News (Consolidated) - UNSOM

MAZAR - Around 300 representatives of civil society organizations alongside elected representatives of Provincial Council and high ranking government officials attended “One-Day Civil Society Conference” in Mazar-e-Sharif, the capital of Balkh Province. The conference was organized under the…

KABUL - Winter is often the worst time of year for very vulnerable displaced Afghan families. However, once again, UNHCR and its partners are delivering winter supplies to help these families, whether returning refugees or internally displaced persons (IDPs), face the freezing temperatures. As part…

KABUL - The United Nations welcomes actions by the Government of Afghanistan and civil society to ensure appropriately qualified commissioners are appointed to the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) through a transparent and consultative process, the United Nations Assistance…

KABUL - Coming up this week on RTA-UN television programmes CSA: Crime Scene Afghanistan and Mirror of the City, and radio's Afghanistan Emroz. CSA: Crime Scene Afghanistan This week’s show focuses on a murder case in Police District 10. Seyer, a taxi driver in Kabul, was kidnapped by a group of…

KABUL - The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) announced today a new food subsidy initiative geared towards providing Afghanistan’s urban poor with guaranteed access to provisions despite the threat of food insecurity across the country. UN News Centre The project, coordinated in partnership…

KABUL - The full Afghan Opium Survey for 2011 points to a dramatic increase of 133 per cent in the farm-gate value of opium compared with 2010 (the summary findings of the survey were issued in September 2011). Released today by the Ministry of Counter-Narcotics of Afghanistan and the United Nations…

NEWYORK - Global food prices declined in December, but the overall annual average was the highest ever on record, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) reported today. UN News Centre Last month, FAO’s Food Price Index level was 211 points – 27 points below its peak in February…

NEW YORK - The United Nations must respond as the demands for justice around the world grow, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today, calling for ushering in a new era of respect for the rule of law. UN News Centre “We have to create a world where the rule of law, social justice, accountability and…

BAMYAN - A Bamyan advocacy group is calling on the United Nations to support the creation of an action plan in Afghanistan to implement Security Council Resolution 1325 which draws attention to the inordinate impact of war on women and urges their full participation in conflict management and peace…

KABUL - First of all, I would like to thank you very much for coming to this first press conference of myself as the new head of UNAMA (United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan) and the new Special Representative of the Secretary-General. I didn’t want to postpone this press conference for…

KABUL - The Humanitarian Country Team (HCT) in Afghanistan has called for US$437 million for humanitarian preparedness and response in the country. A launch event held today in Kabul was officiated by the Humanitarian Coordinator, Mr. Michael Keating, under the auspices of His Excellency the…

Afghanistan suffers from cyclical natural disasters - floods and drought - which affect people annually and require expensive emergency responses, but their impacts could well be avoided, or at least mitigated, if proper water management systems or dams were built, for example. IRIN Some farmers…