YouSaid · the spoken record

Otunbayeva

lines on the record: 70
first: 2022-12-20
most recent: 2023-12-20
sittings or episodes: 5
sources: un-security-council

Every line below is reproduced as it was said and linked to the record it came from. Nothing here is summarised or generated. Directory · Search · Corrections

“I fear that, in 2023, the bans on women and other restrictions that the Taliban have wilfully applied will hinder future access. December 2022 witnessed the highest number of access constraints. With the Taliban ban on women’s NGO employment in place, our humanitarian workers are forced to make uncomfortable and imperfect compromises in order to continue to save Afghan lives. The absurdity of this situation requires no comment. Our ability to deliver is also affected by growing concerns about the looming threat posed to our own security and that of our NGO implementing partners by the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant-Khorasan. We are grateful for the security provided so far, but are concerned that the de facto authorities do not have the capacity to fully address emerging threats.”
2023-03-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9277 (2023) · source
“The bans against women working for NGOs are not the only serious obstacles to reaching vulnerable populations, but we are also concerned that national women staff working for the United Nations will also be banned. To date, we have seen efforts by the Taliban to prevent female staff from going to United Nations offices in five provinces. NGOs experience such restrictions to a much greater degree. In some provinces, we have had to temporarily suspend providing assistance because local officials have placed unacceptable conditions on its distribution. In general, there has been a recent deterioration of the humanitarian space. In 2022, before the constraints were put in place, the United Nations and NGO partners were able to reach 26.1 million people, in large part thanks to greater access to the country due to improved security situation.”
2023-03-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9277 (2023) · source
“They say their elimination from public life is no better than fearing violent death. The Afghan people continue to suffer deeply in other ways. Afghanistan remains the largest humanitarian crisis globally. Two thirds of the population, 28 million people, will need humanitarian assistance this year to survive. That will cost $4.62 billion, the single-largest country appeal ever. Almost half of the population, 20 million people, are experiencing crisis levels of food insecurity. Six million are one step away from famine-like conditions. Our humanitarian action is challenged by an increasingly complex access and security environment.”
2023-03-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9277 (2023) · source
“We understand that the Taliban have a highly different worldview than any other Government, but it is difficult to understand how any Government worthy of the name can govern against the needs of half of its population. Our focus has always been on the Afghan people. Indeed, our support for women’s rights, human rights and girls’ education is because that is a clear expectation of the Afghan people. They rightly expect that their country should not be the most retrograde on the planet regarding women’s rights. They understood by the assurances that the Taliban gave during the Doha negotiations that those rights would not be curtailed. Some women have told us that they even welcomed the Taliban coming to power because it ended the war, but very soon they began to lose hope.”
2023-03-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9277 (2023) · source
“They say they should be judged on other achievements. The reality is that the 20 December ban on higher education and the 24 December ban on women working for non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have serious consequences for the Afghan population and for the relationship between the Taliban and the international community. Funding for Afghanistan is likely to drop if women are not allowed to work. NGOs run by women, for example, have had to cease activities. If the amount of assistance is reduced, then the amount of dollar- cash shipments required to support that assistance will also decline. Discussions on providing greater development-style assistance, including with regard to small infrastructure and policies to mitigate the effects of climate change, as well as planned political engagements, have halted as a result of those bans.”
2023-03-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9277 (2023) · source
“Ms. Otunbayeva: Today is International Women’s Day, but I have few comforting messages to the women and girls in Afghanistan. The bans against women working, studying, travelling without a male companion and even going to parks or baths remain in place. The Taliban claim to have united the country, but they have also severely divided it by gender. At a moment when Afghanistan needs all of its human capital to recover from decades of war, half of the country’s potential doctors, scientists, journalists and politicians are shut in their homes, their dreams crushed and their talents confiscated. Afghanistan under the Taliban remains the most repressive country in the world regarding women’s rights. The Taliban tell us that this gender segregation is not a significant issue and is being addressed.”
