Afghanistan

As schools slowly reopen in parts of Afghanistan, it is important to ensure that both girls and boys are able to return safely.
©UNICEF

Afghanistan: ‘Palpable’ fear of ‘brutal and systemic repression’ of women grows

21 September 2021
Women

Since the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan last month, they have made some commitments to uphold human rights. However, their subsequent actions have “sadly contradicted” those promises, the UN rights chief told a side event of the General Assembly on Tuesday.

Girls play volleyball at a school in Herat, Afghanistan, in 2016.
UNAMA

UNICEF stresses Afghan girls must not be excluded from school

17 September 2021
Human Rights

The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) on Friday welcomed the news that secondary schools are due to reopen in Afghanistan on Saturday, after months of closure due to COVID-19, but stressed that girls must not be kept from the classroom.

Two Afghan women walk near an ancient mosque in western Herat province.
UNAMA

Support Afghans in their most perilous hour, urges UN’s Guterres

13 September 2021
Humanitarian Aid

The international community should urgently offer a “lifeline” to millions of vulnerable Afghans “who face perhaps their most perilous hour”, the UN Secretary-General said on Monday.

More than 400 families have taken shelter in a school in southern Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan.
© UNICEF Afghanistan

‘No way out’ for imperilled Afghans, broader international response needed

20 August 2021
Peace and Security

Despite a prevailing “sense of fear” among vulnerable citizens, UN humanitarian agencies and their partners reiterated their commitment to the people of Afghanistan on Friday, informing that they are still accessing those in need throughout the country. 

The UN says there are over 18 million people in need of humanitarian assistance in Afghanistan.
© UNICEF Afghanistan

Afghanistan: Medical lifeline to millions must not be cut, warns WHO 

18 August 2021
Health

The delivery of lifesaving aid and medical supplies to millions of Afghans must not be cut, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Wednesday, citing a more than threefold rise in the number of trauma cases.

A family runs across a dusty street in Herat, Afghanistan. (file)
UNAMA/Fraidoon Poya

Afghanistan: UN chief following escalation in fighting ‘with deep concern’

12 August 2021
Peace and Security

With Taliban fighters continuing to gain ground in Afghanistan, the UN Secretary-General is following events “with deep concern” said the UN Spokesperson on Thursday, including the battle for Herat and Kandahar, the country’s second and third largest cities.

 

Women and children at a market stand in Kurtunwaarey , Somalia.
UN Photo/Tobin Jones

Top UN envoy points to fresh hope for democratic Somalia

12 August 2021
Peace and Security

Political strides are breathing new hope into the country’s fragile State-building process, driven by an electoral agreement signed by Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble, and the heads of Somalia’s federal member states, a senior UN official told the Security Council on Thursday.