• The UN General Assembly adopted a resolution expressing deep concern over Afghanistan’s deteriorating humanitarian, economic and human rights conditions, urging the Taliban to reverse repressive policies and ensure inclusive governance.

• Adopted with 116 votes in favour, 12 abstentions and two 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.

• India decided to abstain on the resolution.

Key points of the resolution:

• 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.

• The resolution 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 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.

• More than 700,000 Afghan migrants have returned from Iran so far this year, including 256,000 in June alone, the UN International Organisation for Migration (IOM) reported, warning of immense pressures on Afghanistan’s overstretched support systems.   

• 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 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.

• 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.

76% disparity between women’s and men’s outcomes

• Nearly four years after the Taliban takeover in August 2021, a UN Women report revealed that Afghan women are falling significantly behind global standards for human development.

• A Gender Index report revealed that Afghanistan has the second-widest gender gap in the world (after Yemen), with a 76 per cent disparity between women’s and men’s outcomes in health, education, financial inclusion, and decision-making. 

• The Index also shows that women, on average, are realizing just 17 per cent of their full potential to make choices and access opportunities, while on average, women worldwide achieve 60.7 per cent.

• According to the report, 78 per cent of young Afghan women are not in education, employment or training — nearly four times the rate for Afghan men. 

• The secondary school completion rate for girls will soon collapse to zero, following bans on secondary and tertiary education, including in medical education, for girls and women.

• Afghanistan still has one of the largest workforce gender gaps in the world, with only 24 per cent of women participating in the labour force, compared to 89 per cent of men. 

• Women are more likely to work at home and in lower-paid, insecure jobs. Women also take on a greater share of unpaid domestic work: 74 per cent of women spent significant time doing household chores, compared to only 3 per cent of men. 

• The financial divide is equally stark, with men nearly three times more likely than women to own a bank account or use mobile money services.

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