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Amid Growing Ideological Grip, Afghanistan Faces 'Perfect Storm of Crises', Warns Special Representative in Briefing to Security Council

Meetings Coverage
Security Council

9998th Meeting (AM)

SC/16172
17 September 2025

As the head of the United Nations presence in Afghanistan told the Security Council today that the country's de facto authorities seem caught between pragmatism and ideology, so too were the organ's members on the conditions for international engagement with the Taliban.

Different trends are vying for influence within Afghanistan's de facto authorities, reported Roza Otunbayeva, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Afghanistan and Head of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA).  The first, she said, is "more pragmatic and oriented to the needs of Afghan people".  The other is "more focused on the creation of what is described as a pure Islamic system" — which, she added, has placed increasing restrictions on Afghanistan's people.  She observed: "In view of the lack of pragmatism, members of the international community increasingly ask how much they should support a country whose leaders undermine their population."

"This is most clear regarding the de facto authorities' policies towards Afghan women," she noted, spotlighting over three years of a ban on women's education that has cost the economy an estimated $1.4 billion a year.  Nevertheless, she detailed a "notable" decline in violence, a generally sustained ban on poppy cultivation — albeit with a "devastating" short-term impact on those who relied on this practice for their livelihood — as well as the de facto authorities' announcements on general amnesty and certain human rights for detainees.  She stressed that "the development of Afghanistan's full potential is required for the country to address the multiple and simultaneous crises it is currently facing".

These include increasing popular discontent with growing restrictions, aid cuts, a struggling economy and significant population returns from neighbouring countries that stress socioeconomic coping mechanisms while costing the economy approximately $1 billion in remittances.  Drought, she added, presents an "existential" threat:  in years — not decades — Kabul "could become the first modern city to run out of water".  She observed:  "It is an open question whether there is sufficient pragmatism among the de facto authorities to manage this perfect storm of crises, or whether decisions driven by ideology will prevent sustainable solutions."

Pointing to "evidence of both trends", she spotlighted the response to the recent earthquake in the province of Kunar — the authorities addressed the needs of affected communities but hindered the UN's ability to help by blocking female staff from UN offices.  "I am certain that most Afghans want engagement between the international community and their country to continue, despite the obstacles," she concluded, expressing hope that engagement does continue and yield more positive results — "especially for women and girls in Afghanistan".

On that, Hanifa Girowal, speaking for civil society, said that the denial of rights to women and girls is a "deliberate policy of forced confinement, exclusion and subjugation" amounting to the crime of gender persecution.  She therefore urged the Council to ensure that Afghan women lead political dialogue and to set "verifiable benchmarks" for engagement with the Taliban, including reopening schools and restoring women's right to work.  Meanwhile, humanitarian aid must be "unconditional in its purpose and conditional only in its accountability", she said.

Exposing new Taliban restrictions, she reported:  "As of two weeks ago, women and girls are not only not allowed into regular schools, but they are now banned from going to Islamic schools."  In one province, "tall girls — anyone above an average height — cannot go outside and needs to be confined at home", she added.  "If you are a woman in Afghanistan, you are faced with selective punishment on any public engagement," she stressed, calling on the international community to respond to the Afghan crisis in the most urgent way possible.

'Taliban Remain Unwilling to Cooperate with International Community'

"Unfortunately, the international community's approach to assistance and engagement has failed to yield sustainable results," said the representative of the United States.  Stressing that his country "prioritizes actions over words", he said that the Taliban's actions "do not demonstrate a willingness to engage in good faith".  He stressed:  "We cannot build confidence with a group that continues to detain innocent Americans, fails to live up to its [counter-terrorism] commitments and ignores the basic needs of the Afghan people."

Similarly, Greece's representative said that "four years after seizing control of Afghanistan, the Taliban remain unwilling to cooperate with the international community".  Further, she condemned the "segregation of women in public spaces, the enforcement of strict dress codes and the requirement for a male guardian" as "utterly unacceptable".  The representative of Slovenia urged the "immediate" lifting of Taliban restrictions on women and female aid staff and welcomed the International Criminal Court's arrest warrants against Taliban leaders as a "milestone".

"Afghanistan cannot succeed while women and girls are excluded," stressed the representative of the United Kingdom, urging the Taliban to "reverse position immediately" on blocking female staff from accessing UN premises.  Notably, the recent earthquake in the province of Kunar has compounded the desperate humanitarian and economic crisis in Afghanistan.  While announcing his Government's "uplift of more than $4 million", he underlined the need to meet the specific needs of women affected by the earthquake and to allow female aid workers to operate in affected communities.

