Latest news with #Otunbayeva
Scoop
7 days ago
- Politics
- Scoop
Unprecedented Afghan Returns Are ‘A Test Of Our Collective Humanity'
16 July 2025 Roza Otunbayeva, the Secretary-General's Special Representative for Afghanistan, made the appeal during a visit to the Islam Qala border crossing with Iran on Tuesday where she witnessed the daily influx of tens of thousands of returnees. She also met returnee families, aid partners and regional de facto officials. Alarm bells should be ringing ' What should be a positive homecoming moment for families who fled conflict decades ago is instead marked by exhaustion, trauma, and profound uncertainty,' said Ms. Otunbayeva, who also heads the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA). 'The sheer volume of returns – many abrupt, many involuntary – should be setting off alarm bells across the global community,' she added. ' It is a test of our collective humanity. Afghanistan, already grappling with drought, and a chronic humanitarian crisis, cannot absorb this shock alone.' Local communities overstretched Since January, more than 1.3 million have been largely compelled to head back to Afghanistan - a country where 70 per cent of the population lives in poverty. Women and children face the gravest risks, UNAMA said, as they are returning not only to dire economic hardships but to a context where their access to basic services and social protections remains severely constrained. The UN has repeatedly highlighted the assault on women's rights under Taliban rule, including bans affecting higher education, employment and freedom of movement. Reintegration support critical The returns are happening at a time when humanitarian operations remain woefully underfunded, forcing agonising choices between food, shelter, and safe passage. Ms. Otunbayeva also underscored the critical need for immediate reintegration assistance as initial evidence shows that stabilising return communities requires urgent livelihood programmes and community infrastructure investments. She warned that without swift interventions, remittance losses, labour market pressures, and cyclical migration will lead to devastating consequences. These could include the further destabilization of both returnee and host populations, renewed displacement, mass onward movement, and risks to regional stability. 'We cannot afford indifference' She urged donors, development partners, and regional governments not to turn away and abandon Afghan returnees. 'What we are witnessing are the direct consequences of unmet global responsibilities,' she said. 'We must act now – with resources, with coordination, and with resolve.' Meanwhile, the UN in Afghanistan is calling for an integrated approach that resources humanitarian needs while scaling up assistance in areas of return. At the same time, regional dialogue – including with Iran, Pakistan, and Central Asian states – must be prioritized to halt disorderly returns and uphold the principle of voluntary, dignified and safe repatriation. 'Afghanistan's stability hinges on shared responsibility: We cannot afford indifference,' said Ms. Otunbayeva. 'The cost of inaction will be measured in lives lost and conflicts reignited.'
Yahoo
15-07-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
The scale of Afghans returning from Iran is overwhelming, says UN official
ISLAMABAD (AP) — The pace and scale of Afghans returning from Iran are overwhelming already fragile support systems, a senior U.N. official warned Tuesday, with tens of thousands of people crossing the border daily exhausted and traumatized, relying on humanitarian aid. So far this year, more than 1.4 million people have returned or been forced to return to Afghanistan, including over 1 million from Iran. Iran and Pakistan in 2023 launched separate campaigns to expel foreigners they said were living in the country illegally. They set deadlines and threatened them with deportation if they didn't leave. The two governments deny targeting Afghans, who have fled their homeland over the decades to escape war, poverty or Taliban rule. The U.N. special representative for Afghanistan, Roza Otunbayeva, called for immediate international support for Afghanistan following a visit to the Islam Qala border crossing in western Herat province near Iran. The 'sheer volume of returns —many abrupt, many involuntary,' should be setting off alarm bells across the global community, Otunbayeva said. 'Without swift interventions, remittance losses, labor market pressures and cyclical migration will lead to devastating consequences such as the further destabilization of both returnee and host populations, renewed displacement, mass onward movement, and risks to regional stability,' she said. Returns from Iran peaked in June following a 20 March government deadline requiring all 'undocumented' Afghans to leave. The U.N. migration agency recorded more than 28,000 people crossing back into Afghanistan on June 25. Afghanistan is a 'forgotten crisis' Most Afghans depend on humanitarian assistance to survive. But deep funding cuts are worsening the situation, with aid agencies and nongovernmental organizations forced to cut education and health care programs. Nicole van Batenburg, from the International Federation of the Red Cross, said Afghan children returning from Iran are developing scabies, fever and other illnesses because of deteriorating conditions at the border and the hot weather. Her colleagues were reuniting hundreds of children daily who got separated from their parents. People lost their belongings and documents in the chaos of hasty exits. Most were only able to take a few suitcases with them, and some were now using their luggage as makeshift furniture. 'Afghanistan is an unseen crisis, and there are so many crises going on at this moment in the world that it seems to be forgotten,' van Batenburg told The Associated Press by phone from the border. 'The problems and the challenges are immense. We're only talking about the situation here at the border, but these people have to return to some areas where they can live longer and where they can rebuild their lives.' Last week, the Norwegian Refugee Council said many of its staff were hosting returning families in their homes. Authorities were doing their best to mobilize the few resources they had, but local systems were not equipped to cope with 'such tremendous' needs. ___ Follow the AP's global migration coverage at
Yahoo
17-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
UN tells Afghan rulers: no peace and prosperity until they reverse bans on women and girls
