Afghanistan

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. 

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”.

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.

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

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

2 September 2021
Human Rights

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”.

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

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

1 September 2021
Humanitarian Aid

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. 

A seven-year-old girl holds her younger sister in an IDP camp in Kandahar, southwestern Afghanistan.
© UNICEF Afghanistan

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

31 August 2021
Humanitarian Aid

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.

A community in an isolated area of Afghanistan relies on mobile clinics run by humanitarian agencies for primary health care.
IOM

Security Council urges Taliban to provide safe passage out of Afghanistan

30 August 2021
Peace and Security

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.

A child walks through a temporary camp set up in Kabul after his family was displaced due to insecurity across Afghanistan.
© UNICEF Afghanistan

Afghan children ‘at greater risk than ever'

29 August 2021
Humanitarian Aid

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.

A health worker cares for a young boy in Parwan Province, Afghanistan in November 2020.
© WFP/ Massoud Hossaini

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

27 August 2021
Health

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. 

Early morning in Kabul, Afghanistan.
Unsplash/ Mohammad Rahmani

UN condemns 'abhorrent' terrorist attack at Kabul airport

27 August 2021
Peace and Security

The UN Security Council on Friday underlined the importance of combatting terrorism in Afghanistan following the deadly attack at the airport in the capital, Kabul.