2023-03-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9277 (2023) · source
“UNAMA’s focus must remain on the Afghan people, providing them life-saving humanitarian assistance, giving a voice to their demands for fundamental rights and freedoms, and, by its presence, holding out hope that Afghanistan will not be isolated from the international community. We are committed to these goals and to trying to maintain a space for positive engagement with the Taliban. But we must do so with a sense of realism, patience and a proper understanding of the situation as it evolves. As always, we look to the Security Council for support and guidance.”
2022-12-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9227 (2022) · source
“In UNAMA, we are undertaking an internal review to assess what has and has not been effective in the implementation of our mandate. This will yield recommendations for our future mandate. But, overall, we believe that engagement with the de facto authorities must continue in some form. As Council member themselves heard from female humanitarian workers in yesterday’s closed consultations of the whole, Afghans want continued engagement from the international community and believe that it is only through increased interaction with the de facto authorities that positive change can take place.”
2022-12-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9227 (2022) · source
“The Taliban have not addressed these issues, and in many cases their decisions have made them worse. But during these stakeholder discussions, Afghans showed that they are also frustrated with the interna- tional community’s approach. They expressed a desire for projects that are more long term, involve cash for work rather than handouts, or are more participatory, consultative and development-oriented. However, under current conditions, donors are increasingly unwilling to look beyond the provision of humanitarian assistance. As long as girls remain excluded from school and the de facto authorities continue to disregard other stated concerns of the international community, we remain at something of an impasse.”
2022-12-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9227 (2022) · source
“Nonetheless, the ban will have a negative effect on the income of individual farmers, as few alternative livelihood programmes have been put into place. These somewhat positive economic developments may not be sustainable if the real concerns of Afghans are not addressed. Between 11 October and 8 November, UNAMA carried out stakeholder consultations in 12 provinces selected to ensure a representation of all Afghan communities and sectors. We engaged with 519 participants, including 189 women and 83 representatives of the de facto authorities. The concerns expressed by the population had to do with the ban on girls’ education, lack of health-care facilities, mental-health problems of the population, poverty and economic insecurity, and discrimination against ethnic minorities.”
2022-12-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9227 (2022) · source
“The main impediment to greater investment is the high cost of international financial transactions. And while the Taliban’s economic management has been more effective than expected, it should also be recognized that international donors continue to feed more than half of the population. The cash payments required to deliver humanitarian assistance indirectly inject liquidity into the economy. Without that assistance, the picture in Afghanistan could be far bleaker. Finally, there is evidence that the Taliban are implementing the ban that they announced in April on the cultivation of opium and other narcotics by destroying fields that were planted before and after the ban’s announcement. We will not be able to verify the actual implementation of this ban until early next year, but the intention behind it is commendable.”
2022-12-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9227 (2022) · source
“After the currency’s steep deterioration a year ago, the afghani has remained generally stable. Exports have risen to a historic level of about $1.7 billion this year, compared to about $700 million under the Republic. The de facto authorities are implementing an economic strategy that focuses on self-reliance. They are investing in sectors such as agriculture, irrigation, infrastructure, water management and mining, industries that can provide a foundation for economic growth. The Taliban have identified the private sector as a key driver of economic growth and are somewhat responsive to the concerns of private-sector actors. UNAMA has been in regular contact with private-sector actors and organizations, including women’s chambers of commerce.”
2022-12-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9227 (2022) · source
“For now, the main impediment to investment, besides policy uncertainty, is that it is extremely expensive for the Taliban to engage in international financial transactions owing to the reluctance of international banks to do business with Afghanistan. However, the de facto authorities announced the collection of more revenues in the first 10 months of 2022 than the Republic collected in 2021 and 2020 together, despite an economic contraction of 20 per cent in 2021. With those revenues, and by reducing the costs of Government, the Taliban have managed to finance their operational budget and have indicated that they have the resources to begin some development projects. They have also managed to maintain macroeconomic stability, albeit at a much lower level of economic activity.”
