United Nations: The Taliban pledged to guarantee the safety of humanitarian workers and aid access in Afghanistan in a meeting with the UN humanitarian chief in Kabul, a UN spokesman said.
Martin Griffiths was in the Afghan capital on Sunday for several days of meetings with Taliban leadership amid a looming humanitarian disaster in the country newly under the control of the hardline Islamists.
“The authorities pledged that the safety and security of humanitarian staff, and humanitarian access to people in need, will be guaranteed and that humanitarian workers — both men and women — will be guaranteed freedom of movement,” a statement from UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.
Griffiths reiterated in the meeting that the humanitarian community was committed to delivering “impartial and independent humanitarian assistance,” the statement added.
He also called on all parties to ensure the rights and safety of women, both those contributing to aid delivery and civilians. Women s freedoms in Afghanistan were sharply curtailed under the Taliban s 1996-2001 rule.
The Taliban delegation, led by the group s co-founder Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, thanked UN officials for the “promised continuation of humanitarian assistance to the Afghan people” and assured them “of cooperation and provision of needed facilities,” according to a statement posted on Twitter by Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen.
The UN says Afghanistan is mired in a humanitarian crisis affecting 18 million people, or half the population. AFP
