News (Consolidated) - UNSOM

HERAT - The western Afghan province of Herat has experienced a strong fall in the number of cases of self-immolation by women over the past six months, according to the main hospital there. The hospital’s manager, Rafiq Shirzai, said it recorded a 40 per cent decrease in cases of self-immolation…

NEW YORK - The members of the Security Council condemned in the strongest terms the attack on 13 September on the United States Consulate in Herat, Afghanistan, for which the Taliban have claimed responsibility. They expressed their deep sympathy and sincere condolences to the families of the…

BAMYAN - Afghanistan’s central Bamyan province hosted a series of events over the past weeks – three of them supported by the United Nations – to highlight the issues of women’s participation in political processes and curbing gender-based violence ahead of next year’s Presidential and Provincial…

KABUL - Afghanistan’s 2-0 win over India for the South Asian Football Federation Championship trophy was a historic occasion – the country’s first such international football victory. The win has also seen the Afghanistan National Football Team rise seven places in FIFA’s world rankings table to the…

KABUL - Afghanistan experienced a sharp rise in attacks against aid workers and health facilities last month, raising fears that humanitarian access might shrink further during the ongoing political and security transitions, according to the United Nations agency responsible for coordinating…

KABUL - The Independent Election Commission of Afghanistan (IEC) sought active support of the country’s ulema (‘religious scholars’) and community elders in raising awareness among and mobilizing the public for next year’s Presidential and Provincial Council elections, at a seminar in the capital…

KABUL - The head of the United Nations agency dedicated to gender equality and the empowerment of women has condemned the “intimidation and targeted killings” of Afghan women government officials and is calling for justice. “Recent cases of targeted killings point to the urgent need to guarantee…

KABUL - The United Nations human rights chief said today that the Afghan Government should make extra effort to ensure that the country’s human rights gains of the past are not sacrificed to political expediency in the months leading up to next year’s elections. “My concern that the momentum of…

KABUL - The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) acknowledges the timely appointments to the Independent Electoral Complaints Commission (IECC). Great responsibility is vested in the Commissioners to ensure that the IECC acts as an impartial and independent electoral dispute…

KABUL - A United Nations-supported toll-free telephone hotline which provides “correct information” to the Afghan public on next year’s Presidential and Provincial Council elections has received some 155,000 calls since it began operations in mid-July, with an average of about 22,000 calls every…

NANGARHAR - Participants of a one-day conference on “Women’s Problems and Ways of Solution” in Nangarhar province earlier this week highlighted the need for increased and active participation of women in the upcoming presidential and provincial council elections slated for 5 April 2014. Over 300…

KABUL - The UN refugee agency, in close collaboration with the Governments of Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan, expects to agree on a joint resource mobilization strategy for the Afghan refugee situation – the world’s largest and most protracted refugee situation – in the coming days. “It stresses the…