Afghanistan remains in the grip of humanitarian despair, massive poverty

United Nations officials have once again outlined the dire situation in Afghanistan, with more than 50 percent of the population - some 23.7 million people - in need of humanitarian assistance in 2024, the third-highest number of people in need in the world. Meanwhile, Afghanistan's de facto rulers, the Taliban, are touting a UN invitation to an international conference in Qatar later this month, which they see as a recognition of their government's growing global importance.

“Half the population lives in poverty. One in four Afghans are uncertain where their next meal will come from. Nearly three million children are experiencing acute levels of hunger,” Lisa Doughten, Director of Financing and Partnerships at the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), said Friday in her briefing to the UN Security Council on the situation in Afghanistan.

The humanitarian situation is complicated by neighboring countries forcing Afghan refugees to return home. Since September, more than 618,000 Afghans have arrived from Pakistan - nearly 80 percent are women and children - and many are in need of humanitarian assistance.

In the first quarter of this year, 175,000 deportations were reported from Iran. This is in addition to the approximately 691,000 Afghans deported from Iran in 2023.

Further, the acute effects of climate change are exacerbating the humanitarian crisis as extreme weather events become more frequent and intense.  In April and May, nearly 120,000 people were affected by flash floods and mudslides. Entire villages were destroyed and more than 340 people died.

“Afghanistan remains wholly unprepared to deal with these increasingly persistent threats and will require significant investments in early warning and early response systems,” Doughten said.

The country will soon enter its fourth year under the Taliban de facto authority, she said, stressing that “no one has felt the impact more profoundly than women and girls”.  

The Taliban returned to power nearly three years ago and established their hardline, all-male government in Kabul, called the Islamic Emirate, which is not recognized by the international community.

Doughten said the ban on girls' education is fueling an increase in child marriage and early childbearing, with dire physical, emotional and economic consequences.  Reports of suicide attempts among women and girls are also on the rise.

“Despite restrictions on their ability to work, as well as the risk to their safety, Afghan women continue to participate in the humanitarian response,” she said.

The OCHA official underscored that Resolution 2615 (2021) continues to play a critical role in enabling life-saving humanitarian action, which in 2023 allowed some 28 million people — more than 60 percent of the population — to receive assistance.  

Resolution 2615 acknowledges the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan and decides that provision of humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan does not constitute a violation of the asset freeze, travel ban and arms embargo on individuals or groups associated with the Taliban. It permits the processing of payments of funds, other financial assets, economic resources, and provision of goods and services needed to support humanitarian aid delivery.

Six months into this year, the UN has received only US$649 million - or 21 percent of the US$3 billion needed to meet the enormous humanitarian needs.

“Life-saving programs have had to close due to the lack of funds, including 150 mobile health and nutrition teams. A further 40 teams are at imminent risk, potentially depriving 700,000 children under five of vital nutrition treatment services for severe acute malnutrition,” said Doughten.

“The lack of funds is also imperiling the last two mine clearance and a mine victims’ assistance program in Afghanistan”, she said, noting that she could go on, but the list of programs on the verge of shutting down was simply too long.

Doughten emphasized that Afghans continue to feel the combined effects of climate change, poverty and oppression.

"Millions of people depend on humanitarian assistance for their everyday survival. We urge donors to fully fund the appeal for Afghanistan so we can continue to provide this life-saving support," she added.

The OCHA Director stressed that the international community must also find ways to support Afghans with longer-term solutions to help them lift themselves out of poverty and withstand an increasing number of climate-related shocks.

With preparations underway for a United Nations-hosted meeting on Afghanistan, Roza Otunbayeva, head of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), told the UN Security Council that the de facto authorities have said they are preparing to attend.

“We hope that in Doha, key stakeholders will convene around the table, speak to each other face to face, reinforce the principles underlining the consensus to engage, and agree on next steps to alleviate the uncertainties that face the Afghan people,” she said.

The two-day UN meeting between the Taliban and international envoys on Afghanistan is scheduled for June 30 in Doha, the capital of the Gulf state, amid sharp criticism from human rights groups for excluding Afghan women representatives. It will be the third round of the so-called "Doha process," and for the first time Afghanistan's de facto hard-line rulers have agreed to attend.

“The Doha meeting will be held in the coming days, and the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan has been officially invited to attend,” Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi announced in a video statement released by his office on Monday.

The Taliban returned to power nearly three years ago and established their all-male fundamentalist government in Kabul, called the Islamic Emirate, which has yet to be recognized by the international community.

“We have developed good relations with neighboring and regional countries and are also actively pursuing positive and cordial ties with Western and US governments,” Muttaqi said while addressing his ministry staff in the Afghan capital.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres launched the Doha Process a year ago to create a unified international approach to engagement with the Taliban, who have banned Afghan girls from education beyond the sixth grade and many women from public and private jobs.

Guterres did not invite Afghanistan's de facto rulers to the first Doha conference in May 2023, and they refused to attend the second one last February, citing the participation of Afghan civil society representatives and human rights activists.

UN officials have defended the upcoming rare dialogue with the Taliban, promising that envoys from some 25 countries will "forcefully" raise restrictions on women's and girls' rights, among other human rights concerns, at the meeting.

On Friday, Otunbayeva stressed the importance of the world community opening a direct dialogue with the Taliban, suggesting it could create opportunities for Afghan women to participate in future talks.

“They would tell them [the Taliban] that, 'Look, it doesn’t work like this, and we should have women around the table and also provide them with access to the business,'” she told reporters in New York after briefing the UN Security Council meeting.

Speaking at the meeting, Otunbayeva said that her mission had met with hundreds of Afghans, especially women, around the country in the run-up to the third Doha meeting.

“These consultations revealed a broad agreement that it was important for the de facto authorities to attend the meeting but that there should also be no recognition of the de facto authorities until the issues of women’s rights, girls’ education, and an acceptable constitution were broadly addressed,” the UNAMA chief said.

Otunbayeva said the UN would consult with Afghan civil society and rights advocates in Afghanistan and abroad before the June 30 meeting. She noted that UN political affairs chief Rosemary DiCarlo and envoys from various countries will meet separately with Afghan rights activists in Doha on July 2, the day after the meeting with the Taliban ends.

Human rights groups, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, have sharply criticized the UN for inviting the Taliban to the Doha talks rather than holding them accountable for "crimes" against Afghan women and girls.

"Excluding women risks legitimizing the Taliban's abuses and triggering irreparable harm to the UN’s credibility as an advocate for women's rights and women's meaningful participation," Tirana Hassan, executive director at Human Rights Watch (HRW), said of the third planned Doha meeting.

Otunbayeva said the Doha meeting would focus mainly on the private sector, Afghanistan's banking sector and counter-narcotics, issues she linked to women's rights in the country.

The Taliban have fiercely defended their rule, saying it is in line with Afghan culture and their harsh interpretation of Islamic law. The hardline group seized power in August 2021, when US-led NATO troops withdrew from Afghanistan after nearly two decades of war with the then-insurgent Taliban.

Guterres chaired the previous Doha meetings, but the upcoming session will be hosted by DiCarlo. She traveled to Kabul in May and invited Muttaqi to the talks. The Taliban have not yet confirmed whether their foreign minister will lead the delegation to the meeting.

"We are trying to establish a process and preserve an important mechanism of consultation. We must be realistic about how much each meeting in this process can deliver, especially at this early stage where confidence and trust are insufficient," stressed Otunbayeva in her speech to the Security Council.

Some information for this report provided by VOA.