‘The world cannot abandon the people’: Afghanistan’s top humanitarian official
Dr. Ramiz Alakbarov, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Afghanistan, said that amid extremely tight budgets, the move would “further undermines the ability of humanitarian partners to support the populationespecially the most vulnerable such as women and girls”.
“The world cannot abandon the people of Afghanistan in this troubled time” Dr. Alakbarov insists, before fading The international community “must not further punish the Afghan people by withholding critical funding”.
Several UN officials, starting with Secretary-General António Guterres, have condemned the latest Taliban decision. On Wednesday, the UN deputy chief, Amina Mohammed, pledged continued engagement by the UN leadership with Taliban representatives to resolve the situation.
A previous initiative
In a statement on Wednesday, the UN Assistance Agency in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said that the Special Envoy Roza Otunbayeva, is engaging the authorities at the highest possible level, as well as other member countries, the donor community and humanitarian partners, to replace the new Taliban regime. .
“In the history of the United Nations, no other government has tried to ban women from working for the Organization because they are women. This decision represents an attack on women, the basic principles of the UN, and on international law,” Ms. Otunbayeva said.
The greatest help
With a record 28.3 million people in need of assistance in 2023 and a humanitarian appeal of $4.6 billion, Afghanistan is the largest aid project in the world. It is also the lowest UN budget in the world, at less than five percent.
“While we continue to engage with the de-facto Taliban authorities to find a solution to these laws, we urge the world countries not to further torture the people of Afghanistan by withholding important funding”, said the Resident and Humanitarian Leader in Kabul.
Ramiz Alakbarov, UN Special Representative in Afghanistan, briefed the media at a press conference on the situation in Afghanistan.
“Aid agencies is on the ground providing life-saving assistance to millions of people, and national and international NGOs have continued to carry out programs in the past three months, despite very difficult conditions.
Keep the lifeline
“The population has already endured so much, it would be irresponsible to cause further harm to them by depriving them of essential humanitarian life,” said Dr. Alakbarov.
Over the past twenty months, Taliban leaders have issued a series of increasingly restrictive measures targeting women and girls which have sought to limit their participation in all aspects of social life, the economy and politics.
Rights experts demand the return of the Taliban
A large group of UN-appointed independent human rights experts on Thursday demanded an immediate reversal of the Taliban’s ban on Afghan women working for the UN.
They described it as illegal discrimination, and a direct attack on women, and “completely against the principles and principles” of the UN Charter, and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR).
All Afghans live in danger
The new ban will also hinder the delivery of vital aid to millions of Afghans who urgently need support, with many of the worst impacts being on women and girls, they warned.
“Continuing to target, exclude and marginalize women and girls in Afghan society and preventing women from working in many professions in Afghanistan, the Taliban are putting at risk the lives of all Afghans and ruining the country’s future,” the Human Rights Commission appointed experts said.
“The Taliban are still showing it disregard for women’s rights and their well-beingand how far they will go to exclude women from all walks of life and deprive them of their rights and dignity”.
Lift bans immediately
“The targeting of women and girls in Afghanistan and the denial of their basic rights because they are women increased concern about persecutiona crime against humanityand those who are there must be held accountable,” they said.
“We call on so true executive from immediately lift the bans on women working with national and international NGOs and the United Nations”, their joint statement concluded.
Special reporters and other independent experts are authorized to monitor and report on specific subject matters or national situations. They are not UN staff and do not receive any compensation for their work.
