The Taliban have pushed the Afghan economy back 10 years in their 12 months of rule, experts warned the United Nations during a meeting focusing on the country that was held on Thursday, November 17. And that worsening economic situation is intensifying a humanitarian crisis that now threatens at least 28 million people, or two-thirds of the country’s population.
The informal meeting, titled, “Preventing the ٍٍٍEconomic Collapse of Afghanistan,” was held at the request of Russia. At the gathering, diplomats and representatives emphasized that the arrival of winter means millions of Afghan citizens face a humanitarian crisis.
More than 28 million people in Afghanistan need urgent aid, compared to 18 million two years ago, noted Joyce Msuya, UN assistant secretary-general for humanitarian affairs.
Referring to the increase in poverty in Afghanistan, she emphasized that each family now spends more than 75 percent of their income on basic household needs and food, leaving little for health, education or other essentials. She also criticized the Taliban for worsening the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan by imposing restrictions on women and girls.
At the same time, the United States Mission to the United Nations strongly criticized Taliban repression and economic mismanagement. He explained that findings of the United Nations Development Organization (UNDP) show that in the first 12 months of rule, the Taliban have pushed the Afghan economy backward by at least 10 years.
Like Msuya, he criticized the Taliban for their restrictions on the rights of women. He said that economic progress is impossible for Afghanistan without the participation of women in the economy.
Fergus Eckersley, the British political counsellor at the United Nations, noted that Afghanistan is the only country in the world where girls are prohibited from going to school.
The British representative warned that the Taliban’s own policies and actions – including not protecting human rights, refusing to allow women to participate fully in society and by not fulfilling their promises to fight terrorism – were standing in the way of a peaceful, stable, and legitimate Afghanistan.
At the same time, during Afghanistan Week held in Oslo, Norway’s Foreign Minister Anniken Huitfeldt emphasized that the Taliban have decided to prioritize other issues instead of improving the living conditions of the Afghan people.
Referring to the human rights situation in Afghanistan, she said that the rights of Afghan women need to be a focus of attention, especially girls’ basic right to education. These concerns echo those raised in a detailed report published in July 2022 by the World Economic Forum that placed Afghanistan at the bottom of the gender equality index in the 146th place, below Pakistan (145), Democratic Republic of the Congo (144), and Iran (143).
The security situation is also serious, with Huitfeldt adding, “It is a fact that Afghanistan may become a base of terrorism and various terrorist groups can nest there.”
These concerns over Afghanistan are raised at a hearing of the U.S. when Christine Abizaid, the head of the US National Counterterrorism Centre, reported that the threats against the West in Afghanistan, Somalia and Yemen are increasing.
Christopher Wray, head of the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), also said that he is concerned about the Taliban’s rule. According to him, foreign terrorist organizations such as Al-Qaeda, ISIS, and their supporters have related goals to carry out massive attacks on the United States.
The FBI leader said that the bureau’s findings raise concerns that these groups, including the Taliban, may collaborate in plans to threaten the West.
