Afghanistan faces ‘generational loss of talent and potential,’ Security Council hears

Georgette GagnonDeputy UN Special Representative who currently leads the UN mission, UNAMA, reflected on recent visits across the country and said the public repeatedly described increasing hardship.

Ms. Gagnon noted that the country’s de facto authorities have consolidated territorial and administrative control and currently faces “no significant armed or political challenges,” but warned that this apparent stability hides greater risks.

“What is happening now is increasing control by de facto authorities without any clear end goal,” he told the Council.

He cited demographic and economic pressures as major concerns Nearly 5.9 million Afghans have returned to their country since 2023 and another 2.8 million will return this year despite limited opportunities and distressed communities.

Afghanistan remains one of the world’s largest humanitarian crises, with 21.9 million people needing assistance by 2026.

The struggle of women and girls

The top official warned of “strict and increasing restrictions” that have long-term consequences for women and girls, and noted that an estimated 3.8 million girls aged seven to 18 are out of school.

“Every year, there are around 250,000 girls who are permanently excluded from the secondary education pathway, thus creating a lost generation of talent and potential,” he said, adding that increased restrictions had damaged Afghanistan’s economy and weakened sectors such as health and education.

He also renewed calls for authorities to lift restrictions impacting women, including continuing to exclude female Afghan staff at the UN.

‘Almost half of the country needs help’

Edem Wosornu, Director OchaThe Crisis Response Division, warned that humanitarian conditions continue to worsen due to the pressures of conflict, famine, climate shocks and lack of funding.

“Afghanistan remains one of the largest and most complex humanitarian crises in the world,” he said. “Nearly half the country needs help.”

He reported that renewed fighting along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border earlier this year displaced more than 100,000 people and left vulnerable communities without aid for weeks.

“Hunger is increasing across Afghanistan,” Wosornu said, noting that 4.7 million people now face severe food insecurity, 50 percent more than in the same period last year, while 3.7 million children suffer from acute malnutrition.

He described reports of some families making desperate decisions to survive, including selling their own daughterwhile restrictions on women continue to undermine humanitarian operations.

Institutionalized oppression

Civil society representative Metra Mehran, founder of the Afghanistan Justice Archive, described what she called the system of institutionalized gender oppression in Afghanistan.

“Since August 2021, the Taliban have issued more than 230 decrees,” he said, arguing that authorities had systematically deprived women and girls of their basic rights including education, employment, movement and participation in public life.”The Taliban even criminalizes women’s voices and faces.”

He highlighted the recently passed Criminal Procedure Code which he said formalizes discrimination and legalizes violence against women.

“Men are basically the owners of their wives,” Mehran told the council, warning that women who resisted restrictions would face arrest, violence and intimidation.

He also warned that countries and international institutions have a legal obligation under international law to act now.

“This not just our fighthe said in closing. “This is a test of our global system. A test of multilateralism. And a test of whether the principles spoken in rooms like this really mean anything in practice.”

UNAMA’s Gagnon emphasized that continued engagement remains necessary despite limited progress. “Sustained and ongoing dialogue is essential, accompanied by principled and pragmatic engagementeven when progress towards the final stage is gradual,” he said.