Latest news with #2025HumanitarianNeedsandResponsePlan
Scoop
12-07-2025
- General
- Scoop
Desperate Afghan Refugees Return To An Unfamiliar Home
The agency is calling for calm and cooperation to provide a dignified path forward for millions of displaced Afghans. More than 1.6 million Afghans have returned from both neighbouring countries in 2024 alone, according to UNHCR – a figure that has already surpassed earlier forecasts for the entire year. 'From Afghanistan – not of Afghanistan' The scale and speed of these returns are placing enormous pressure on border provinces ill-equipped to absorb them, exacerbating poverty, insecurity and humanitarian need in a country still reeling from economic collapse and widespread human rights abuses. Complicating the situation further is the fact that many returnees – especially women and children – are coming back to a country they barely know. ' They are from Afghanistan [but] not of Afghanistan – often born abroad with better education and different cultural norms. Their outlook is different from and often at odds with present day Afghanistan,' says Arafat Jamal, UNHCR Representative in the country. Women and girls in particular face a jarring shift: from relative autonomy in host countries to a context where their rights are severely restricted by edicts from Taliban authorities. Disorientated and disorganised He reported conditions that he had seen for himself recently in Islam Qala, a key border crossing with Iran. Daily arrivals have surged to around 50,000 people, many of them disoriented and exhausted after arduous journeys. UN officials described scenes of desperation at reception centres. ' Many of these returnees have been abruptly uprooted and have undergone arduous, exhausting and degrading journeys – they arrive tired, disoriented, brutalised and often in despair, and they sprawl throughout a crowded centre in often 40°C (104°F) heat, ' Mr. Jamal said. While some returns are voluntary, he added that many are occurring under duress or without proper protections in place. Those returning include both officially registered refugees and people in 'refugee-like' situations who may face serious risks upon arrival. Funding crisis The UN and humanitarian partners have mounted a broad-based response along the borders, providing food, water, health services, protection and onward transportation. However, funding shortfalls are critically hampering operations. UNHCR's response is just 28 per cent funded as of July, forcing aid agencies to ration supplies and make painful choices. 'We are living on borrowed funds,' Mr. Jamal said. ' Daily, we are asking ourselves – should we give one blanket instead of four? One meal instead of three? These are heartbreaking, soul-destroying decisions. ' The situation is equally dire for other agencies: the wider, UN-led 2025 Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan for Afghanistan – which seeks $2.4 billion to assist nearly 17 million people across the country – is only 22 per cent funded. Poverty and drought Recent UN assessments have also warned of deteriorating conditions and deepening poverty within Afghanistan. The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) issued alerts over worsening drought across much of the country, while the UN Development Programme (UNDP) reports that 70 per cent of Afghans already live at subsistence levels, as the collapse of public services and ongoing rights violations leaves millions in despair. As returnees cross the border, often without notice or resources, local populations are being stretched to the limit. Mr. Jamal noted that this 'precarity layered upon poverty' risks fuelling frustration, competition over limited resources and new forms of social tension. ' Afghanistan may be welcoming, but it is wholly unprepared to receive this volume of returnees,' he said. 'The communities who are taking people in are doing so with great generosity, but they are themselves in crisis.' Global attention The growing emergency comes just days after the UN General Assembly overwhelmingly adopted a resolution expressing 'deep concern' over deteriorating conditions facing Afghans. The resolution, passed with 116 votes in favour and only two against, urged the Taliban to reverse repressive policies and called for renewed international cooperation to support Afghan civilians. The resolution highlighted the need for 'coherent approaches' that bridge humanitarian, development and political efforts. It also called on donor countries to maintain or increase support.
