Afghanistan

Islamic countries formally launched Monday a trust fund to help ease the humanitarian and economic crisis in Afghanistan where millions of people face hunger and poverty.

Seven months after Afghanistan’s fall to the Taliban, the Security Council on Thursday renewed the mandate of the UN special political mission in the country, charging it with a robust set of priorities, ranging from coordinating humanitarian aid delivery to human rights monitoring and facilitating dialogue.

It is the first major human rights report since the Taliban seized power from the former US-backed government in August.

A senior leader of Afghanistan’s Taliban, listed by the United States as a global terrorist, made a maiden public appearance Saturday, his first since the Islamist group seized power in August, days before U.S.-led international forces withdrew from the country.

Six months after the fall of Afghanistan to the Taliban, it is time for concerned countries to deepen their engagement with the country’s new authorities and take action to prevent an irreversible economic collapse, the top UN official in Kabul told the Security Council on Wednesday. 

A diverse array of human rights organisations have come together to establish an alliance to collectively monitor the dire human rights situation in Afghanistan and advocate for the protection of human rights and accountability for all violations and abuses.

[…] Facing domestic and international reactions to the recent travel restrictions announced by the Islamic Emirate on Sunday, on Tuesday Zabihullah Mujahid said Afghans who have legal documents and invitations can travel abroad and return to the country without any problem.

The Taliban are creating a “grand army” for Afghanistan that will include officers and troops who served the old regime, the official tasked with overseeing the military’s transformation said Monday.

Afghanistan’s hardline Islamic rulers say they plan to “reconsider” their policy towards the United States if the administration of President Joe Biden refuses to return the full $7 billion in assets that have been frozen in the United States. President Biden issued an executive order last Friday calling on banks to set aside $3.5 billion of the frozen assets in a trust fund slated for humanitarian assistance in Afghanistan.

Six months after the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, humanitarians fear a growing hunger crisis could kill more Afghans than the preceding 20 years of war. … Nearly two-thirds of the population – about 23 million people – need humanitarian assistance. That’s up 30% from just one year ago.