World
UN chief calls on Taliban to uphold women's rights
"Afghanistan is hanging by a thread as millions of impoverished citizens struggle to survive amid deteriorating humanitarian conditions"
![UN chief calls on Taliban to uphold women's rights](/media/14488/conversions/NICA-768874-Guterres-1280x720.webp)
New York: The Taliban must uphold the fundamental human rights of women and children, the United Nations chief said Wednesday, urging the international community to release frozen Afghan aid to prevent families from selling their babies to buy food.
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also warned that "Afghanistan is hanging by a thread" as millions of impoverished citizens struggle to survive amid deteriorating humanitarian conditions.
"We urge the Taliban to seize this moment and garner international trust and goodwill by recognizing -- and upholding -- the basic human rights that belong to every girl and woman," Guterres told a UN Security Council meeting.
He expressed concern about recent reports of arbitrary arrests and abductions of women activists, saying: "I strongly appeal for their release."
At the same time, he added, "I appeal to the international community to step up support for the people of Afghanistan," including by releasing aid funds in Washington that remain frozen by the World Bank and the US government.
Over half of all Afghans face "extreme levels of hunger," Guterres told the council, and "some families are selling their babies to purchase food."
China's UN ambassador Zhang Jun mentioned the case of one woman who "sold her two daughters and a kidney" to feed her family.
"This is a human tragedy", he said, implicitly urging Washington to lift "unilateral sanctions" and ease the freeze on Afghan assets.
The United Nations continues to call for "a relaxation of those sanctions" which squeeze the economy and prevent the full delivery of essential services, UN envoy to Afghanistan Deborah Lyons told the council via videolink.
Guterres said international aid agencies and donors "need to jump-start Afghanistan's economy through increased liquidity," including $1.2 billion from a World Bank-managed fund for Afghanistan's reconstruction that has been frozen since the fundamentalist Taliban took over last August when US forces exited.
"Without action, lives will be lost, and despair and extremism will grow," he said.
Taliban officials recently held talks with Western powers in Oslo to address the humanitarian crisis, with Western diplomats linking humanitarian aid to Afghanistan to an improvement in human rights.
Led by Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store, whose country currently chairs the Security Council, Wednesday's session of the 15-member body sought to clarify the mandate of the UN political mission in Afghanistan.
The mandate expires March 17 and must be reviewed to account for the Taliban's return to power.
SOURCE: AFP
-
Business 1 day ago
Gold price falls by Rs1,000 per tola
-
Pakistan 21 hours ago
Justice given to a man who didn't even seek it, says Nawaz
-
Pakistan 2 days ago
ECP meeting again today on giving reserved seats to PTI
-
Pakistan 1 day ago
TLP discontinues Faizabad sit-in after striking agreement with govt
-
Pakistan 1 day ago
Three-day physical remand of Laden’s close aide Amin approved
-
Regional 1 day ago
Supporters of May 9 rioters to be considered facilitators: Bokhari
-
Technology 1 day ago
PM orders early completion of Islamabad Tech Park
-
Pakistan 19 hours ago
PM Shehbaz orders speedy implementation of bilateral pacts with China