UN Briefing: Systematic Human Rights Infringements in Afghanistan

Human Rights and Daily Life

• 🌍 The Afghan people are enduring multiple crises, with women and girls systematically excluded from public life, including a ban on secondary and tertiary education.
• 🚫 Systematic infringements into daily lives continue through the enforcement of laws on the propagation of virtue and prevention of vice.
• 📰 Media freedom is increasingly restricted, with journalists facing intimidation, detention, and censorship, limiting public debate.

Humanitarian and Economic Crises

• 🆘 Over half the population (more than 23 million Afghans) requires humanitarian assistance, with needs growing.
• 📈 Thousands of Afghans are returning from Iran and Pakistan, some under duress, compounding existing economic, climate, and humanitarian crises.
• 📉 Despite expected GDP growth, per capita income is projected to fall for the third consecutive year due to population increase.
• 🌾 Successive droughts and land degradation, coupled with a struggling economy, are devastating agricultural production, with rural incomes dropping significantly after the ban on opium cultivation.

Security and International Relations

• ⚠️ Tensions are rising between Afghanistan and Pakistan over the presence of the TTP, leading to cross-border exchanges and civilian casualties.
• 🚪 Key border posts have been closed for two months, impacting the economies of both nations.
• 🤝 The de facto authorities continue to miss opportunities to engage multilaterally, risking disengagement from donor countries frustrated by Afghanistan's refusal to address concerns.

UN Engagement and Future Outlook

• 🚫 The UN faces barriers, including the prevention of female national staff from accessing premises, violating human rights and UN charter.
• 💡 A faction within the de facto authorities seeks isolation, while another understands the need for global connections for survival.
• 🗺️ The UN is committed to a political roadmap for Afghanistan's reintegration into the international community, contingent on meeting international obligations and inclusive governance.