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Geneva/New York, September 13 – The United Nations has received pledges of over $1.2 billion in humanitarian assistance for 11 million Afghans for the four remaining months of this year. The promised funds doubled the amount that the UN had sought to deliver urgent basic needs to Afghans suffering hardship, famine and displacement and it was achieved during a one-day conference held in Geneva with the participation of 100 government representatives and 30 regional and international organizations.

UN News said Martin Griffiths, the UN Emergency Relief Coordinator confirmed that more than $1.2 billion in humanitarian and development aid in total had been promised, incorporating both the appeal made on September 13 and the regional response.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the pledges represented “a quantum leap in relation to the financial commitment of the international community towards the Afghan people.”

“We are of course very much concerned in making sure that humanitarian assistance is an entry point for effective engagement with the Taliban in all other aspects of concern of the international community,” he said.

UN News said Guterres confirmed that the UN has received two letters from the Taliban, one dealing with the humanitarian assistance and the second one about security for relief workers.

“One was guaranteeing full humanitarian work of the UN and the respect by the Taliban to that full humanitarian work; and the second, that they are able to provide security and even escorts when there are situations of insecurity that would justify it,” he said. “So not only there is an attitude of acceptance but there is an attitude of support.”

“There is a clear interest of the Taliban also to engage with the international community and I think this is what gives also the international community some leverage.”

The UN said Afghan people have endured decades of conflict and deprivation and their vulnerability has not improved following years of drought, poverty and lack of basic needs and services. It said the country’s economy is grinding to a halt with cash in short supply while deep concern is rising for the rights of women and girls under the new regime.

“Afghans urgently need food, medicine, health services, safe water, sanitation, and protection. UN agencies and non-governmental partners have launched a Flash Appeal seeking US$606 million for the remainder of the year to bring vital relief to 11 million people,” the UN office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs said in a press release announcing the Geneva conference.

It said international and Afghan humanitarian organizations are on the ground and can deliver in the rapidly changing context. They need fast and flexible funding and sustained access into and around Afghanistan.

The flash appeal said fully funding would provide a “lifeline for millions of people in Afghanistan who are facing incredible uncertainty at the same time as the devastating impact of the drought is beginning to take hold, a harsh winter approaches, and the COVID-19 pandemic continues to rage.”

It is expected that 750,000 Afghans would be displaced internally throughout 2021 prompted by conflict, the Taliban takeover of the country, the withdrawal of US and other foreign troops.

In addition, more than 757,000 undocumented migrants have returned from Iran and Pakistan as of beginning of September.

The appeal said Afghanistan is experiencing its second severe drought in four years, which severely threatened food production, livestocks and rural livelihoods. It said 12.2 million people, or 30 per cent of the population, are facing ‘emergency’ or ‘crisis’ levels of food insecurity.

“The 2021 harvest is expected to be below average and the next lean season is expected to be more intense and arrive earlier, leading to further deterioration in the food security situation across the country. Initial estimates indicate that total wheat production will be 25 per cent less than last year. Long-term forecasts indicate that the drought will continue into 2022,” the appeal said.

UN News reported that Martin Griffiths, the UN Emergency Relief Coordinator, said in an interview in Geneva just before the high-level Geneva conference on Afghanistan that he hoped to receive written assurances from the Taliban’s Deputy Prime Minister Mullah Baradar that aid agencies and their partners will be able to operate freely inside Afghanistan.

Griffiths said he had met in Kabul with Afghans displaced by the conflict and turmoil that the flash appeal was designed to help them because most of the displaced wanted to return home and they would need money to pay for transportation and repair their damaged houses.

“Money well spent, you would imagine, if we want to stabilize the region and if we want to enable people to stay in Afghanistan instead of fleeing to neighboring countries and beyond,” Griffiths said. He said also he held talks with Taliban authorities.

“What they said to me was that, ‘We promise that the rights of women and girls will be respected’ – subject, they added, ‘to the religion and culture of Afghanistan.’ Now, this is a work in progress, and we’ve been here before. And so, we need to have a lot more discussion in the days to come, in the weeks to come about what that really means. And that’s very important for the people of Afghanistan, but it’s also important for the international community.”

 Griffiths, a veteran humanitarian who last negotiated with the Taliban in 1998 when they came to power, insisted on the need to have “a lot more discussion in the days to come, in the weeks to come” with them about how to ensure continued international engagement, amid concerns over the loss of women’s rights.

