Editorial: The UN cannot help the people of Afghanistan without repairing its tarnished reputation
Through its actions, the Taliban has shown a total disregard for the UN and its work in the country. The group is well aware of the organisation’s unwillingness to move beyond rhetoric and platitudes and has exploited it maximally. Amina Mohammed herself was insulted out of Afghanistan during her visit to Kabul in January, as she tried to convince the group lift restrictions on women.
Antonio Guterres hopes to find ways to influence the Taliban in Doha meeting
United Nations Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, will host a meeting on Afghanistan in Doha on Monday and Tuesday, with representatives from at least 25 countries expected to attend. According to France 24, Antonio Guterres will use the meeting in order to find ways to influence the Taliban and the way it rules Afghanistan.
Taliban recognition will not end the Afghanistan conflict, group of exiled leaders warn
The High Council of Resistance for the Salvation of Afghanistan, a group composed exiled anti-Taliban leaders, including Marshal Dostum, Mohammad Mohaqiq, Atta Mohammad Nur and others, has said that recognising the Taliban will not lead to a way out of the conflict in the country.
Afghanistan among top ten countries worst affected by climate change
Entering a third year of drought, having gone through a deadly winter of extreme cold, snow and flooding in many parts of the country, Afghanistan has been ranked among the countries worst affected by climate change.
Taliban rejects UN Security Councils’ call to lift restrictions on women
The Taliban’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Friday rejected the UN Security Council’s demand to remove the ban on women for working for the UN in Afghanistan. In statement posted on Twitter, the group said that restrictions on women were “an internal social matter of Afghanistan that does not impact outside states.”
UN Security Council condemns Taliban ban on women working for the UN
The UN Security Council unanimously passed a resolution on Thursday, condemning the Taliban’s ban on women in Afghanistan working for the United Nations. The council called on the Taliban leaders to “swiftly reverse” their crackdown on the rights of women and girls. The resolution was drafted by the United Arab Emirates and Japan.
Ahmad Massoud: The Taliban cannot be tamed with ‘money and diplomatic ties’
Ahmad Massoud, the leader of the armed anti-Taliban group, the National Resistance Front (NRF), has pleaded with the international community not to abandon Afghanistan. In an interview with The National in Vienna, where he attended a conference of anti-Taliban figures and activists, Massoud warned against engagement with the Taliban.
UN chief warned against efforts to recognise the Taliban government
An open letter to the UN Secretary General, António Guterres, signed by a collective of activists, writers, intellectuals, academics, and human rights defenders from Afghanistan in the diaspora has expressed “deep concern” about any UN-led initiative which could result in the recognition of the Taliban as a legitimate government of Afghanistan.
International human rights groups call on the Taliban to end human rights abuses
A group of human rights groups called on the Taliban to end its crackdown on dissent and release all those arbitrarily detained solely for exercising their rights to freedom of expression, freedom of peaceful assembly and freedom of association.
Vienna Conference ends with call for ‘methodical integration’ of anti-Taliban groups
Taliban opposition figures ended their two day conference in Vienna with a call for anti-Taliban forces to come together through a “methodical integration” in order to challenge the group’s rule in Afghanistan.
US State Department: The Taliban’s human rights abuses ‘key block’ to recognition
Answering questions during a press briefing at the State Department, Vedant Patel said that the Taliban’s “continued human rights abuses, especially abuses towards women and girls…continues to be one of the key blocks to their [Taliban’s] own self-proclaimed desire for international recognition.”
Islamic State mastermind behind August 2021 Kabul airport attacked killed
US government officials say the Islamic State mastermind believed to be behind the deadly bombing in August 2021 during the US withdrawal from Afghanistan at Kabul airport has been killed.
Turkish diplomat appointed as the UN Special Coordinator for Afghanistan
The UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, appointed the Turkish diplomat, Feridun Sinirlioğlu, as the United Nations’ Special Coordinator for Afghanistan. Sinirlioğlu has previously served as Turkish Foreign Minister from 2015 to 2016 and Permanent Representative to the UN from 2016 to 2023.
