Afghanistan

A woman at a voting centre in Kabul dips her finger in indelible ink after casting her vote in Afghanistan’s parliamentary elections.
UNAMA/Fardin Waezi

UN Security Council hails ‘courage’ of Afghan voters

23 October 2018
Peace and Security

Welcoming Saturday’s parliamentary elections in Afghanistan, the United Nations Security Council called for continued engagement with electoral institutions and urged that any complaints over the vote should be channelled through established legal and constitutional mechanisms.

Afghan men and women register as voters at a centre in Bamyan ahead of elections in October 2018.
UNAMA/Jaffar Rahim

Amidst deadly violence, UN calls on Afghan authorities to ensure voters can cast ballot

20 October 2018
Peace and Security

Against a backdrop of violence and technical malfunctions, the UN Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) has released a statement calling on the country’s electoral authorities to re-double their efforts to make sure all eligible voters are given a reasonable opportunity to cast their ballot.

Electoral Staff from Independent Election Commission (IEC) opening ballot boxes for counting in Herat, Afghanistan, on 18 September 2010.
UNAMA

UN deplores pre-election killings and attacks, urges Afghans to defy terror, and vote

19 October 2018
Peace and Security

With just hours to go before Saturday’s parliamentary elections in Afghanistan, the UN has been expressing concern at the uptick in deadly political violence in the country, whilst encouraging Afghans to exercise their right to vote.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres.
UN Photo/Violaine Martin

UN chief condemns deadly attacks in Afghanistan

14 October 2018
Peace and Security

Denouncing lethal attacks targeting electoral activities in Afghanistan as the country prepares to go to polls later this week, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has called on all parties to ensure a peaceful and orderly elections.

A woman along with her children runs across a dusty street in Herat, western Afghanistan. Civilians across the country continue to bear the brunt of the conflict.
UNAMA/Fraidoon Poya

Afghanistan: Civilians continue to die in record numbers, new UN report shows

10 October 2018
Peace and Security

The conflict in Afghanistan continues to exact a terrible toll on civilians, with the highest number of fatalities recorded for the first nine months of this year, since 2014, a United Nations report has revealed.

A funeral takes place for a Tolo news agency journalist killed in an attack on 5 September 2018 outside a sports centre in Kabul, Afghanistan (file).
UNAMA/Fardin Waezi

Afghanistan: Civilian casualties caused by IEDs has reached ‘extreme levels’, UN warns

7 October 2018
Peace and Security

The United Nations on Sunday called on anti-Government elements in Afghanistan to immediately stop using improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in civilian areas, after the UN mission in the country recorded a sharp rise in civilian casualties caused by the explosives this year.

Electoral Staff from Independent Election Commission (IEC) opening ballot boxes for counting in Herat, Afghanistan, on 18 September 2010.
UNAMA

Afghanistan: UN ‘outraged’ by new elections-related suicide attack

2 October 2018
Peace and Security

Denouncing attacks and intimidation in the week since formal campaigning began for Afghanistan’s parliamentary elections next month, the United Nations voiced outrage on Tuesday at the death of 14 civilians, killed by a suicide bomber at a campaign rally. A further 42 were wounded.

A family runs across a dusty street in Herat, Afghanistan
UNAMA/Fraidoon Poya

Afghanistan: Sunday airstrike killed 12 women and children from one family, UN mission reports

25 September 2018
Peace and Security

Preliminary findings from the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) released on Tuesday, indicate that 12 women and children from a single family were killed in an airstrike that took place on Sunday, conducted by pro-Government forces.

UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Afghanistan Briefs Press
UN Photo/Ariana Lindquist

Afghanistan: Short-term emergency can ‘derail’ years of progress, warns UN official

21 September 2018
Humanitarian Aid

Even though Afghans today have better prospects for a semblance of peace than at any time in the past few years, immediate risks facing the country can seriously jeopardize progress and derail aspirations for a peaceful, secure and prosperous Afghanistan, a senior United Nations official warned on Friday.

A young girl looks through a paneless window frame near Kabul, in Afghanistan, 2013. Civlilians in Afghanistan have borne the brunt of an almost 20 years of conflict.
UNICEF/UNI152469/Dragaj

‘Time for important decisions,’ head of UN in Afghanistan tells Security Council

17 September 2018
Peace and Security

With parliamentary elections one month away and a major ministerial conference planned for November in Geneva, the United Nation’s Special Representative for Afghanistan briefed the Security Council on Monday, noting that “preparations are on track” but that many challenges lie ahead, including increased security concerns.