Afghan

High Commissioner António Guterres talks with refugee families returning to Afghanistan at a UNHCR Voluntary Repatriation Centre in Peshawar, Pakistan.
UNHCR/S.Khan

Senior UN official urges global action to end years-long plight of 2.6 million Afghan refugees

29 June 2015
Expressing concern over the plight of millions of Afghan refugees, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has called on the international community to boost its engagement, employ innovative solutions and pro-active joint advocacy to end the world’s largest prolonged humanitarian crisis.
Special Representative Nicholas Haysom briefs the UN Security Council on 22 June 2015 on the latest developments in Afghanistan.
UN Photo/Mark Garten

INTERVIEW: Afghanistan must not be forgotten amid more pressing crises, warns UN envoy

29 June 2015
The international community must not take its “eye off the ball” when it comes to Afghanistan, the top United Nations envoy there has warned, noting that the country faces numerous challenges that will take quite a bit of time to tackle.
Bamiyan, Afghanistan: children make a long journey to continue their education.
UNICEF/Abdul Aziz Froutan

Afghanistan: UN official expresses deep concern after report reveals children bear brunt of conflict

26 June 2015
Last year saw more children killed or maimed in Afghanistan since monitoring of those statistics began in 2007, reflecting that “children are bearing the brunt of the conflict,” according to United Nations UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s latest report on children and armed conflict in that strife-torn country.
Poppy field in Afghanistan.
UNODC

First-ever comprehensive online system to counter narcotics launches in Afghanistan

23 June 2015
As the result of a three-year partnership, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the Afghan Government today launched the first-ever interactive online system for all counter-narcotics-related data in the country.
Afghan troops being trained by NATO at one of the military training centres in Kabul.
UNAMA

In the face of growing insecurity, Afghanistan still needs support, Security Council told

22 June 2015
It is absolutely clear that Afghanistan continues to need the support of the international community, as well as the sustained attention of the Security Council, Nicholas Haysom, the head of the UN mission in the country said today, warning the Security Council that there is no room for “complacency.”
Deputy Special Representative for Afghanistan Mark Bowden (right) addresses the Second Independent Media and Civil Society Forum in Kabul.
UNAMA

Almost 1,000 civilians killed in Afghanistan conflict during the first 4 months of this year

8 June 2015
The conflict in Afghanistan is resulting in thousands of people being killed or wounded, forcing families to leave their homes and seek refuge in neighbouring communities, according to Mark Bowden, the UN Secretary-General’s Deputy Special Representative in the country.
UNAMA Director of Human Rights Georgette Gagnon.
Fardin Waezi/UNAMA

Afghanistan: outgoing rights official at UN mission pledges commitment to advancing women’s rights

2 June 2015
While the outgoing senior United Nations rights official in Afghanistan said she expected the human rights advances made “will be sustained, will not be rolled back, and will not be sacrificed,” she lamented the high level of violence against women and the need for the Government to do “much more” for women’s rights.