Restrictions on Women, Girls Cannot Be Allowed to Continue

"Sadly, even on an issue as fundamental as life-saving assistance, the Taliban's discriminatory policies are directly undermining the humanitarian response," said Denmark's representative, adding that "not only are women banned from becoming doctors, a male doctor is banned from treating any female patient".  Underscoring that the Taliban has shown no willingness to ease restrictions — "in fact, not one has been reversed since they violently took control of the country four years ago" — she stressed that the international community cannot allow the "most severe women's rights crisis in the world" to become normalized.

The representative of Panama, in that vein, said that the Taliban's restrictions on women and girls in Afghanistan "continue to represent one of the gravest violations of human dignity of our time".  He added that "cooperation calls for commitments, and commitments are sustained through action".  Pointing to the Taliban's "policy of erasure and segregation of women and girls" and its "complacency towards Al-Qaida", France's representative stressed that engagement with the Taliban must serve the objective of a peaceful Afghanistan guaranteeing the rights of all Afghans.

"Respect for human rights, in particular those of women and girls, is a prerequisite," stated the representative of the Republic of Korea — Council President for September — as he spoke in his national capacity.  He warned that Afghanistan's reintegration with the international community cannot materialize if global requests to the Taliban — in the form of Council decisions — remain unheeded.  Reaffirming support for UNAMA, he said that the Mission must operate in close coordination with, and under the political guidance of, UN Headquarters to achieve meaningful results.

"Ensuring the well-being of the Afghan people must remain at the centre of all efforts," stressed the representative of Guyana, also speaking for Algeria, Sierra Leone and Somalia.  Recalling that resolution 2681 (2023) condemned the Taliban's decision to ban women working for the UN in Afghanistan, she pointed out that this ban has negatively impacted the delivery of life-saving assistance and basic services to the most vulnerable.  While underscoring that "the continued erosion of Afghan women in society is unacceptable", she reiterated that "engagement between Afghanistan and the international community is crucial" for sustainable peace, stability and socioeconomic development.

'Isolation, Disengagement Serves No One's Interest'

Pakistan's representative, recalling that his country has "consistently advocated sustained engagement with Afghanistan", stressed that the Taliban sanctions regime must not "fall prey to political considerations of Council members".  Specifically, travel-ban-exemption requests remain crucial for meaningful engagement. He went on to recall the recent quadrilateral meeting between Pakistan, China, Iran and the Russian Federation in Dushanbe, "where we agreed on result-oriented engagement" with Afghanistan's interim authorities.  Urging international engagement with clear objectives, reciprocal steps and a "realistic road map guided by dialogue and diplomacy", he underscored:  "Isolation and disengagement serves no one's interest."

The representative of China, too, stressed that "mutual integration between Afghanistan and the international community requires long-term engagement", also criticizing the fact that "one country has banned the travel of high-level Afghan officials".  Additionally highlighting the scale of need in the country, he stressed that "over 23 million Afghans require humanitarian assistance, and significant funding cuts mean that only a small percentage of needs are met".  Calling on "traditional donors" to scale up support, he added that "one particular country" must "assume its historical responsibilities to Afghanistan".

"We regret the hopeless attempts by some Western donors to exert a stranglehold on the Taliban, to talk to them in the language of ultimatums and, at the same time, to hinder any efforts — including through the UN — to establish trust-based interactions with them," stressed the representative of the Russian Federation.  Stating that sustainable peace requires patient engagement with the authorities, he added:  "At the same time, it's important that, also in the UN, we talk to those Afghans that represent the real authority in the country and are actually responsible for what's happening there."

Immense Humanitarian Emergency, Shrinking Civic Space

Meanwhile, the representative of Afghanistan said of his country:  "There is no Constitution, no inclusive governance, no credible path to reconciliation and no consent of the governed."  Instead, an unelected and unaccountable group issues decrees that distort Islamic values and Afghan culture.  Further, he detailed the immense humanitarian emergency, fragile security situation and shrinking civic space in Afghanistan, as well as the systematic exclusion of women and girls — "nothing less than gender apartheid".  Underscoring that Afghans "deserve a Government chosen by the people, not imposed by force", he urged the Council to neither "abandon Afghanistan to tyranny" nor "normalize an extremist regime that oppresses half its population and threatens international peace and security".

Several other countries in the region took the floor today, with Kyrgyzstan's representative underscoring the importance of "strengthening bilateral collaboration, particularly in the spheres of trade, investment, transport, energy and overall economic development".  The representative of India stressed:  "Our commitment to meeting developmental needs of the people of Afghanistan is non-negotiable."  Iran's representative, for his part, emphasized that "the de facto authorities are a reality on the ground, and the international community has no choice but to engage with them".