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UNHRC chief says he is ‘deeply concerned about worsening’ situation in Afghanistan

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said at the 53rd meeting of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) that the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan is worrying and the restrictions on women are increasing day by day.
Türk criticized the caretaker government and said that talks are ongoing with the ruling authorities of Afghanistan about removing these restrictions.
“I am deeply concerned about the worsening human rights situation in Afghanistan, the caretaker government of Afghanistan restricts human rights, especially the rights of women and girls. Now, our discussions with them are going on and our experts and lawyers are still there to deal with this issue,” said Türk.
At Monday’s meeting, the special rapporteur for human rights of the United Nations in Afghanistan Richard Bennett presented his report on the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan and said that pressure should be put on the Islamic Emirate to remove restrictions on women and to build an inclusive government.
“The education of girls and the activities of women in government offices are very important for the progress of the country and the future of Afghanistan. The caretaker government must adhere to all international obligations and create an inclusive government and respect all the rights of the Afghan people,” said Bennett.
Nasir Ahmad Andisheh, Afghanistan's representative in Geneva, also said that over the past two decades, Afghan women and girls have made good achievements in the field of education and training as they worked in government and non-government offices and served their people and society.
Simultaneously, the representatives of some countries at the meeting emphasized that the issue of women and girls' exclusion from work and education should be resolved through international institutions.
However, the Islamic Emirate does not consider holding such meetings without the presence of a representative of IEA to be effective and says that recently, international organizations have started publishing propaganda against the government.
IEA spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid says Afghanistan is an Islamic country and has a traditional society, and the government cannot approve women's rights according to western culture.
“We do not expect much from these meetings because the representative of the Islamic Emirate is not there to defend and make a fair judgment. Secondly, there is a difference of views. Afghanistan is an Islamic country and women's rights are protected according to Islamic Sharia law,” said Mujahid.
Meanwhile, some of the other participants at the meeting emphasized the need for positive interaction with the IEA and said that their attention has swayed from Afghanistan and they are trying to solve the people's problems, especially economic problems.
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Suicide bombing in Kunduz kills 5, injures 7
Jumaddin Khaksar, a spokesman for the provincial police headquarters, added that the suicide bomber detonated his explosives near Kabul Bank in Kunduz city.

A spokesman for the Kunduz police headquarters says five people were killed and seven others injured in a suicide bombing on Tuesday morning.
Jumaddin Khaksar, a spokesman for the provincial police headquarters, added that the suicide bomber detonated his explosives near Kabul Bank in Kunduz city.
According to Khaksar, the victims of the incident include security personnel, bank guards and civilians.
He added that no one has been arrested in connection with the explosion and that efforts are underway by security forces to identify the perpetrators of the explosion.
So far, no group has claimed responsibility for the bombing.
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Norwegian Refugee Council NGO to suspend aid work in over 20 countries due to Trump policy
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Wednesday that the administration would reach out to USAID to identify and designate programs that would be exempted from the stop-work orders.

The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) said on Monday it would suspend humanitarian work in nearly 20 countries worldwide after U.S. President Donald Trump imposed a freeze on U.S. foreign aid worldwide when he took office on January 20, Reuters reported.
The non-governmental organisation received just under 20% of its funding from the United States in 2024, or around $150 million, it said, with that funding helping some 1.6 million people worldwide.
"We have, in our 79-year history, never experienced such an abrupt discontinuation of aid funding from any of our many donor nations, inter-governmental organisations, or private donor agencies," the NRC said in a statement.
The agency said the consequences of suspending aid would become increasingly serious for people facing crises around the world.
Already in Ukraine, NRC said, it had to halt the scheduled February distribution of emergency support to 57,000 people in communities along the front lines and had to lay off staff worldwide.
The Trump administration said last Monday it would put on leave all directly hired employees of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) globally and recall thousands of personnel working overseas, read the report.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Wednesday that the administration would reach out to USAID to identify and designate programs that would be exempted from the stop-work orders.
However, the NRC said it was unable to take advantage of the temporary waiver unless the U.S. government resumed payments to its partners for work completed before the foreign assistance pause.
"We currently have millions of dollars in outstanding payment requests to the U.S. government. Without an immediate solution we may, at the end of February, be forced to halt U.S.-funded lifesaving humanitarian programmes," it said.
That included supplying clean water to 300,000 people trapped in the blockaded city of Djibo in Burkina Faso, and cutting funding to nearly 500 bakeries in Darfur, Sudan, which provide food hundreds of thousands of people, the NRC said.
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IEA slams Netanyahu’s suggestion Saudi Arabia host Palestinian state

The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) on Monday condemned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s suggestion that Saudi Arabia’s land be used to establish a Palestinian state.
IEA’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that the suggestion is “unrealistic and flagrant violation of internationally recognized facts and Saudi Arabia’s sovereignty.”
“Such statements by Netanyahu constitute a direct affront to established norms and a clear infringement on the legitimate rights of the Palestinians,” the statement said.
The IEA reiterated that Palestine is “the rightful land of the Palestinian people,” adding that “as long as the occupation continues, the inalienable rights of Palestinian people will remain violated, Gaza and the broader region will remain unstable, and such scenario benefits no one.”
On Thursday, Netanyahu told Channel 14: “The Saudis can create a Palestinian state in Saudi Arabia; they have a lot of land over there.”
President Donald Trump meanwhile has said he is "committed to buying and owning" the Gaza Strip and relocating the two million Palestinians living there. This comes despite global condemnation of the plan he unveiled last week.
He told reporters that he might allow Middle East countries to be involved in rebuilding parts of the territory and that he would make sure the Palestinian refugees would "live beautifully".
Hamas and Palestinians reiterated that Palestinian land was "not for sale".
But Netanyahu praised Trump's proposal as "revolutionary and creative".
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