“This is what the Taliban themselves told me…they have come to power sooner than they thought, they are unprepared for this,” he said.

“Mullah Baradar, who is one of the top leaders of the movement in this new administration, confirmed support for all of those elements,” Griffiths said. “This is essentially a description of the humanitarian space within which agencies operate. He is now turning, at my request, those oral commitments into written assurances. And we hope to have that letter from him with us on Monday (September 13) here in Geneva.”

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New York, August 30 – The UN Security Council said in a strongly worded resolution that it expects the Taliban to respect its commitments that include allowing any Afghans who want to leave their country to do so freely.

The 15-nation council said the Taliban committed in a statement on August 27 that any Afghans can travel “anytime they want to and may exit Afghanistan via any border crossing, both air and ground” and also from a “reopened and secure Kabul airport, with no one preventing them from traveling.”

The resolution said the council “expects that the Taliban will adhere to these and all other commitments, including regarding the safe, secure, and orderly departure from Afghanistan of Afghans and all foreign nationals.”

Two suicide bombing attacks on August 26 against a hotel in Kabul and near the Kabul airport killed more than 300 people and 28 military personnel, including 13 US soldiers. The Islamic State in Khorasan province claimed the attacks.

The resolution, which was initiated by France and the United Kingdom, was adopted to create a safe humanitarian passage for Afghans and foreigners to leave the country unhindered after August 31, the deadline set by the United States to end the evacuation of Afghans and US citizens through the Kabul airport, and US presence in Afghanistan.

China and Russia abstained when the council voted to adopt the document known as Resolution 2593. The United States, France and the United Kingdom and 10 other countries voted in favor of the resolution. The council is the highest political body in the UN systems.

The resolution condemned “in the strongest terms” the bomb attacks and demanded that “Afghan territory not be used to threaten or attack country or to shelter or train terrorists, or to plan or to finance terrorist acts.”

It called for strengthening efforts to provide humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan and for unhindered access for the United Nations and its specialized agencies to carry out their work in the country.

The resolution reaffirmed the importance of upholding human rights, including those of women, children and minorities. It encourages all Afghan parties to seek an inclusive, negotiated political settlement “with the full, equal and meaningful participation of women.”

British Ambassador Barbara Woodward told reporters after the council meeting that the short resolution was in response to the bomb attacks and to highlight the situation in Afghanistan.

“We were all horrified by the bomb attack on Kabul airport, the suicide bomb attack, and send our condolences to the bereaved. This is a Security Council first response to that situation,” she said.

She said the resolution also “captured the key points on counterterrorism, humanitarian access, human rights and safe passage in particular.”

“But what really struck me from the discussions we had today in the Council and the discussions we’ve had in the four meetings leading up to today is the shared importance that we all attach to the stability and security of Afghanistan – that Afghanistan should not become a haven for terrorism and that it should not be in a position to disrupt its neighbors. So I think there’s a lot of shared ground for us to work from, although in this case, Russia and China abstained rather than voted for the resolution.”

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New York, August 27 – The bomb attacks in Kabul have accelerated the already tense and volatile situation in Afghanistan and the country’s humanitarian needs are expected to grow, an official of the World Health Organization said one day after the deadly explosions that targeted Afghan civilians and US soldiers at the Kabul airport.

The UN Security Council issued (August 27) a statement condemning the attacks in the strongest terms. The statement “reaffirmed that terrorism in all its forms and manifestations constitutes one of the most serious threats to international peace and security. Deliberately targeting civilians and personnel assisting in the evacuation of civilians is especially abhorrent and must be condemned.”

UN officials also condemned the bomb attacks at a hotel in Kabul and near the airport thronged with fleeing Afghans and foreigners, which killed more than 100 Afghan civilians and 13 US soldiers. The UN said the attacks strengthened its resolve to continue to help the country after the Taliban’s swift military takeover. The Islamic State in Khorosan Province (ISKP) claimed responsibility for the deadly attacks.

“In the very fluid context of Afghanistan there are many uncertainties and unknowns,” Dr Rick Brennan, Regional Emergency Director, WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region.  “But what remains certain is that the humanitarian needs across the country are enormous and growing.”

Brenner joined other humanitarian organizations in warning that Afghanistan remains a “tough place to be a woman or a child.”