2022-12-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9227 (2022) · source
“We, as the United Nations, have an ongoing dialogue with the Taliban regarding human rights concerns and specific violations of international human rights law. We do not see eye to eye with the Taliban on a number of issues, but the focus is and should be on maintaining a dialogue in the hope of a better future for Afghanistan, where everyone — women, men, girls and boys — can live a life of dignity and equality. There are, however, some positive developments, particularly on the economic front. The overall levels of corruption are significantly down compared to the days of the Republic, but there have been worrying signs of an uptick in the past six months, especially in petty corruption at the local level.”
2022-12-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9227 (2022) · source
“We have urged the Taliban to do as many Islamic countries do and refrain from inflicting pain, including through acts of corporal punishment, in their application of religious law. On 7 December, the first judicially sanctioned public execution — reportedly as an implementation of qisās punishment — was carried out for a murder that took place in 2017. It was attended by senior members of the Taliban. I want to reiterate here what I have stressed to the de facto authorities, which is that the death penalty is incompatible with the core principles of international human rights law. The United Nations uniformly criticizes all countries that apply the death penalty or corporal punishment. It is clear that there are severe differences of positions on a range of issues between UNAMA and the de facto authorities.”
2022-12-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9227 (2022) · source
“It has been criticized by the entire Islamic world and has undermined the Taliban’s relationship with the international community, but it remains in force, causing damage today that will be felt far into the future. On 13 November, the Taliban announced that their leader, Haibatullah Akhundzada, had ordered judges to implement capital and corporal punishments known as hudūd and qisās in order to fully enforce sharia law. UNAMA has documented that such punishments have been taking place ever since the Taliban’s takeover. However, since the announcement of the Taliban leader’s order they have become increasingly public. Any international criticism of such punishments as violations of human rights has been rejected by the Taliban as anti-Islamic.”
2022-12-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9227 (2022) · source
“Moreover, the media and civil society, which are already suffering from serious financial constraints, continue to be stifled through intimidation by the de facto security institutions and at times through repressive actions. The suppression of opposing voices is all the more unfortunate given the increasing harshness of the Taliban’s social policies. We have seen a slew of decrees that are especially harmful to women. Women have been banned since 9 November from visiting most public parks, bathhouses and gymnasiums. Their social space is now being restricted as much as their political space. The banning of secondary education will mean that in two years no girls will be entering university. That decision is extremely unpopular among Afghans and even within the Taliban leadership.”
2022-12-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9227 (2022) · source
“The Taliban reject the need for any sort of intra-Afghan dialogue and claim that their Government is sufficiently representative. The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) continues to push at all levels for wider consultation and representation, as I briefed the Council about during the Arria Formula meeting in October. We also continue to interact with many non-Taliban civil-society and political figures in Afghanistan. We believe that the only way forward for Afghanistan is through a more pluralistic polity where all Afghans, especially women and minorities, see themselves represented and have a real voice in decision-making. That is clearly not the case now.”
2022-12-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9227 (2022) · source
“We are deeply concerned about the recent activity of the Islamic State-Khorosan Province in particular, as well as the attacks on the embassies of the Russian Federation and Pakistan and a hotel hosting many Chinese nationals, which resulted in significant civilian casualties. There nonetheless remains a general sense of security and freedom of movement for Afghans. On the other hand, we are greatly concerned about the recent continued exchanges of fire between Afghanistan and Pakistan and welcome all efforts towards de-escalation. There is no significant visible political opposition to the Taliban inside Afghanistan. The exiled politicians of the Republic are of course vocal critics, but they are fragmented, and their statements resonate less and less with the population inside Afghanistan.”
2022-12-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9227 (2022) · source
“Ms. Otunbayeva: I have visited as many parts of Afghanistan as possible in my first three months as Special Representative of the Secretary-General. What struck me most was the misery of so many Afghans who live in great poverty and uncertainty about the future. Many told me during my visits around the country that they are simply surviving. My colleague Martin Griffiths will provide details on the humanitarian situation. Beyond pressing immediate humanitarian needs, however, Afghanistan is a country still traumatized by long decades of war. The Taliban remain essentially in control of the country but unable to satisfactorily address the problem of terrorist groups operating inside Afghanistan.”
2022-12-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9227 (2022) · source