Afghanistan

A screen in an interpreter's booth shows Malala Yousafzai addressing the UN Security Council meeting on Afghanistan, on 9 September, 2021.
UN Photo/Manuel Elías

Global community can still shape ‘new reality’ in Afghanistan

9 September 2021
Peace and Security

While the choices available in Afghanistan are “not comfortable” ones, continued international engagement and unwavering commitment to the country’s people can help steer the situation to its best possible outcome, the UN’s senior official in Kabul told the Security Council on Thursday.

Dateline Geneva Podcast (Cover)
United Nations

UN Catch-Up Dateline Geneva – Afghanistan, DR Congo, Tigray and Yemen

8 September 2021
UN Catch-Up Dateline Geneva

In this week’s show, aid to Afghanistan in the international spotlight, a deadly bacterial meningitis alert in northeastern DR Congo, Yemen’s “unbearable” war drags on, and alarming developments in northern Ethiopia, where the “hungry season” has started, as conflict escalates across Tigray’s borders.

Audio -
17'56"
Food and blankets are handed out to people in need in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan. UNHCR warned that the world cannot allow this “to become a humanitarian catastrophe”
© WFP/Arete

News in Brief 8 September 2021

8 September 2021
News in Brief
  • Afghanistan suffering, 'unimaginable' says UN chief
  • Yemen: climate of fear has worsened, all sides to blame - rights experts
  • DR Congo declares deadly meningitis outbreak in troubled northeast
Audio -
3'12"
An Afghan girl was injured when a school in Kabul’s district 13 came under attack. For Mary Robinson, “women’s rights are not Western rights”
© UNICEF Afghanistan

Security Council must not fail women, girls of Afghanistan, Elders warn 

7 September 2021
UN Affairs

The Security Council cannot fail the women and girls of Afghanistan, former President of Ireland Mary Robinson warned on Tuesday, as she reminded its 15 members of the relentless work carried out over nearly 20 years to secure their rights through constitutional, legislative and policy changes. 

A child at the Indira Gandhi Children's Hospital in Kabul, Afghanistan. Since 14 August, hundreds of children have been separated from their families
© UNICEF/Sayed Bidel

UN warns of 'urgent imperative' to avoid acute Afghan food insecurity

7 September 2021
Humanitarian Aid

With food aid running out, Afghanistan is facing the collapse of basic services, said UN agencies on Tuesday, releasing a flash appeal for more than $600 million to support around 11 million across the crisis-wracked country to the end of the year.  

A child at the Indira Gandhi Children's Hospital in Kabul, Afghanistan.
© UNICEF/Sayed Bidel

News in Brief 7 September 2021

7 September 2021
News in Brief
  • Afghanistan: dire needs could worsen, basic services collapsing 
  • Conflict in Tigray now creating dire needs in neighbouring districts
  • Critical gaps in refugee education: UNHCR 
Audio -
3'10"
In the first six months of 2021, WFP provided assistance to 5.5 million people in Afghanistan.
WFP

News in Brief 6 September 2021

6 September 2021
News in Brief
  • UN chief to lead call for Afghanistan humanitarian appeal 
  •  Australia must drop coal ‘or see climate change cause economic havoc’: UN adviser
  •  Conservation rights defenders killed with shocking frequency, says UN rights chief  
Audio -
3'1"
Martin Griffiths, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Relief Coordinator, discusses humanitarian issues with the leadership of the Taliban in Kabul, Afghanistan.
OCHA

Afghanistan: UN humanitarian chief calls for ‘rights…well-being’ of women

5 September 2021
Humanitarian Aid

Women in Afghanistan play a “critical role” in delivering aid, the top UN Humanitarian told the leadership of the Taliban in Kabul on Sunday, calling on all parties to “ensure their rights, safety and well-being”.

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

News in Brief 3 September 2021

3 September 2021
News in Brief
  • Afghanistan: ‘major’ crisis looming, UNHCR warns
  • Clean air improvements from COVID lockdowns confirmed: WMO
  • Iran must halt execution of Kurdish prisoner, rights experts urge
Audio -
3'41"
Food and blankets are handed out to people in need in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan. UNHCR warned that the world cannot allow this “to become a humanitarian catastrophe”
© WFP/Arete

'Major' humanitarian crisis looms in Afghanistan, as UN convenes fundraising conference

3 September 2021
Humanitarian Aid

A major humanitarian crisis is looming in Afghanistan, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, warned again on Friday, amid ongoing uncertainty about the situation for vulnerable Afghans seeking shelter across the country's borders. To address the crisis, the UN announced a major fundraising conference to take place in Geneva on 13 September.