Afghanistan

The Taliban takeover of Afghanistan accelerated the country’s human rights crisis and humanitarian catastrophe, Human Rights Watch said today in its World Report 2022.

The UN and partners launched a more than $5 billion funding appeal for Afghanistan on Tuesday, in the hope of shoring up collapsing basic services there, which have left 22 million in need of assistance inside the country, and 5.7 million people requiring help beyond its borders.

[…] This Alert focuses on developments since the Taliban take-over of Kabul on 15 August 2021, shedding light on the impact of the current contextual dynamics on the rights of women and girls.

The UN Security Council on Wednesday unanimously adopted a US-proposed resolution that facilitates humanitarian aid to Afghanistan, which is on the verge of economic collapse, while keeping funds out of Taliban hands. The resolution is a first step by the UN after months of wrangling over how to avert a humanitarian catastrophe amid economic meltdown in Afghanistan since the Taliban swept back to power in mid-August.

A new survey finds that at least 40 percent of media outlets in Afghanistan have disappeared and more than 80 percent of women journalists lost their jobs since the Islamist Taliban seized control of the country in mid-August.

Afghanistan’s economy is in “free fall”, the UN Emergency Relief Coordinator told a special meeting on Sunday, warning that if decisive and compassionate action is not taken immediately, it may “pull the entire population with it”.

International donors have agreed to transfer $280m (£210) from a frozen fund to UN food and health services in Afghanistan, the World Bank says. The country faces a deep humanitarian and economic crisis made worse by the removal of financial support after the Taliban seized power in August.

More Afghans facing extreme poverty are turning to opium production as a means of survival. Despite promises to the contrary, the Taliban are unlikely to oppose cultivation of the narcotic cash crop.

Afghanistan's ruling Taliban on Sunday rejected Western allegations they were carrying out targeted killings of security officials linked to the ousted U.S.-backed government in Kabul, saying the Islamist group was fully committed to enforcing a general amnesty across the country.

Several European countries are considering opening a joint diplomatic mission in Afghanistan, French President Emmanuel Macron has said. A number of issues had to be resolved - particularly security - for ambassadors to return, Mr Macron said, but he hoped a mission would open soon. This would not amount to a political recognition of the Taliban, he said.