“We have to remember that maternal mortality rates have reduced by around 60 percent and child mortality rates by around 50 percent over the past two decades.” he said. “Moreover, thousands of health care workers have been trained, including female health workers – midwives, nurses, doctors and so on.  We cannot have a rolling back of those health gains.” 

WHO has staff in all 34 Afghan provinces assisting 2,200 local health facilities monitor the health situation and most of them remain open. Brenner said medical supplies are rapidly running out and WHO is not currently able to meet all demands at those facilities.

The fall of Afghanistan has exposed a dire humanitarian situation as nearly half of the country’s 40 million people need daily food rations and other assistance when there is no existing emergency supplies and available relief supplies will run out by October, UN agencies said.

UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is following with great concern the situation in Kabul, especially at the airport, which caused some casualties. He said Guterres “condemns this terrorist attack which killed and injured a number of civilians and extends his deep condolences to the families of those killed. He stands in solidarity and wishes a speedy recovery to those injured.”

“This incident underscores the volatility of the situation on the ground in Afghanistan but also strengthens our resolve as we continue to deliver urgent assistance across the country in support of the Afghan people.”

The World Food Program, the lead UN agency in the global frontline against hunger, said 14 million Afghans are hungry daily and some 2 million malnourished children need also urgent health care.

The World Health Organization and the UN Children’s Fund are rushing medical supplies to treat increased number of Covid-19 cases and children in need of health care. UNICEF has 13 offices in Afghanistan and is supporting about 10 million children and their families affected by the humanitarian crisis.

The International Organization of Migration said more than 550,000 Afghans fled their homes since July to escape Taliban forces, swelling the number of internally displaced Afghans to 5.5 million.

The UN office for humanitarian assistance said 18.4 million Afghans need relief assistance but there is a shortfall of $200 million out of the total budget of $550 million for 2021.

UN News reports quoted WFP as saying that a humanitarian crisis of incredible proportion is unfolding in Afghanistan as conflict, combined with drought and COVID-19, is pushing Afghans into a humanitarian catastrophe. WFP said it urgently needs $200 million in humanitarian aid for Afghanistan and $22 million for refugees in Iran, Pakistan and Tajikistan.

WFP said it needs to assist 9 million people per month by November and meeting this goal requires the prepositioning of food stocks in Afghanistan and at strategic border points before winter.

“The price of wheat has gone up by 25 per cent in the last months and, therefore, with the economic situation and with the turmoil in which the country has been thrown, it is very difficult now to see the future for this population a future which is food secure without malnourished children,” WFP Regional Director John Aylieff said, adding that WFP had planned to reach almost 500,000 people in and around Mazar, the fourth-largest city of Afghanistan, with wheat flour, oil, lentils and salt.

Transfers of food and health supplies became more difficult at the Kabul airport since Taliban forces took over the government in Kabul in mid-August and the tense military situation there.

 “As humanitarian needs in Afghanistan increase, the abilities to respond to those needs are rapidly declining,” WHO and UNICEF said in a statement on August 22. The agencies called for “immediate and unimpeded access to deliver medicines and other lifesaving supplies to millions of people in need of aid, including 300 000 people displaced in the last two months alone.”

“WHO and UNICEF are committed to stay and deliver for the people of Afghanistan,” the statement said.

“However, with no commercial aircraft currently permitted to land in Kabul, we have no way to get supplies into the country and to those in need.  Other humanitarian agencies are similarly constrained.

“WHO and UNICEF call for the immediate establishment of a humanitarian airbridge for the sustained and unimpeded delivery of aid into Afghanistan.  We are also closely following up with all UN and international partners to explore options for expediting aid shipments.” 

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New York, August 26 – The United Nations has condemned the bomb attacks in Kabul and outside its airport thronged with fleeing Afghans and foreigners, saying that the situation has strengthened its resolve to continue to help the country after the Taliban’s swift military takeover.

The fall of Afghanistan has exposed a dire humanitarian situation as nearly half of the country’s 40 million people need daily food rations and other assistance when there is no existing emergency supplies and available relief supplies will run out by October, UN agencies said.

UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is following with great concern the situation in Kabul, especially at the airport, which caused some casualties. He said Guterres “condemns this terrorist attack which killed and injured a number of civilians and extends his deep condolences to the families of those killed. He stands in solidarity and wishes a speedy recovery to those injured.”

