Afghanistan is “a country at a crossroads,” warned Georgette Gagnon, the UN Secretary-General’s Deputy Special Representative for Afghanistan and UNAMA Deputy Chief, as Taliban policies push the nation toward isolation amid rising hunger and shrinking freedoms.
Speaking to the UN Security Council on Human Rights Day, Georgette Gagnon urged governments to “not allow the current crises to become the new normal.”
“The Afghan people continue to endure multiple crises, and their resilience, while clear, is under severe strain,” Gagnon said. “Their situation demands both urgent attention and greater international support.”
Women and Girls “Systematically Excluded”
Gagnon said women and girls remain cut off from almost every sphere of public life. The Taliban’s ban on secondary and higher education for girls—now in its fourth year—continues to block the emergence of future doctors, teachers, and leaders.
“Afghanistan is depriving itself of the very people who could help rebuild it,” she said, noting increased media restrictions, intimidation of journalists, and daily enforcement of the Taliban’s “virtue and vice” rules.
The envoy condemned the Taliban’s ban on Afghan women UN staff entering UN premises, calling it a violation of both human rights and the UN Charter. “We need your further support to ensure this situation does not become normalized,” she told Council members.
Humanitarian Needs Surge as Returnees Pour In
Gagnon said more than 23 million Afghans will need humanitarian aid in 2026. Nearly 2.5 million Afghans returned from Iran and Pakistan in 2025 alone—many under pressure—straining communities already struggling to survive.
Despite projected GDP growth of 4.5 percent, per capita income is expected to fall again, the third consecutive year of decline. “Many returnees arrive with few possessions and few prospects,” she warned.
Rising Tensions with Pakistan, Sudden Telecom Blackout
While major conflict has subsided, tensions with Pakistan over the TTP have resulted in deadly cross-border clashes and prolonged border closures. Gagnon welcomed Pakistan’s decision to allow humanitarian supplies to pass but stressed the need for dialogue.
She also highlighted the Taliban leader’s abrupt decision—after the UN’s September briefing—to shut down Afghanistan’s entire telecommunications network. The blackout, she said, posed “life-threatening” risks by cutting access to medical care and halting humanitarian operations. It was reversed days later by what she described as the Taliban’s “more pragmatic faction.”
International Unity Fraying
Gagnon warned that the Taliban’s reluctance to engage in multilateral dialogue is increasingly frustrating donor nations. At the same time, she acknowledged divisions among UN member states themselves, reducing collective leverage.
“The objective is not reintegration under the de facto authorities as they currently are,” she said. “It is reintegration once they have met their international obligations.”
Despite the bleak picture, Gagnon said Afghanistan’s relative stability presents a narrow opening. “An opportunity exists to begin resolving the root causes of these crises,” she said, urging governments not to abandon the country.
“With the Council’s support, we can build bridges of engagement toward an Afghanistan at peace, reintegrated into the global community and where the human rights of all Afghans are respected.”