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N. Security Council told Afghanistan's Taliban rulers Monday that peace and prosperity are 'unattainable' until they reverse their bans on women and girls getting an education, being employed and speaking in public. The U.N.'s most powerful body also condemned ongoing terrorist activity in Afghanistan 'in the strongest terms' and called for strengthened efforts to address the country's dire economic and humanitarian situation. The council resolution, adopted unanimously by its 15 members, extended the U.N.'s political mission in Afghanistan, known as UNAMA, until March 17, 2026. The Taliban seized power in 2021 as U.S. and NATO forces withdrew following two decades of war. No country officially recognizes them as Afghanistan's government because of their crackdown on women. Not only are women barred from working, from many public spaces, and being educated beyond the sixth grade, but they must be fully veiled and their voices cannot be heard in public. The Security Council called for the Taliban 'to swiftly reverse these policies and practices.' U.N. special envoy Roza Otunbayeva, the head of UNAMA, told the Security Council last week that it's up to the Taliban to indicate whether they want Afghanistan to be reintegrated into the international system — 'and, if so, whether they are willing to take the necessary steps.' The Taliban's chief spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, posted a statement on his official X account this month saying the dignity, honor and legal rights of women were a priority for the country, in accordance with Islamic law and Afghan culture and traditions. Islamic countries and religious scholars have said that denying women education and work is not part of Islamic law. Otunbayeva said Afghans 'increasingly resent the intrusions on their private lives' by Taliban officials and fear the country's further isolation from the rest of the world. 'They have indeed welcomed an absence of conflict, and greater stability and freedom of movement, at least for the male population,' she said. 'But this is not a peace in which they can live in dignity with their human rights respected and with confidence in a stable future.' More than half of Afghanistan's population — some 23 million people — need humanitarian assistance, a humanitarian crisis caused by decades of conflict, entrenched poverty, climate shocks and large population growth, Otunbayeva said. She said a downturn in funding is having a significant impact. In the past month, the U.N. envoy said, more than 200 health facilities have been forced to close, affecting some 1.8 million people, including malnourished children. On another major issue, the Security Council called on the Taliban to strengthen efforts to combat terrorism, condemning all terrorist activity in Afghanistan and demanding that the country not be used to threaten or attack any other country. Relations between Afghanistan and neighboring Pakistan have become strained since the Pakistani Taliban, known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP, which is allied with the Afghan Taliban, have increased attacks on security forces in Pakistan. At the same time, militants from the Afghan chapter of the Islamic State group, which opposes the Taliban, have carried out bombings across Afghanistan.
Associated Press
17-03-2025
- Politics
- Associated Press
UN tells Afghan rulers: no peace and prosperity until they reverse bans on women and girls
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N. Security Council told Afghanistan's Taliban rulers Monday that peace and prosperity are 'unattainable' until they reverse their bans on women and girls getting an education, being employed and speaking in public. The U.N.'s most powerful body also condemned ongoing terrorist activity in Afghanistan 'in the strongest terms' and called for strengthened efforts to address the country's dire economic and humanitarian situation. The council resolution, adopted unanimously by its 15 members, extended the U.N.'s political mission in Afghanistan, known as UNAMA, until March 17, 2026. The Taliban seized power in 2021 as U.S. and NATO forces withdrew following two decades of war. No country officially recognizes them as Afghanistan's government because of their crackdown on women. Not only are women barred from working, from many public spaces, and being educated beyond the sixth grade, but they must be fully veiled and their voices cannot be heard in public. The Security Council called for the Taliban 'to swiftly reverse these policies and practices.' U.N. special envoy Roza Otunbayeva, the head of UNAMA, told the Security Council last week that it's up to the Taliban to indicate whether they want Afghanistan to be reintegrated into the international system — 'and, if so, whether they are willing to take the necessary steps.' The Taliban's chief spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, posted a statement on his official X account this month saying the dignity, honor and legal rights of women were a priority for the country, in accordance with Islamic law and Afghan culture and traditions. Islamic countries and religious scholars have said that denying women education and work is not part of Islamic law. Otunbayeva said Afghans 'increasingly resent the intrusions on their private lives' by Taliban officials and fear the country's further isolation from the rest of the world. 'They have indeed welcomed an absence of conflict, and greater stability and freedom of movement, at least for the male population,' she said. 'But this is not a peace in which they can live in dignity with their human rights respected and with confidence in a stable future.' More than half of Afghanistan's population — some 23 million people — need humanitarian assistance, a humanitarian crisis caused by decades of conflict, entrenched poverty, climate shocks and large population growth, Otunbayeva said. She said a downturn in funding is having a significant impact. In the past month, the U.N. envoy said, more than 200 health facilities have been forced to close, affecting some 1.8 million people, including malnourished children. On another major issue, the Security Council called on the Taliban to strengthen efforts to combat terrorism, condemning all terrorist activity in Afghanistan and demanding that the country not be used to threaten or attack any other country. Relations between Afghanistan and neighboring Pakistan have become strained since the Pakistani Taliban, known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP, which is allied with the Afghan Taliban, have increased attacks on security forces in Pakistan. At the same time, militants from the Afghan chapter of the Islamic State group, which opposes the Taliban, have carried out bombings across Afghanistan.
