Afghanistan

UN experts urge Afghanistan’s new rulers to prohibit torture ‘in any circumstances’

Experts serving on a UN human rights treaty body called on Thursday for the new Taliban-led authorities of Afghanistan to uphold “the international obligations of the State”, particularly in complying with all provisions of the Convention against Torture, outlawing the practice “in any circumstances”.

UN Catch-Up Dateline Geneva – Afghanistan update, global dementia alert, COVID in Africa

In this week's show, an appeal for Afghanistan’s neighbours to keep their borders open after the Taliban takeover; an interview with a migration expert from UN Children’s Fund UNICEF, on the Afghan boys and girls risking everything to flee the country, and an alert over far-too-low COVID-19 vaccination rates across Africa.

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17'52"

Afghanistan crisis: Food supply for millions could run out this month

Food stocks in Afghanistan could run out as soon as this month, a senior UN official warned on Wednesday, urging the international community to step up support for the country. 

UN commits to staying in Afghanistan, with basic services close to collapse

The flights evacuating civilians from Afghanistan may have come to an end, but a deepening humanitarian crisis remains, UN Secretary-General António Guterres declared on Tuesday, as several senior UN officials restated their commitment to stay and deliver urgently needed supplies to the millions in the country who need humanitarian aid to survive.

News in Brief 31 August 2021

  • Afghanistan: far more lifesaving medical supplies needed: WHO
  • UNHCR stands ready to help Afghan neighbours offer shelter
  • Mali uptick in civilian killings, warns UN mission MINUSMA
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3'25"

Security Council urges Taliban to provide safe passage out of Afghanistan

The UN Security Council passed a resolution on Monday that calls for the Taliban to facilitate safe passage for people wanting to leave Afghanistan, allow humanitarians to access the country, and uphold human rights, including for women and children.

News in Brief 30 August 2021

  • Afghanistan: lifesaving medical supplies reach Mazar-i-Sharif - WHO
  • UN COVID-19 measures unveiled to help keep schools
  • UNHCR calls for all States to join the effort to eradicate statelessness
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3'30"

UN health agency secures life-saving medical supplies to Afghanistan

Lifesaving medical supplies reached Afghanistan by air on Monday, the first UN shipment to arrive since the Taliban takeover more than a week ago, as UN human rights experts called on the country's new rulers to live up to their promise to fully protect the rights of women and girls in the country.

Afghan children ‘at greater risk than ever'

With the needs of Afghan children greater than ever before, the world “cannot abandon them now”, a senior official with the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said on Sunday after concluding a visit to the country.

WHO ‘exploring all options’ to get medical supplies into Afghanistan

With medical stocks dwindling in Afghanistan, and insecurity at the airport in the capital, Kabul, following the terrorist attack on Thursday, the World Health Organization (WHO) continues to examine ways to deliver much-needed supplies to the country, a senior official told journalists in Geneva.