Ant\u00f3nio Guterres also urged release of aid to Afghanistan as humanitarian catastrophe worsens
\n Kabul
\nThe Taliban must uphold the fundamental human rights of women and children, the United Nations chief has said, as he urged the international community to release frozen Afghan aid to prevent families from selling their babies to buy food.
\nThe secretary general, Ant\u00f3nio Guterres, also warned that \u201cAfghanistan is hanging by a thread\u201d as millions of impoverished citizens struggle to survive amid deteriorating humanitarian conditions.
\n\u201cWe urge the Taliban to seize this moment and garner international trust and goodwill by recognising \u2013 and upholding \u2013 the basic human rights that belong to every girl and woman,\u201d Guterres told a UN security council meeting.
\nHe expressed concern about recent reports of arbitrary arrests and abductions of female activists, saying: \u201cI strongly appeal for their release.\u201d
\nAt the same time, he added, \u201cI appeal to the international community to step up support for the people of Afghanistan\u201d, including by releasing aid funds in Washington that remain frozen by the World Bank and the US government.
\nOver half of all Afghans face \u201cextreme levels of hunger\u201d, Guterres told the council, and \u201csome families are selling their babies to purchase food\u201d.
\nChina\u2019s UN ambassador, Zhang Jun, mentioned the case of one woman who \u201csold her two daughters and a kidney\u201d to feed her family.
\n\u201cThis is a human tragedy,\u201d he said, implicitly urging Washington to lift \u201cunilateral sanctions\u201d and ease the freeze on Afghan assets.
\nThe United Nations continues to call for \u201ca relaxation of those sanctions\u201d that squeeze the economy and prevent the full delivery of essential services, UN envoy to Afghanistan Deborah Lyons told the council via video link.
\nGuterres said international aid agencies and donors \u201cneed to jump-start Afghanistan\u2019s economy through increased liquidity\u201d, including $1.2bn from a World Bank-managed fund for Afghanistan\u2019s reconstruction that has been frozen since the fundamentalist Taliban took over last August when US forces exited.
\n\u201cWithout action, lives will be lost, and despair and extremism will grow,\u201d he said.
\nTaliban officials recently held talks with western powers in Oslo to address the humanitarian crisis, with western diplomats linking humanitarian aid to Afghanistan to an improvement in human rights.
\nLed by the Norwegian prime minister, Jonas Gahr St\u00f8re, whose country currently chairs the security council, Wednesday\u2019s session of the 15-member body sought to clarify the mandate of the UN political mission in Afghanistan.
\nThe mandate expires on 17 March and must be reviewed to account for the Taliban\u2019s return to power.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Ant\u00f3nio Guterres also urged release of aid to Afghanistan as humanitarian catastrophe worsens Kabul The Taliban must uphold the fundamental human rights of women and children, the United Nations chief has said, as he urged the international community to release frozen Afghan aid to prevent families from selling their babies to buy food. The secretary […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-241146","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n