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UN chief urges foreign community not to abandon Afghansitan
UN Secretary-General António Guterres has urged the international community not to abandon Afghanistan and also called on the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) to expand opportunity and security for Afghans, uphold human rights, and demonstrate real commitment to be part of the international community.
Guterres also tweeted this week that “daily life has become a frozen hell for the people of Afghanistan.
“As a matter of moral responsibility — and regional and global security and prosperity — we cannot abandon them.
“They need peace. They need hope. They need help. And they need it now,” he said.
Addressing the UN Security Council on Wednesday, he said: “At this moment, we need the global community – and this Council – to put their hands on the wheel of progress, provide resources, and prevent Afghanistan from spiraling any further.”
According to him, Afghanistan has long been unfairly used as a platform for political agendas, geopolitical advantage, ideological dominance, brutal conflicts and terrorism.
“As a matter of moral responsibility – and regional and global security and prosperity – we cannot abandon the people of Afghanistan.”
He also highlighted the situation of women and girls and appealed for the release of women activists who were recently arrested.
Guterres also urged countries to suspend rules and conditions that constrict both the Afghan economy and lifesaving humanitarian operations.
“At this moment of maximum need, these rules must be seriously reviewed,” he said, emphasizing the need to pay public service salaries. He also welcomed the Council’s recent adoption of a humanitarian exemption to the UN sanctions regime for Afghanistan.
The Secretary-General underscored the need to “jump-start” the Afghan economy through increased liquidity, including by freeing-up frozen currency reserves and through cash injections.
“Our team in Afghanistan stands ready to work with Member States and others to establish accountability systems to ensure that funds go to the Afghan people most in need, and are not diverted,” he said.
On another note, Guterres appealed to the IEA to demonstrate real commitment to be part of the international community. “The window for trust-building is open. But this trust must be earned,” he said.
“I make an equally urgent plea to the Taliban (IEA) leadership to recognize and protect the fundamental human rights that every person shares,” Guterres said.
He further encouraged the IEA “to seize this moment and garner international trust and goodwill by recognizing – and upholding – the basic human rights that belong to every girl and woman.”
He warned that “Afghanistan is hanging by a thread” as millions of impoverished citizens struggle to survive amid deteriorating humanitarian conditions.
“We urge the Taliban (IEA) to seize this moment and garner international trust and goodwill by recognizing — and upholding — the basic human rights that belong to every girl and woman,” Guterres said.
He expressed concern about recent reports of arrests of women activists, saying: “I strongly appeal for their release.”
Over half of all Afghans face “extreme levels of hunger,” Guterres told the council, and “some families are selling their babies to purchase food.”
IEA officials recently held talks with Western powers in Oslo to address the humanitarian crisis, with Western diplomats linking humanitarian aid to Afghanistan to an improvement in human rights.
Wednesday’s session of the 15-member Security Council sought to clarify the mandate of the UN political mission in Afghanistan.
The mandate expires March 17 and must be reviewed to account for the Taliban’s return to power.
Meanwhile, the deputy spokesman of the Islamic Emirate Bilal Karimi said all opportunities “are available for Afghan women and there are no problems for Afghan women”.
A tripartite meeting between the delegations of Afghanistan, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan was held in Kabul with the aim of connecting North Asia to South Asia and reducing transit and transportation costs among these three countries, the Ministry of Trade and Commerce said in a statement.
In this meeting, an agreement was reached on the creation of a joint technical committee to continue the talks.
This tripartite meeting was held under the leadership of Nooruddin Azizi, the Acting Minister of Industry and Commerce, Vice President of Turkmenistan and Srik Zhumangarin, the Deputy Prime Minister of Kazakhstan.
Earlier, a bilateral meeting was held between the delegation of the Islamic Emirate and Turkmenistan. The ministry of commerce said the participants of the meeting discussed the construction of a large joint logistics center in Torghondi, the trilateral transit agreement between the IEA, Turkmenistan, and Kazakhstan, the expansion of Afghanistan’s railway, solving issues related to Afghan transit and export goods, and a number of other commercial issues.
Acting Minister of National Defense Mohammad Yaqub Mujahid has said that no destructive groups including Daesh have physical presence in Afghanistan, adding the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) will not allow anyone to pose threat to any country in the region from the Afghan soil.
Mujahid made the remarks in a meeting with a delegation from Malaysia in Kabul on Thursday.
According to a statement released by the Ministry of Defense, Mujahid highlighted Malaysia’s “good treatment” of Afghan refugees and its long-standing relations with Afghanistan, and said that Malaysia is a powerful Islamic country and visits should increase.
He added that with the establishment of the Islamic Emirate, occupation and war ended in Afghanistan, and the country is fully secure.
Based on the statement, the Malaysian delegation called Afghanistan a friendly country and while emphasizing on comprehensive cooperation, it assured that what they have seen in Afghanistan will be shared with the authorities of their country.
The European Union signed an agreement worth 17 million euros with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) to improve access to basic services, increased economic opportunities and protection for Afghans on the move and their host communities in Afghanistan.
The needs of women and girls are a particular focus of the programme, EU said in a statement released on Thursday.
The statement noted that from January 2023 until April 2024, over 1.5 million Afghans returned from Pakistan and Iran.
“I am deeply moved by the hardship returnees face when being deported to Afghanistan. In a country suffering from poverty and climate change, and in a city that just saw devastating earthquakes, this truly is a crisis within a crisis.”, said Peteris Ustubs, Director for the Middle East, Asia and Pacific of the European Commission’s Department for International Partnerships during the signing ceremony at the IOM transit centre in Herat.
Raffaella Iodice, EU Chargée d’Affaires a.i. to Afghanistan, added “The solidarity of the Afghan people towards their brothers and sisters is an inspiration. We must assure that communities hosting and helping new arrivals are supported. The partnership with IOM ensures access to essential services and provides protection for Afghan returnees and their host communities. As women and girls can be particularly affected, we make sure that all members of society can benefit”.
“IOM’s continued partnership with the EU has been critical in enabling our teams to reach hundreds of thousands of Afghan returnees and other vulnerable communities in the country”, said IOM Afghanistan Chief of Mission, Maria Moita. “Thanks to this renewed commitment, we will be able to focus on addressing the immense challenges in the areas of return and contribute to reintegration, social cohesion, and longer-term solutions for those communities.”
This additional contribution is part of a 5-year programme that is being implemented across Afghanistan and in four countries in the region. It builds on the EU’s previous support to IOM to improve the wellbeing of Afghans forced to return to the country, EU said.
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