Daily Times

On Sunday, Stephane Dujarric, a UN spokesman, with his team met with the Taliban leadership, amid the alarming human rights condition as 18 million people are enmeshed in existential crisis after the Taliban’s takeover.

In the meeting, however, the Taliban have again agreed to ensure the protection of humanitarian workers and the aid process in Afghanistan.

“The authorities pledged that the safety and security of humanitarian staff, and humanitarian access to people in need, will be guaranteed and that humanitarian workers — both men and women — will be guaranteed freedom of movement,” Stephane Dujarric said.

Martin Griffiths, another UN official, restated that the humanitarian community have pledged to carry out “impartial and independent humanitarian assistance.”

He also pleaded with all parties to set the seal on women rights, both those contributing to aid delivery and civilians. As in the Taliban’s first rule, from 1996 to 2001, they failed to protect women rights in Afghanistan and hold back their freedom.

Alarmingly, Afghanistan was already heavily aid-dependent – with 40 per cent of the country’s GDP used to run from foreign funding even before dethroning the Western-backed government on August 15. But the UN and other aid groups are worried about the future of aid missions in the country under the Taliban.

Despite wariness the UN said that this week humanitarian flights had resumed to several Afghan provinces.

On the other hand, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also urged “the Taliban and all other parties to exercise utmost restraint to protect lives and to ensure that humanitarian needs can be met” in a report to the Security Council this weekend.

The report was prepared as the mandate of the UN political mission in Afghanistan is set to to expire on September 17.