“This incident underscores the volatility of the situation on the ground in Afghanistan but also strengthens our resolve as we continue to deliver urgent assistance across the country in support of the Afghan people.”

The World Food Program, the lead UN agency in the global frontline against hunger, said 14 million Afghans are hungry daily and some 2 million malnourished children need also urgent health care.

The World Health Organization and the UN Children’s Fund are rushing medical supplies to treat increased number of Covid-19 cases and children in need of health care. UNICEF has 13 offices in Afghanistan and is supporting about 10 million children and their families affected by the humanitarian crisis.

The International Organization of Migration said more than 550,000 Afghans fled their homes since July to escape Taliban forces, swelling the number of internally displaced Afghans to 5.5 million.

The UN office for humanitarian assistance said 18.4 million Afghans need relief assistance but there is a shortfall of $200 million out of the total budget of $550 million for 2021.

UN News reports quoted WFP as saying that a humanitarian crisis of incredible proportion is unfolding in Afghanistan as conflict, combined with drought and COVID-19, is pushing Afghans into a humanitarian catastrophe. WFP said it urgently needs $200 million in humanitarian aid for Afghanistan and $22 million for refugees in Iran, Pakistan and Tajikistan.

WFP said it needs to assist 9 million people per month by November and meeting this goal requires the prepositioning of food stocks in Afghanistan and at strategic border points before winter.

“The price of wheat has gone up by 25 per cent in the last months and, therefore, with the economic situation and with the turmoil in which the country has been thrown, it is very difficult now to see the future for this population a future which is food secure without malnourished children,” WFP Regional Director John Aylieff said, adding that WFP had planned to reach almost 500,000 people in and around Mazar, the fourth-largest city of Afghanistan, with wheat flour, oil, lentils and salt.

Transfers of food and health supplies became more difficult at the Kabul airport since Taliban forces took over the government in Kabul in mid-August and the tense military situation there.

 “As humanitarian needs in Afghanistan increase, the abilities to respond to those needs are rapidly declining,” WHO and UNICEF said in a statement on August 22. The agencies called for “immediate and unimpeded access to deliver medicines and other lifesaving supplies to millions of people in need of aid, including 300 000 people displaced in the last two months alone.”

“WHO and UNICEF are committed to stay and deliver for the people of Afghanistan,” the statement said.

“However, with no commercial aircraft currently permitted to land in Kabul, we have no way to get supplies into the country and to those in need.  Other humanitarian agencies are similarly constrained.

“WHO and UNICEF call for the immediate establishment of a humanitarian airbridge for the sustained and unimpeded delivery of aid into Afghanistan.  We are also closely following up with all UN and international partners to explore options for expediting aid shipments.” 

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New York, August 20 – The United Nations headquarters has informed international media as well as the 193 governments that will send representatives to attend the annual General Assembly session that pandemic’s restrictions will be strictly observed.

The UN will officially open its 76^th General Assembly on September 14 but the political debate involving all 193 countries begins on September 21 and runs through to the end of the month.

 The assembly will host a UN Food Systems Summit on September 23, a major event aimed at reshaping the global food systems that failed under the pandemic severely affecting more than 800 million people worldwide with severe hunger and malnutrition. The summit will be virtual while the assembly meeting might allow a minimum of in person attendance.

The United States, which hosts the UN headquarters in New York, has urged heads of state and government to refrain from traveling to the US and instead contribute virtually to UN meetings.

The US sent a diplomatic note to the UN on August 17 suggesting that meetings be mostly virtual to prevent a “super-spreader event.” The note said Covid-19 cases were increasing and any large gatherings of people in New York would “needlessly increase risk to our community, New Yorkers and the other travelers.”

It urged government leaders who plan to address the assembly session to send pre-recorded speeches. Such a practice was imposed during the assembly session in September 2020 for the first time in UN history.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said the national seven-day average for new Covid-19 cases is currently over 130,000. Around 86 percent of counties in the US are rated as having a “high” rate of transmission by the CDC.

The UN has decided that the 193-nation General Assembly could be held in person with each country’s delegation to be headed by the president or prime minister, or their representative, accompanied by one to three delegates.

The General Assembly issued regulations in early August for high-level meetings and the general debate, reminding attendees that entry to the headquarters will continue to be restricted, including wearing of facial masks and keeping a physical distance.

“International travelers are required to have met local incoming travel requirements as they relate to Covid-19,” the regulations said.

