Afghanistan

The international community must continue to engage with Taliban leaders in Afghanistan despite deep disagreement with their approach to women’s rights and inclusive governance, the UN Special Representative for the country told the Security Council on Tuesday. Roza Otunbayeva, who also heads the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), called for a “reframed engagement strategy”, expressing concern over the “lack of positive direction” in current efforts.

The United Nations said it had documented hundreds of cases of torture and other "cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment" committed by the Taliban de facto authorities in Afghanistan during the arrest and subsequent detention of individuals.

China has sent a new ambassador to Afghanistan, marking the first time a foreign envoy has been appointed at the ambassadorial level since the Taliban regained power in Kabul two years ago.

The “shocking” and “cruel” oppression of Afghan women and girls by the Taliban against the backdrop of a severe humanitarian crisis has put the country’s future in jeopardy, UN rights chief Volker Türk warned on Tuesday. “Human rights in Afghanistan are in a state of collapse,” he told the Human Rights Council, before   sounding the alarm over ongoing reports of extrajudicial killings, torture and ill-treatment and arbitrary arrests and detentions, as well as serious violations against former Government officials, as documented in a new human rights office (OHCHR) report.

[…] Thomas West, U.S. special representative for Afghanistan, underscored the reasons behind the diplomatic standoff during a Tuesday event at the Stimson Center, a nonpartisan think tank in Washington.

Methamphetamine trafficking in Afghanistan and neighbouring countries is surging, according to a report published on Sunday by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). Understanding Illegal Methamphetamine Manufacture in Afghanistan, highlights a drastic increase in seizures of the drug, from 2.5 tons in 2017 to 29.7 tons in 2021.

The cut in rations comes amidst growing alarm over shrinking aid for Afghanistan, where a U.N. humanitarian response plan is only about a quarter funded, even after the budget was downgraded in the face of funding shortfalls.

The vice and virtue minister, Mohammad Khalid Hanafi, visited the province earlier this month and asked security personnel to stop women from visiting the park, saying “sightseeing is not a must for women.”

A new publication from the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) presents “credible” reports that between 15 August 2021 and 30 June 2023, the country’s de facto authorities were responsible for 218 extrajudicial killings, 14 enforced disappearances, over 144 instances of torture and ill treatment, and 424 arbitrary arrests and detentions.

The Taliban on Wednesday banned all political parties in Afghanistan, stating that such activities are against Islamic law, or Sharia.