UN Official Warns Taliban Rule and Poverty Are Major Challenges in Afghanistan

UN Official Warns Taliban Rule and Poverty Are Major Challenges in Afghanistan
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The UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Afghanistan, Richard Bennett, has warned that Taliban rule and widespread poverty remain the country’s most pressing challenges, urging urgent international action to address the worsening crisis. Speaking at a UN-hosted meeting in Geneva on Thursday, Bennett said Taliban policies have not only undermined fundamental rights but also eroded Afghanistan’s social and economic foundations.

He pointed to intensifying restrictions on women and girls, deepening poverty, and growing limitations on civil freedoms. Bennett emphasized the need to restore women’s and girls’ rights and ensure the participation of ethnic and religious minorities in decision-making processes, warning that exclusion fuels division and obstructs stability.

International representatives at the meeting underscored the importance of establishing transparent mechanisms to monitor human rights violations in Afghanistan. They called for concrete measures beyond political statements, including targeted sanctions and stronger support for international legal frameworks to hold perpetrators accountable.

Canada’s envoy to the UN stressed that women must be central to Afghanistan’s political and social processes, arguing that peace, justice, and sustainable solutions are impossible without their inclusion. Experts echoed that restoring women’s public and political participation is essential to breaking the cycle of repression and poverty.