Scoop
07-07-2025
- Politics
- Scoop
UN Calls On Taliban To End Repressive Policies
7 July 2025 Adopted with 116 votes in favour, 12 abstentions and 2 against (Israel and United States), the resolution highlighted the multifaceted crises confronting Afghanistan nearly four years after the Taliban's return to power, calling for greater international support for the Afghan people and a renewed push for human rights, peace and stability. It emphasised the need for a coherent approach among humanitarian, political and development actors, and raised alarm over the 'grave, worsening, widespread and systematic oppression' of all women and girls in Afghanistan, calling on the Taliban to swiftly reverse policies that exclude them from education, employment and public life. The text further called for adherence to Afghanistan's obligations under international law, including human rights and humanitarian principles. Security and economic concerns The 193-member General Assembly reiterated its 'serious concern' over continuing violence and the presence of terrorist groups such as Al-Qaida, Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL/Da'esh) and their affiliates ISIL-Khorasan and Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, and 'demanded' that Afghanistan not be used as a safe haven for terrorist activity. Beyond security, the resolution stressed Afghanistan's severe economic collapse, widespread poverty and spiralling humanitarian crisis, urging Member States and donors to scale up principled, sustained assistance. It also highlighted the growing threat of natural disasters such as floods and droughts, which worsen food insecurity and economic fragility. ' Sustainable and lasting peace can be achieved only through long-term social, economic and political stability, which requires full respect for civil, political, social, economic and cultural rights as well as commitment to inclusive and representative governance,' the resolution stated. Needs surge amid refugee returns The resolution comes at a time of intensified strain on Afghanistan's overstretched humanitarian system. According to UN agencies, waves of returns from Pakistan and Iran – including both refugees and those in refugee-like situations – have increased pressure on services, especially in border provinces ill-equipped to absorb new arrivals. These returns, many of them involuntary or under duress, have heightened protection risks and left thousands of families in urgent need of food, shelter and basic services. The 2025 Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan for Afghanistan – which seeks $2.4 billion to assist nearly 17 million people – is only 22 per cent funded as of early July, raising concerns among aid officials about maintaining life-saving programs in the months ahead. The resolution called on all donors and stakeholders to 'reconsider any decisions that may lead to reductions in such assistance, taking into account the potential adverse humanitarian consequences for the most vulnerable populations.' Governance and accountability The Assembly also reiterated concern over the lack of political inclusion since the Taliban takeover in August 2021. It raised alarm over extrajudicial punishments, such as reprisals and summary executions, enforced disappearances and arbitrary detentions, including those targeting former members of the security personnel. While the Assembly acknowledged the Taliban's limited steps to reduce opium cultivation, it stressed the need for comprehensive counter-narcotics measures and efforts to combat organized crime and illicit arms trafficking. A call for collective responsibility The resolution expressed appreciation to major refugee-hosting countries – particularly Pakistan and Iran – and called for more equitable burden-sharing and international cooperation to support displaced Afghans and the communities that host them. It underlined the importance of creating conditions for the safe, dignified and voluntary return of refugees and internally displaced persons, as well as their sustainable reintegration.
Zawya
21-02-2025
- Politics
- Zawya
United Arab Emirates (UAE) Participates in United Nations (UN) Meeting to Launch Humanitarian Plans Addressing the Situation in Sudan
Shahad Matar, Deputy Permanent Representative and Acting Charge d'Affaires at the Permanent Mission of the United Arab Emirates to the United Nations and other international organizations in Geneva, participated in the joint launch by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) of the 2025 Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan for Sudan and the Regional Refugee Response Plan for Sudan. Tom Fletcher, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, noted that two years of conflict in Sudan have resulted in one of the largest and most severe displacement crises in the world. Accordingly, the United Nations has prepared its largest-ever humanitarian appeal for Sudan, with a total funding requirement of USD 6 billion. In this context, Under-Secretary-General Fletcher highlighted the initial success of the conference in Addis Ababa – which served as a crucial precursor to Geneva's meeting. He said, "This is an unprecedented crisis in terms of scale and severity and requires an exceptional response." Filippo Grandi, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, expressed his appreciation for the financial commitments made during the conference, stating, "We thank those who made pledges in Addis Ababa. What is truly important is that these pledges translate into real action." During the joint launch of UNHCR and OCHA's humanitarian response plans for Sudan, Matar underscored that the event took place at a pivotal moment on the margins of the African Union Summit in the Ethiopian capital. She noted that the UAE, alongside the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, the African Union, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) in coordination with the United Nations, organized a high-level humanitarian conference for the People of Sudan. In this context, she emphasized that the collective message from the Addis Ababa conference was clear: launching a strong and unified call for a humanitarian truce during the holy month of Ramadan - a time for peace and, most importantly, the delivery of life-saving humanitarian assistance to all Sudanese in need. She added: 'The UAE announced the provision of an additional USD 200 million of aid to the brotherly Sudanese people during the High-Level Humanitarian Conference for the People of Sudan. The additional aid reflects the UAE's unwavering humanitarian values: to stand in solidarity with the Sudanese people in the face of a deteriorating humanitarian situation.' She also underscored that the provision of additional humanitarian aid reflects the country's unwavering and continuous commitment to support the brotherly Sudanese people. Since the onset of the crisis, the UAE has provided USD 600.4 million to support a humanitarian response (USD 200 million of which was announced during the conference in Addis Ababa, while USD 400 million was provided during the past 22 months of conflict). The UAE has provided USD 3.5 billion of humanitarian aid over the past 10 years to the people of Sudan, affirming the country's unwavering commitment to support people in need during crises. She concluded her remarks by stating: "We must seize this moment to mobilize the international community toward a unified and decisive humanitarian response, as Sudan cannot afford further delays." The UAE reiterated its call for all parties to ensure the safe, urgent, and unhindered access of essential humanitarian aid. The UAE considers this as not merely a humanitarian request – it is an obligation under international humanitarian law. And should humanitarian assistance be hampered, there should be no hesitation in calling out those responsible. Distributed by APO Group on behalf of United Arab Emirates, Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
