Afghanistan

The Special Representative of the Secretary-General informed that the first phase of the disengagement of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo from South Kivu has begun, with a plan to complete its withdrawal from the area by June 2024.

The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) expressed today its deep concern over the recent arbitrary arrests and detentions of women and girls by the country’s de facto authorities because of their alleged non-compliance with the hijab decree.

One in three Afghans do not know where their next meal will come from as communities brace for a harsh winter, the World Food Programme warns. The agency can only reach the most desperate families due to a huge funding shortfall and urgently needs $670 million to reach 15.2 million people.

The Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs warned that nine months of war in Sudan has tipped the country into a downward spiral that only grows more ruinous by the day. Nearly 25 million people there will need assistance in 2024 — but escalating hostilities are putting most of them beyond reach.

The Security Council today adopted a resolution requesting the Secretary-General to appoint a Special Envoy for Afghanistan, provided with robust expertise on human rights and gender, as it also stressed the critical importance of a continued presence of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA).

The Security Council today heard calls for and against greater engagement with the Taliban to address critical challenges in Afghanistan, as speakers highlighted a dire humanitarian situation and severely restricted rights for women, girls and minorities.

In Sudan, the World Food Programme (WFP) announced today that it is temporarily suspending food assistance in some parts of Al Jazirah state, as fighting has spread south and east of the capital, Khartoum

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) said today that 65 journalists have been killed in the line of duty in 2023, compared with 88 in 2022. The Head of UNESCO said that this drop conceals an alarming phenomenon: an increase in the number killed in conflict zones and more is online.

The Security Council today extended for a further year the mandate of the team monitoring sanctions against the Taliban and associated individuals and entities, which threaten Afghanistan’s peace, security and stability.

In Algeria, the United Nations launched the Sahrawi Refugee Response Plan, covering the next two years — 2024-2025. The plan calls for $214 million to ensure food stability, a reliable water supply as well as to address the nutritional requirements of people living in camps in Tindouf.