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UNHCR halts cash distribution for Afghan returnees due to ban on women working
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has announced that it has suspended its activities at encashment centers for returnees across Afghanistan due to the Islamic Emirate’s ban on women working.
“The decision was taken for operational reasons, as it is not possible to interview and collect information for the 52 per cent of returnee women, without female staff,” UNHCR said in a statement on Thursday. “We are in constructive discussion with the de factor authorities on this issue and look forward to a resolution that enables female staff to return and for female returnees to be supported, in line with cultural norms.”
Meanwhile, the United Nations called on Thursday for the IEA to lift restrictions on its local female staff coming to work, warning that aid for earthquake victims and other vulnerable Afghans is at risk.
The IEA authorities deployed security forces at the entrances to U.N. compounds and field offices, preventing Afghan women staff from entering, the U.N. said in a statement.
The U.N. said that de facto arrangements in place up to now had allowed aid to be delivered.
“Such arrangements have enabled the United Nations to deliver critical assistance across the country, through a culturally sensitive and principled approach ensuring the delivery of assistance by women, for women,” the global body said.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Monday that security risks in Central Asia and developments in Afghanistan are among the primary concerns for the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO).
The CSTO is a regional military alliance that includes Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan.
Speaking in Moscow during a meeting with CSTO Secretary-General Taalatbek Masadykov, Lavrov described the region’s security challenges as “central” to the organization’s agenda.
“The problems that are currently among the central ones for the CSTO are new challenges and threats. I am referring to the situation in the Central Asian region of collective security, as well as everything related to what is happening in Afghanistan,” he said.
He praised Masadykov as “one of the leading experts” on Central Asian security, noting that his experience could enhance coordination and increase the effectiveness of allied actions.
Similar to NATO, the CSTO considers an attack on one member state as an attack on all.
Countries in the region have always expressed concern about security threats from Afghanistan. The Islamic Emirate, however, has dismissed these concerns and assured that it will not allow Afghanistan’s soil to be used against another country.
The Ministry of Higher Education of Afghanistan has announced that the leader of the Islamic Emirate has approved the establishment of a faculty dedicated to “Prophetic Medicine.”
According to the ministry, this new faculty will play a vital role in advancing medical sciences and training skilled healthcare professionals across the country.
Afghanistan’s Minister of Borders and Tribal Affairs, Noorullah Noori, has announced that the long-delayed demarcation and renovation of border markers along the Afghanistan–Iran frontier will officially begin in the near future.
According to a statement from the ministry, Noori made the remarks during a meeting with Iran’s ambassador to Kabul, Ali-Reza Bikdeli.
He assured the Iranian side that the Islamic Emirate is fully committed to accelerating the process and resolving any challenges that may arise during implementation.
In a separate statement, the Iranian Embassy in Kabul said Bikdeli underscored the importance of bilateral cooperation on border issues, describing it as a key factor in strengthening and expanding overall relations between the two countries.
Officials from both sides agreed nearly three months ago to resume the border-marker renovation project, which had remained stalled for the past seven years.
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