Beautiful Virgin Islands

Wednesday, Oct 08, 2025

UN Says Taliban-Led Afghanistan Needs Funds To Avoid Collapse

UN Says Taliban-Led Afghanistan Needs Funds To Avoid Collapse

"A modus vivendi must be found -- and quickly -- that allows money to flow to Afghanistan to prevent a total breakdown of the economy and social order," Lyons told a Security Council meeting.

A UN envoy on Thursday urged the world to keep money flowing into Afghanistan despite concerns over the Taliban government, warning the already poor country could otherwise suffer a historic breakdown.

Deborah Lyons, the secretary-general's special representative on Afghanistan, called on the world at least to give a chance to the victorious Taliban as the Islamist insurgents turn to governance and confront a severe economic decline.

"A modus vivendi must be found -- and quickly -- that allows money to flow to Afghanistan to prevent a total breakdown of the economy and social order," Lyons told a Security Council meeting.

If not, the result would be "a severe economic downturn that could throw many more millions into poverty and hunger, may generate a massive wave of refugees from Afghanistan and indeed set Afghanistan back for generations."

She warned that the new Afghan authorities cannot pay salaries and voiced alarm over a storm of crises including a plunging currency, sharply rising food and fuel prices, and a lack of cash at private banks.

Foreign donors led by the United States provided more than 75 percent of the public expenditure under Afghanistan's 20-year Western-backed government -- and quickly stopped payments as it crumbled last month amid a US military withdrawal.

President Joe Biden's administration has voiced openness on humanitarian aid but says that any direct economic lifeline, including unfreezing some $9.5 billion in Afghan central bank assets, will be contingent on Taliban actions including allowing safe passage to people to leave.

China, which has quickly moved to work with the Taliban, alleged that US actions have worsened Afghans' plight.

"These assets belong to Afghanistan and should be used for Afghanistan, not as leverage for threats," said China's deputy UN envoy, Geng Shuang.

Lyons, a former Canadian ambassador to Afghanistan, said that "safeguards must be created to ensure that this money is spent where it needs to be spent and not misused by the de facto authorities."

But she added: "The economy must be allowed to breathe for a few more months, giving the Taliban a chance to demonstrate flexibility and a genuine will to do things differently this time, notably from a human rights, gender and counterterrorism perspective."

The UN Development Programme said that Afghanistan is already one of the poorest nations, with 72 percent living on no more than one dollar a day.

That figure could soar to 97 percent by mid-2022 due to foreign money drying up and a severe Covid-19 outbreak, said the UN agency's Asia director, Kanni Wignaraja.

Mounting concerns


The United Nations plans a pledging conference on Monday for humanitarian assistance, although without the Taliban government -- which has not been recognized by any country.

The appeals for support come despite wide concerns over an interim government named Tuesday by the Taliban that includes no women and several ministers on UN watchlists over terrorism allegations.

Lyons said there were "credible allegations" that the Taliban has carried out reprisal killings of security forces despite promises of amnesty.

She also voiced concern over what she said was rising harassment of Afghan staff of the United Nations, although she said the Taliban had largely respected the world body's premises.

Malala Yousafzai, who was shot in the head by Pakistan's branch of the Taliban at age 15 for her advocacy of girls' education, said she was hearing growing cases of Afghan girls and female teachers being told to stay home.

The Nobel laureate urged international pressure on the Taliban, whose 1996-2001 regime severely restricted women's rights and forbade girls' education.

World powers should send a "clear and open message" to the Taliban that any working relationship is contingent on girls' education, she told the Security Council.

"Speaking with one voice for girls' education can compel the Taliban to make real concessions. This is vital not only for Afghan women and girls themselves but for longterm security in the region and our world," she said.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
France: Less Than a Month After His Appointment, the New French Prime Minister Resigns
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that Hungary will not adopt the euro because the European Union is falling apart.
Sarah Mullally Becomes First Woman Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury
Mayor in western Germany in intensive care after stabbing
Australian government pays Deloitte nearly half a million dollars for a report built on fabricated quotes, fake citations, and AI-generated nonsense.
US Prosecutors Gained Legal Approval to Hack Telegram Servers
Macron Faces Intensifying Pressure to Resign or Trigger New Elections Amid France’s Political Turmoil
Standard Chartered Names Roberto Hoornweg as Sole Head of Corporate & Investment Banking
UK Asylum Housing Firm Faces Backlash Over £187 Million Profits and Poor Living Conditions
UK Police Crack Major Gang in Smuggling of up to 40,000 Stolen Phones to China
BYD’s UK Sales Soar Nearly Nine-Fold, Making Britain Its Biggest Market Outside China
Trump Proposes Farm Bailout from Tariff Revenues Amid Backlash from Other Industries
FIFA Accuses Malaysia of Forging Citizenship Documents, Suspends Seven Footballers
Latvia to Bar Tourist and Occasional Buses to Russia and Belarus Until 2026
A Dollar Coin Featuring Trump’s Portrait Expected to Be Issued Next Year
Australia Orders X to Block Murder Videos, Citing Online Safety and Public Exposure
Three Scientists Awarded Nobel Prize in Medicine for Discovery of Immune Self-Tolerance Mechanism
OpenAI and AMD Forge Landmark AI-Chip Alliance with Equity Option
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
France Names New Government Amid Political Crisis
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
×