News (Consolidated) - UNSOM

KABUL - Afghanistan must shield and develop its real human rights advances, said a senior UNAMA official in an interview issued Tuesday, pledging the UN’s commitment to remaining centre stage with Afghans to safeguard the gains and prevent any rollback. Speaking after completing more than five years…

KABUL - The United Nations expressed its outrage at today’s murder of nine civilians working with the People in Need agency. "Once again, I am appalled to be speaking out following the killing of aid workers who are providing much needed assistance in Afghanistan,” said Mark Bowden, the UN…

KABUL - The Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Afghanistan, Nicholas Haysom, discussed the need for electoral reform and other key issues in a 1 June meeting with Chief Executive Officer Dr. Abdullah Abdullah. Haysom, who is also head of the United Nations Assistance Mission in…

NANGARHAR - More Afghan women should be working as journalists, said panellists during a UNAMA-backed televised debate broadcast in Afghanistan’s eastern province of Nangarhar this week. The debate, organized by UNAMA’s regional office along with local NGO Development and Change Association, drew a…

KABUL - Women must play a central role in helping to shape Afghanistan’s future, especially in regard to any peace process, said the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Afghanistan, Nicholas Haysom, during a meeting with leaders from Afghan civil society organizations on Thursday. In…

KUNDUZ - The protection of civilians in armed conflict was the focus of a UN-backed advocacy meeting, held in Kunduz, that brought together key members of the local community. Organized by the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) in cooperation with UNAMA, the meeting discussed…

KABUL - The conflict in Afghanistan is resulting in thousands of people being killed or wounded, forcing families to leave their homes and seek refuge in neighbouring communities, said Mark Bowden, the UN Secretary-General’s Deputy Special Representative for Afghanistan, at a conference on Sunday…

BAMYAN - The Shah Foladi region of central Bamyan province – which includes one of Afghanistan’s most beautiful and fascinating landscapes, the Shah Foladi Valley – has been declared a protected area. The National Environmental Protection Agency of Afghanistan announcement, coinciding with World…

HERAT - The importance of expanded public-private partnerships to propel economic growth and social development was highlighted at a conference in Herat. The one-day conference yesterday, organized by UNAMA’s Herat-based Civil Affairs team, included government officials, United Nations…

GARDEZ - Forging a working partnership between Provincial Councils and Civil Society lies at the heart of a series of recent UNAMA-backed meetings taking place across the country. In the latest meeting in Sharan in Paktika province, more than 70 people participated, including members of the…

DUSHANBE - The United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon met with Dr. Abdullah Abdullah, Chief Executive Officer of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, on the margins of the High-Level International Conference on the implementation of the International Decade, “Water for Life.”The Secretary…

MAZAR-I-SHARIF - More than 100 people gathered in Mazar-i-Sharif, in Afghanistan’s northern Balkh province, to discuss electoral issues and form a new regional civil society network designed to address them. Participants at the event, facilitated by the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA)…