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UN Security Council hears how IEA bans on women are ‘obscuring’ positive achievements
The UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Afghanistan, Roza Otunbayeva said on Wednesday that the bans affecting women and girls in the country were “obscuring” some of the other more positive achievements that have taken place under the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA).
She said UNAMA continues to face a “complicated situation in Afghanistan,” and that restrictions against Afghan women working for the United Nations places a question mark over the organization’s activities across the country.
Briefing the UN Security Council, Otunbayeva said: “We have been given no explanations by the de facto authorities for this ban and no assurances that it will be lifted.”
She stated UNAMA will not put their national female staff in danger, and therefore have stopped them from reporting to work since the ban was imposed in April. All male national staff performing non-essential tasks are also still at home.
Otunbayeva went on to say, the UN in Afghanistan is “steadfast” over their decision that “female national staff will not be replaced by male national staff as some de facto authorities have suggested.”
She said: “The Taliban (Islamic Emirate) ask to be recognized by the United Nations and its members, but at the same time they act against the key values expressed in the United Nations Charter.”
On positive changes identified, she said: “One of these is the growing evidence that the Taliban’s ban on opium cultivation, announced in April last year, has been effectively enforced in many parts of the country. According to initial media reports, cultivation of opium has significantly decreased.”
She added however that at the same time, the opium economy has helped sustain parts of the rural economy in Afghanistan. “Donors should consider allocating funding to alternative livelihood programmes that address the specific needs of farmers affected by the ban,” she said.
Otunbayeva also pointed out that the Afghan economy remains stable, albeit at a low equilibrium and that according to the World,
inflation is declining and the exchange rate remains steady.
“In part this is due to the welcome reduction of high-level corruption. The de facto authorities continue to report the collection of sufficient revenues to finance government operations, including paying civil service salaries,” she said.
However, this macro-economic stability, coexists with severe household poverty. She said 58 percent of households struggle to satisfy basic needs and that humanitarian efforts continue to address the needs of the nearly 20 million people.
She warned that given the drop in donor funding, United Nations cash shipments, required for humanitarian operations, are expected to decrease.
She went on to say that the IEA is making concerted counter-terrorism efforts, particularly with Daesh. Despite this, attacks have taken place, she said.
Otunbayeva also stated that while the end of the armed conflict has greatly reduced the number of civilian casualties since the IEA came to power, the United Nations Mine Action Service in Afghanistan estimates around 100 casualties per month from unexploded ordnance.
According to her, UNAMA is “greatly concerned by Afghanistan’s vulnerability to climate change. Years of drought have compounded the effects of conflict and poverty. Climate change is fostering population displacements inside Afghanistan that could be destabilizing,” she said adding that in order to address Afghanistan’s lack of water and consequent food insecurity, the IEA has begun digging a canal that will divert waters from the northern Amu Darya river, raising the concerns of neighboring countries.
“Overall the need to mitigate the effects of climate change requires a more specific dialogue between the de facto authorities and the international community,” she said.
The Ministry of Public Health announced on Tuesday it has signed a cooperation agreement with the Ministry of Higher Education aimed at expanding scientific, research, educational, and technical cooperation.
At the signing ceremony held in Kabul, Noor Jalal Jalali, Minister of Public Health, said that the agreement would lead to significant improvements in the capacity-building of students and doctors, ensure that research is conducted based on evidence, and enable the collection of accurate data.
Meanwhile, Neda Mohammad Nadeem, Minister of Higher Education, described the agreement as beneficial to the public and to both institutions, stressing the need to train individuals at universities who can contribute to social development and make the country self-sufficient in the public health sector.
The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) has convened a new round of Doha Process Working Group meetings focusing on counter-narcotics and private sector development.
The meetings, held in Kabul on February 3 and 9, brought together representatives of UN member states and international organizations, officials of the Islamic Emirate, and subject-matter experts.
According to UNAMA, discussions in the counter-narcotics working group centered on efforts by Islamic Emirate authorities and the international community to support alternative livelihoods for Afghans previously dependent on poppy cultivation and the illicit opium trade. Participants also reviewed drug-use prevention and treatment initiatives, as well as law-enforcement measures to curb narcotics production and trafficking.
The private sector working group focused on job creation and entrepreneurship, with particular attention to women’s participation in the private sector, market integration, access to finance, and the development of private banking and financial infrastructure.
UNAMA said both working groups identified priority areas for enhanced engagement and explored more effective and sustainable approaches to supporting Afghan men and women. Participants also examined the linkages between the two areas, noting that private sector development is a key source of livelihoods, while counter-narcotics efforts contribute to Afghanistan’s economic and social stability.
The working groups were established following the third Meeting of Special Envoys held in Doha, Qatar, in June and July 2024, in line with recommendations of the Independent Assessment endorsed by the UN Security Council. The process aims to promote more coherent, coordinated, and structured engagement with Afghanistan’s de facto authorities for the benefit of the Afghan people.
UNAMA added that stakeholders engage in the working groups on an ongoing basis, with full-format meetings convened periodically. Since their establishment, the groups have improved information-sharing, helped mobilize additional resources, and facilitated expert exchanges to strengthen support for the Afghan people.
At a regular meeting of the Economic Commission chaired by Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs, the National Policy for the Development of the Agriculture and Livestock Sector was approved.
According to a statement from the deputy PM’s office, the key objectives of the policy include the mechanization of the agriculture and livestock sector; development of agricultural, irrigation, and livestock research and extension systems; management of irrigation systems; support for investment in these sectors; and ensuring public access to high-quality agricultural and animal products.
During the same meeting, the development plan for the fish farming sector was also approved.
Under this plan, through private sector investment, 7,700 small, medium, and large fish production and farming facilities will be established on 6,500 hectares of land in various parts of the country.
The statement added that the implementation of this plan will create direct employment opportunities for 50,000 people and indirect employment for 250,000 others.
Ministries of Public Health and Higher Education sign cooperation agreement
UNAMA holds new round of Working Group meetings on counter-narcotics and private sector
Economic Commission approves national policy for development of agriculture
Afghan authorities prevent three forced marriages in Balkh, Kunar, and Parwan
Doha process private sector meeting highlights growth and coordination in Afghanistan
Afghanistan–China joint market opens in Kabul
Pakistan approves re-export of stranded Afghan transit trade cargo
Pakistan army orders evacuation of Tirah Valley, fears of mass displacement grow
Afghan traders sign deal to import pharmaceuticals from Bangladesh
Uzbekistan pushes forward with Trans-Afghan railway project
Tahawol: Pakistan’s Foreign Policy Failure of Towards Afghanistan discussed
Saar: Regional Problems, Opportunities, and Challenges discussed
Saar: Afghanistan’s relations and opportunities with regional countries
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