The UN reiterated today its “commitment to remain” in Afghanistan to help the population and especially women since they were prohibited from working for that entity, among other restrictions imposed by the Taliban that resumed power in 2021.
In early April, the UN announced that the Taliban government was barring its Afghan employees, who had hitherto been exempt from NGO measures, from working with the organization anywhere in the country.
The UN mission in Afghanistan (Unama) then began a review of its operations until May 5.
Unama “reaffirms its commitment to remain and act for the men, women and children of Afghanistan, and asks our donors to continue financing the aid that the population needs,” Farhan Haq, deputy spokesman for the Secretary General of Afghanistan, told reporters. the UN, the Portuguese António Guterres.
In a statement issued in the capital, Kabul, the UN reiterated its condemnation of the ban, saying it “severely undermines our work, including our ability to reach everyone in need.”
“At the same time, we continue our focused, constructive and principled engagement with the de facto Taliban authorities to ensure the lifting of the ban and the safety of all UN personnel,” the mission added, quoted by the AFP news agency. .
Since the ban, Unama has asked all its Afghan staff, both men and women, to work from home, but other UN entities in the country have “different ways of dealing with the situation,” he contrasted.
Since their return to power in 2021, the Taliban have imposed a rigorous interpretation of Islam, as they had done before being expelled in 2001, and have multiplied measures to curtail the rights of women, who were prohibited from going to university and to secondary.
They were also excluded from many public jobs or receive poverty wages, were prohibited from traveling without the company of a male relative, and must fully cover their bodies when in public spaces.
Source: Ambito