Afghanistan

Photo: UNAMA/Fardin Waezi
UNAMA/Fardin Waezi

Afghanistan: Security Council resolution calls for ‘equal and meaningful participation of women’  

17 September 2021
UN Affairs

The Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution renewing the mandate of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) on Friday, specifying the importance of “equal and meaningful participation” of women in public life. 

Dateline Geneva Podcast (Cover)
United Nations

UN Catch-Up Dateline Geneva: Climate warning, Afghanistan, Burundi, Yemen

16 September 2021
UN Catch-Up Dateline Geneva

In this week’s show, an appeal for support for Afghanistan’s people from António Guterres, who also warns that we’re at a “tipping point” for climate action; we also hear from the fifth and final Commission of Inquiry report on Burundi – it’s still talking of crimes against humanity…. And an interview with UN-appointed independent human rights expert Dr Ardi Imseis, on Yemen’s unrelenting conflict and its impact on the country’s most vulnerable people.

Audio -
15'19"
Food is distributed by WFP in Herat in western Afghanistan in August 2021.
© WFP

First humanitarian flight to Kabul marks 'turning point' in crisis: WFP 

14 September 2021
Humanitarian Aid

The return of humanitarian flights to Kabul since the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan is a turning point in the crisis, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) said on Tuesday. 

Upwards of 30,000 people live in this displacement site on the outskirts of Herat.
IOM

$1 billion pledge a ‘quantum leap’ in commitment to Afghanistan: UN chief

13 September 2021
Humanitarian Aid

UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Monday hailed significant international financial support pledged to the people of Afghanistan following a meeting in Geneva, which nearly doubled the initial $606 million flash appeal for the country.

A woman walks in Badakhshan, a province located in the farthest north-eastern part of Afghanistan.
Unsplash/Joel Heard

News in Brief 13 September 2021

13 September 2021
News in Brief
  • Support Afghans in their most perilous hour, urges UN’s Guterres  
  • Bachelet warns of deteriorating human rights situation in Afghanistan 
  • Nuclear watchdog announces deal with Iran over surveillance  
Audio -
2'46"
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.

UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths speaks to UN News ahead of a crucial international conference on the needs of the Afghan people.
UN Geneva/Srdan Slavkovic

Concrete commitments needed to aid Afghan people, declares UN relief chief

11 September 2021
Interviews

With half of Afghanistan’s children under five at risk of severe malnutrition and two-thirds of the country needing humanitarian assistance, the UN’s emergency relief coordinator is urging the international community to provide real commitments at a crucial aid conference on Monday.

In an exclusive interview for UN News in Geneva ahead of the conference, Daniel Johnson sat down with the newly-installed head of UN humanitarian affairs, (OCHA) Martin Griffiths, who recently returned from his first visit to Afghanistan, now under Taliban control.

He called on the Taliban to recognize the scale of need across the country and urged them to respect the rights of women and girls.

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9'40"
UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths speaks to UN News ahead of a crucial international conference on the needs of the Afghan people.
UN Geneva/Srdan Slavkovic

INTERVIEW: UN aid chief on humanitarian relief for Afghanistan, women’s rights and the Taliban

11 September 2021
Humanitarian Aid

A major funding appeal for Afghanistan is due to take place on Monday, 13 September. Ahead of the launch, Martin Griffiths, the UN Emergency Relief Coordinator, took part in an interview with UN News, in which he reiterated his belief that the country’s new Taliban leaders understand the significance placed by the international community on upholding women’s rights, and on providing guarantees so that aid agencies can function. 

The sun sets on Kabul, Afghanistan.
Unsplash/Matt Brown

News in Brief 10 September 2021

10 September 2021
News in Brief
  • Afghanistan: Taliban violence against protesters increasing, warns OHCHR
  • Hungry Afghans resort to extreme coping strategies to feed families
  • Human rights abuses intensify in eastern DR Congo: UNHCR
Audio -
3'28"
The UN continues to provide humanitarian aid in Afghanistan, despite the political upheaval.
© WFP/Arete/Andrew Quilty

Taliban response to protests increasingly violent, warns OHCHR

10 September 2021
Human Rights

Peaceful protesters in many parts of Afghanistan have been met with an increasingly violent response by the new Taliban authorities over the past four weeks, the UN human rights office (OHCHR) said on Friday, including the use of live ammunition, batons and whips.