‘Major’ humanitarian crisis looms in Afghanistan, UNHCR warns  

The “reality is, the displacement situation is wrong Afghanistan”, with much than 600,000 Afghans displaced this year, “80 per cent of which are women and children”, said UNHCR spokesperson, Babar Baloch, who was speaking from Pakistan. 

In an entreaty to the satellite not to crook distant its attraction oregon absorption from Afghans and Afghanistan, he warned that we cannot let this “to go a humanitarian catastrophe”. 

Describing the concern astatine the country’s borders with Pakistan, Mr. Baloch said UNHCR had not seen such a “large exile influx”, crossing implicit into Pakistan and Iran before. 

The mentation for this is unclear: “It could beryllium that immoderate of those radical whitethorn not deliberation they person the close documents, others whitethorn not beryllium truthful comfy successful presumption of confronting equipped guards astatine the borders”, he said. “Afghans are inactive capable to travel done Pakistan”, he explained, “but it is precise regulated,” and you indispensable amusement documents specified arsenic your ID card, passport oregon visa.  

Mr. Baloch’s entreaty follows the UNHCR’s repeated call on Tuesday for Afghanistan’s neighbouring States to support their borders unfastened to those fleeing.  

Journalists request urgent protection: rights experts  

States indispensable provide urgent extortion to Afghan journalists and media workers, who fearfulness for their lives and are seeking information abroad, UN-appointed autarkic rights experts said connected Friday. 

The safety of women is of peculiar concern as they are facing heightened risks since the Taliban’s governmental takeover of Afghanistan,” they added, arsenic “they whitethorn beryllium targeted for moving successful the media oregon simply being a pistillate successful nationalist life”. 

Reminding the Human Rights Council of the assorted resolutions connected the information of journalists adopted successful caller years, the experts called for expedited visas, assistance with evacuation, and unfastened borders for those who privation to permission Afghanistan. 

Increasingly targeted 

Reports of targeted killings of journalists and their household members, location raids, threats and intimidation successful areas controlled by the Taliban, have sharply accrued successful caller months, according to the rights experts. 

This is taking spot “in a discourse wherever Afghanistan is already considered 1 of the astir unsafe countries for journalists,” they pointed out. They called on the Council to see mounting up “an investigative and monitoring mechanics for accountability for each quality rights violations that person been taking place, including attacks, reprisals and unit against journalists and media workers. 

Accountability for quality rights violations is captious not lone for idiosyncratic justness but besides the prevention of aboriginal violations,” they argued. 

Emphasizing the important prevention relation of the Human Rights Council, they called connected the Council and each States, to bash their utmost to sphere the hard-won gains for media freedom, including for women journalists and media workers. 

“Last week’s Council solution connected quality rights successful Afghanistan fails to code the circumstantial risks faced by journalists and quality rights defenders successful the country,” they pointed out. 

“The information of journalists, women and men alike, quality rights defenders and sex equality activists, must beryllium a cardinal information of their engagement connected the quality rights concern successful Afghanistan. It is imperative for each States to basal firmly with the radical of Afghanistan,” the experts said. 

Independent quality rights experts are appointed under the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council, and are not UN staff, nor are they paid for their work.