Afghanistan

Afghan female students participate in a theatre performance at a school in Herat, eastern Afghanistan (file)
UNAMA/Fraidoon Poya

First Person: The ‘bravery’ of Afghanistan's girls and women

22 September 2021
Women

Afghanistan’s girls and women are showing “bravery” in the face of real “fears and pressures” following the formation of the new, de facto authorities in Afghanistan,  according to a UNICEF member of staff, one of the few westerners to remain in Kabul.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (centre) speaks to hospital staff at the Wazir Mohammad Akbar Khan National Hospital in Kabul, Afghanistan.
WHO/Lindsay Mackenzie

Afghanistan’s healthcare system on brink of collapse, as hunger hits 95 per cent of families

22 September 2021
Humanitarian Aid

Afghanistan’s health system is on the brink of collapse, the head of the World Health Organisation, WHO, warned on Wednesday, while on the streets of Kabul, the hunger families are suffering is as acute in urban areas as the drought-stricken rural parts of the country. 

As schools slowly reopen in parts of Afghanistan, it is important to ensure that both girls and boys are able to return safely.
©UNICEF

Afghanistan: ‘Palpable’ fear of ‘brutal and systemic repression’ of women grows

21 September 2021
Women

Since the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan last month, they have made some commitments to uphold human rights. However, their subsequent actions have “sadly contradicted” those promises, the UN rights chief told a side event of the General Assembly on Tuesday.

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. 

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.

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

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 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. 

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.