire in the air in the middle of the night, have once again taken control of the Kabul airport.

The US State Department released over the weekend a statement signed along with 97 other countries in which it reported that the Taliban had given guarantees so that Afghan citizens and foreigners who want to leave Afghanistan with the required documentation will be able to continue doing so after August 31st. The Security Council "expects the Taliban to adhere to these and all other commitments," the document reads.

French President Emmanuel Macron said on Sunday night that Paris and London would present a draft resolution to create a "protected area" in Kabul under the mandate of the UN where Afghans who wanted to leave the country could concentrate until they got one. square on a plane.

Since August 14, more than 6,000 Americans and nearly 100,000 Afghans have been evacuated.

"We did not remove everyone we wanted to remove," acknowledged General Kenneth F. McKenzie in his appearance to announce the end of the withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Follow all the international information on

Join EL PAÍS now to follow all the news and read without limits

Subscribe here