UN backs Afghan peace talks in resolution

United Nations:  The UN General Assembly approved a resolution over Russian objections Thursday commending progress in peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban while urging stepped-up efforts to tackle terrorist attacks by the Taliban, al-Qaida, the Islamic State extremist group and their affiliates.
The vote in the 193-member world body was 130 in favour, Russia against, and China, Pakistan and Belarus abstaining.
Fifty-nine countries did not vote.
The 15-page resolution titled The Situation in Afghanistan covers a wide range of issues including peace and reconciliation, democracy, the rule of law, good governance, human rights, counter-narcotics, social and economic development and regional cooperation.
While welcoming progress in the intra-Afghan talks, including the December 2 agreement on rules of procedure for negotiations, the resolution condemns the high rate of continued violence.” It says this is contributing to an unacceptable number of casualties” and calls for an immediate cessation of violence and strongly encourages the Afghan government and the Taliban to pursue confidence-building measures and to reduce violence.”