UN committed to delivery of humanitarian aid in Afghanistan: envoy

Ramiz Alakbarov, UN resident and humanitarian coordinator for Afghanistan, briefs reporters at the UN headquarters in New York, on Dec. 29, 2022. (Eskinder Debebe/UN Photo/Handout via Xinhua)

UNITED NATIONS, Dec. 29 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations and its humanitarian partners are committed to delivery of life-saving services to the people of Afghanistan despite the Taliban-run administration's decision to ban women from working in humanitarian non-governmental organizations, a UN envoy for Afghanistan said here on Thursday.

"Humanitarian needs of the (Afghan) people are absolutely enormous, and it's important that we continue to stay and deliver," Ramiz Alakbarov, UN resident and humanitarian coordinator for Afghanistan, told a press briefing.

Alakbarov stressed that it's equally important that the rights of women and girls in Afghanistan are "absolutely preserved and protected," adding that they are an "important" and "undeniable" element of the humanitarian action.

"We do not believe that it is possible to deliver a comprehensive humanitarian action without participation of women," he said.

As part of the efforts to resolve the situation, UN emergency relief coordinator Martin Griffiths will conduct a visit to Afghanistan in the coming weeks, Alakbarov said.