UN resumes aid flights to Afghanistan

The flights operated by the United Nations World Food Program fly between the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, Mazar-i-Sharif in northern Afghanistan, and Kandahar in the south. Three planes have already landed in Mazar-i-Sharif since August 29.

UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said the flight enables “160 humanitarian organizations to continue their life-saving operations in the provinces of Afghanistan”.

According to Dujarric, they want to expand with more flights and more destinations in Afghanistan. Between 2002 and 2021, UN humanitarian flights served more than 20 destinations in Afghanistan.

“We will try to return to these places when the security situation and funding allow,” Dujarric said.

At the same time, the future of the organization in Afghanistan is unclear, according to UN sources. The mandate of the United Nations mission in Afghanistan expires on September 17, and the Security Council will discuss the possibility of extending it next week. But after the Taliban seized power, Onama’s circumstances changed drastically.

In a statement Thursday, Human Rights Watch called on the Security Council to renew its mandate.

“The Taliban has very poor human rights credentials, particularly in the case of abuses against women and girls, so the UN mission at Human Rights Watch, Louis Charbonneau, said in a statement issued by the UN Secretary-General at Human Rights Watch. The United Nations needs to act in the eyes of the world and report frankly on the situation in Afghanistan.” statment.