US Special Representative for Afghanistan Thomas West said Sunday he met with top UN officials in Geneva, including World Health Organization (WHO) officials, and other relief organizations working to assist Afghanistan, and that he participated in detailed discussions on the situation in the country.
In a series of tweets, West said however that the Islamic Emirate’s recent edicts threaten aid delivery to millions of people in Afghanistan.
“Participated in detailed discussion with like minded permanent representatives in Geneva RE: unified response to recent edicts. Simply put, Taliban (IEA) policies threaten aid delivery to millions.”
Referring to the UN’s special rapporteur for Afghanistan he said: “As human rights situation gravely deteriorates, especially for women and girls, we must support his work, access, and reporting.”
During last’s week’s visit to Switzerland, West met with the leaderships of IOM-UN Migration, the WHO, and other humanitarian aid groups.
The recent gender-based restrictions issued by the Islamic Emirate authorities barring women from accessing university education and working with non-governmental aid organizations prompted worldwide criticisms.
In response to the bans, renowned humanitarian aid groups and foreign governments called on the IEA to lift the restrictions and allow Afghan girls and women to get an education, work with aid organizations and participate in public life.
The IEA’s recent move triggered a large number of aid organizations to stop their life-saving operations across the country during these difficult economic times. Pushing on the implementation of the group’s extremely strict policies has already negatively influenced the delivery of much-need humanitarian aid to millions of people in Afghanistan.
