The United Nations Assistance mission in Afghanistan called for an end to targeted attacks on civilians and “greater protection for Afghanistan’s Hazara community and accountability for perpetrators.”
The Taliban, like previous administrations in Afghanistan, are pinning their hopes on the country's vast and untapped mineral resources to line the nation's coffers.
Afghanistan hosts 6.55 million IDPs, making it the second country with the highest count of displaced individuals after Syria. The report also sounded an alert about the potential escalation of global displacement within the next three decades.
Since regaining power two years ago, the Taliban have largely discarded Afghanistan’s democratic institutions but have taken a somewhat accommodating, albeit contradictory, approach toward independent media. Instead of a banning independent media altogether, they have implemented regulatory restrictions and punitive measures to limit free speech and control the media environment. This policy approach seems to be part of an evolving communication strategy that helped enable the group’s rise to power. Despite all the bad news coming out of Afghanistan, resilient, creative journalists and media outlets provide reason for some guarded optimism. The international community should do what it can to support the media sector, which is essential for advocating for citizen rights and providing an information lifeline to Afghans.