The UN said Covid-19 restrictions apply to international media covering the assembly session and media access to headquarters will be limited to resident correspondents and a very limited number of official media of visiting delegations.

UN Biodiversity Conference in Kunming, China

The pandemic has also prompted changes in the UN Biodiversity Conference that had been scheduled to take place in Kunming, China in October. Organizers now said the conference will take place in two phases with the first one virtual October 11-15 and the second one, in person, April 25-May 8, 2022, at high-level participation to conclude negotiations and decide on a new Global Biodiversity Framework.

CBD Executive Secretary, Elizabeth Maruma Mrema, said the two-phase summit is essential given ongoing uncertainties created by Covid-19 and the necessity for face-to-face meetings to conclude the complex global framework negotiations.

“Addressing the challenge of halting ongoing losses of species and genetic diversity and the damage to our ecosystems will determine the well-being of humanity for generations to come,” she said. “Protecting nature’s invaluable contributions to people requires that we harmonize our policies and actions at every level. The global biodiversity framework, based on the best available science and evidence, is fundamental to meeting these needs.”

 “Convening virtually throughout the pandemic has limited the times for essential global meetings of CBD Parties, Bureau and subsidiary bodies to narrow windows. The Secretariat extends deep gratitude to all participants worldwide for their extraordinary consideration, dedication and cooperation to advance negotiations as far as they have in these extraordinary circumstances.”

“Convening COP-15 in two parts will enable maximum progress on the several remaining difficult issues prior to our conclusive face-to-face sessions in Kunming.”

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New York, August 16 – The United Nations decided to stay put in Afghanistan after Taliban armed forces took over the Kabul government, spreading fear that humanitarian work by international organizations in the last two decades would be lost and the country would harbor terrorism.

The UN Security Council held a public meeting on the dramatic development taking place in Afghanistan with diplomats calling the events in the country a tragedy and issuing warnings that the Taliban government would not be recognized by the international community if it fails to abide by international agreements.

The UN said the humanitarian crisis existing in Afghanistan under conflict has already affected 18 million people, or half of the country’s population. The Taliban’s military victory over the US-supported government in Kabul caused a large influx of Afghans trying to escape the country, causing chaos, fear and insecurity.

UN Secretary-General Antonio told the council that the world is following the events with “a heavy heart and deep disquiet about what lies ahead.” 

“We cannot and must not abandon the people of Afghanistan,” Guterres said, adding that the UN staff and offices in areas under Taliban control will remain and he urged the Taliban to honor the integrity of the UN facilities and inviolability of diplomatic envoys and premises.

Guterres said the international community must use “all available instruments” to ensure that the Taliban respect human rights, respect and protect international humanitarian law and the rights and freedoms of all persons.  

He said there have been chilling reports of severe restrictions on human rights throughout the country after Taliban forces swept over the country without must resistance and reports of mounting human rights violations against the women and girls who fear a return to the darkest days when the Taliban was in power.

“I appeal to the Security Council — and the international community as a whole — to stand together, work together and act together — and use all tools at its disposal to suppress the global terrorist threat in Afghanistan and guarantee that basic human rights will be respected,” Guterres said.

He said Afghanistan should never become a safe haven for terrorist organizations and the international community must use “all tools” at its disposal to suppress the global terrorist threat in Afghanistan and guarantee that basic human rights will be respected.

Guterres said the Taliban has promised to work with existing institutions, which means that civil servant salaries continue to be paid, infrastructure is maintained, airports are reopened, and health and education services continue.

He said the UN presence in the country will adapt to the security situation and will continue to assist the Afghan people under the present circumstances.

The UN Security Council established a UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) in 2002 to assist the civilian government in Kabul after the United States deployed troops in the country in response to the 9-11 terrorist attacks on the US. The UN employs about 3,000 Afghan personnel and more than 700 international staff.

During the debate in the Security Council, British Ambassador James Kariuki said his government has been working hard with the US to bring peace to Afghanistan. He urged the Taliban to cease all hostilities and military action and to ensure protection of civilians and allow the safe departure of foreign nationals and others who want to leave.

Kiriuki said the Taliban must “commit unequivocally not to harbor or give safe haven to terrorist groups which endanger other countries” and uphold human rights.

“If the Taliban continue to abuse basic human rights, they cannot expect to enjoy any legitimacy in the eyes of the Afghan people, or the international community.” Kariuki said.

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