Roza Otunbayeva (UNAMA) on the situation in Afghanistan…

Madame President,

Upon the guidance of this Council, and based on the November 2023 Independent Assessment, the United Nations has sought to create a framework for more coherent, coordinated, and structured engagement with Afghanistan's de facto authorities. The objective is engagement with a clear goal: an end state of an Afghanistan at peace with itself and its neighbors, fully reintegrated into the international community, and meeting its international obligations, and without going through another cycle of violence.

The Comprehensive Approach the UN proposes for this new chapter of engagement is for the benefit of the Afghan people. They have suffered four decades of war and are now suffering in a different way after nearly four years under the de facto authorities. The Comprehensive Approach involves working groups and a mosaic of key issues. I stress the approach does not seek to normalize the status quo, but rather ensure that multiple key issues of concern – in particular upholding the country's international obligations – remain at the core of engagement efforts.

Questions have been raised about the results of engagement so far. Based on our extensive outreach and many interactions with Afghans across the country, it is their view that both Afghans and the country would be in a far worse place without the presence and assistance of the international community. At the very least, the international presence provides an element of protection and prevention. The Afghan people remain hopeful that their country can be reintegrated into the international system and that outstanding issues can be solved through diplomacy.

At the same time, the international community remains extremely concerned that engagement has not improved the unacceptable situation of Afghan women and girls, promoted inclusive governance, or prevented a marked deterioration in human rights. The de facto authorities also convey their grievances: frozen assets, sanctions, non-recognition, the need for development assistance and an end to aid dependency.

Through the Comprehensive Approach, the UN seeks to put these issues into a more structured multilateral framework for dialogue and potential progress. It seeks to demonstrate to the de facto authorities and to Afghans that there is a pathway to reintegration; to describe in more detail the steps that are necessary for reintegration; to maintain open channels for discussion and possible international cooperation; and, through the building of confidence, begin removing obstacles that impede further cooperation.

The aim is to provide a framework and process that highlights the potential benefit of global cooperation, paving the way for these challenges to be more effectively addressed.

In doing so, we have engaged with multiple stakeholders inside and outside of Afghanistan, not only to build a consensus, but to also ensure this is a process through which all voices will be heard.

In a few days in Doha, the UN is convening meetings of the two working groups on counter-narcotics and the private sector, established following the Third Meeting of Special Envoys in 2024, that bring all stakeholders together at the same table. This is an important development that gives momentum to multilateral engagement and builds confidence in the value of mutual cooperation in the crucial areas of enabling the private sector and counter-narcotics.

Madame President,

The de facto authorities have provided relative stability and security, promoted modest economic growth and foreign investment, initiated dormant infrastructure projects, and deepened their diplomatic ties abroad, especially within the region. But they also continue to implement highly restrictive and discriminatory policies on the Afghan people. These policies are embodied in the "law on the propagation of virtue and prevention of vice", promulgated last August. In April, UNAMA released a report on the law's implementation and impact on the Afghan people.

In addition to its human rights implications on Afghan women and men, the law has far-reaching impacts for Afghanistan's minorities, for the economy, particularly women-run businesses, for humanitarian operations, and for the media. The law cemented the de facto authorities' systematic, state-sponsored policies that exclude women and girls from participation in public life, including access to education, employment, freedom of movement, and freedom of expression.

Through this law, the de facto authorities are continuing to pursue a path that distances Afghanistan from its international obligations and hinders Afghanistan's eventual reintegration into the international system.

We cannot forget the unacceptable situation of Afghan women and girls, even if their continued marginalization under increased enforcement of more and more decrees no longer generates headlines. As one Afghan woman interlocutor said to us, the current struggle is not about dramatic acts of defiance but the quiet and relentless pursuit of daily life, of resilience. She urged the international community to look beyond sensational headlines and recognize that what is happening is an invisible war of attrition where, I quote, "survival itself is an act of rebellion."

The ongoing ban on girls' education beyond the primary level is the clearest sign of the Taliban's discrimination against women and continues to set Afghanistan apart from the world. We call again for this ban to be lifted and for girls and women to be allowed once again the right to education.

Freedom of expression and the space for private media in Afghanistan have shrunk further. The de facto authorities continued to use arbitrary arrests and detentions to stifle opposition voices.

I am pleased to report on constructive engagement with the de facto Office of Prison Administration. We have received commitments for continued access to prisons and male and female detainees countrywide, to address issues, and to improve the conditions for detainees within their means. I welcome these efforts , for instance, on vocational training sessions, limited mental health support and food support in some prisons.

Madame President,

The delivery of UNAMA's mandate is also complex and sometimes dangerous.

In May, dozens of our female national staff were subjected to explicit death threats from unidentified individuals in relation to their work with UNAMA and other United Nations agencies, funds and programmes, requiring us to implement interim measures to protect their safety.In our subsequent engagements with the de facto authorities, they said they were not responsible, but it was also clear these armed individuals were operating with impunity in a coordinated manner in the capital. This is a strong rebuke to the de facto authorities' claim that they have established security and secured the safety and dignity of Afghan women.

In general, the number of security incidents has remained low, however. At the same time, regional countries continue to express concerns about the presence of ISIL-K in Afghanistan as well as other groups of foreign fighters that could pose a threat to the region.

This reporting period has witnessed the longest hiatus in ISIL-K operations in Afghanistan since the Taliban takeover in August 2021. The threat remains present, however. The de facto authorities continue to repeat their stated policy that they will not allow foreign terrorist groups to use Afghan territory to threaten other countries. However, Member States have reasons to remain concerned, as the Sanctions Monitoring Team has reported.

Madame President,

Another area of our mandate that is becoming increasingly challenging to implement is humanitarian mine action. Over the years, the UN's coordination and threat mitigation work has helped save countless civilian lives from the scourge of the explosive remnants of war, mainly children's lives.

The funding available to UN partners for this critical work ends in July. Key data management informing of which areas have been made safe will halt. Crucial quality assurance and prioritization work will stop. And without UN coordination, mine action NGOs will be working in isolation, and contamination and clearance data will not be available to other humanitarian and development actors.

Compared to only a year ago, the number of mine action teams active in the field has already nearly halved. Mines and unexploded ordnance have killed hundreds of people his year, most of them children, and if the current funding cuts continue, countless more lives will be at risk.

The grim picture of demining work in Afghanistan reflects broader cuts in lifesaving humanitarian assistance to the people of Afghanistan.Almost midway through the year and the Afghanistan Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan is just 19 per cent funded. This shortfall – which has been compounded by recent dramatic cuts in donor funding – jeopardizes the humanitarian response at a time when the region is experiencing considerable volatility.

Already, more than 600,000 Afghans have returned from neighbouring Pakistan and the Islamic Republic of Iran this year. Given the concerning developments in the Region, the UN agencies are preparing for potential cross-border movement from Iran. Returns from Iran alone in the past few days have been over 10,000 per day. Communities and the de facto authorities have made huge efforts to absorb returnees, but without international assistance, there are limits to safe, orderly and peaceful returns.

Madame President,

Let me conclude by echoing the Secretary-General's calls for immediate de-escalation in the conflict between Israel and Iran. This conflict is already having an effect in Afghanistan, disrupting trade and increasing the prices of basic goods and fuel, and prompting the return of additional Afghans from Iran. The current challenges are significant enough. They will be made worse with regional instability.