The Taliban’s attack on the rights of girls and women, according to a senior U.N. official, demonstrates disregard for more than 50% of Afghanistan’s population and a willingness to risk international isolation, as well as a potential internal conflict and deepening poverty in the country.
Some of the Taliban’s “claimed and recognised achievements,” Markus Potzel, the U.N. deputy representative for Afghanistan, told the Security Council, are also deteriorating.
He cited a consistent uptick in armed conflicts, criminal activity, and high-profile terrorist attacks, particularly by the extremist Islamic State group, which has recently shown it is capable of carrying out assassinations of close Taliban figures, attacking foreign embassies, firing rockets at Afghanistan’s neighbors, and continuing its long-running campaign against Shia Muslims and ethnic minorities.
Potzel stated that with food security deteriorating and winter rapidly coming, the economic situation “remains fragile.” He urged donors to immediately contribute $614 million to support winter preparations and an additional $154 million to preposition essential supplies before places get cut off by winter weather. The U.N. humanitarian appeal for $4.4 billion has only received $1.9 billion, which is “alarming,” he said.
