As you have told us, the consequences of the Taliban’s edicts on the humanitarian community’s ability to tackle one of the world’s biggest humanitarian crises are shateringly evident. Appreciate it. We should continue to use evidence-based arguments to demonstrate to the Taliban the impact of their edicts. And, the UK, will continue to support the humanitarian community while you engage the Taliban on these challenges in the weeks and months ahead. Therefore the UK calls on the Taliban to guarantee the safety and status of all humanitarian employees, female and male, global and national. Their vital role needs to be understood in any way levels – from national representatives to provincial safety forces and district degree officials. The UK welcomes your mission to Afghanistan just as we delightful that of the Deputy Secretary-General previously. We believe that normal senior UN level engagement, in close coordination along with NGOs, will be important within the weeks and months ahead as we navigate a way forwards. The consequences of the edicts will never be limited to our ability to supply humanitarian assistance to the Afghan people. They will also have the wider impact across our collective interests – across counter-terrorism, counter-narcotics, and regional stability. Thank you, Martin, and thank you to your IASC co-workers for this important briefing. We must remain united, firm and unequivocal in our message to the Taliban: aid delivery without the involvement of women cannot be normalised, and impairs the entire population – not only women and girls. As we continue to keep track of development in Afghanistan, the particular international community needs to listen and respond to the sounds of Afghan women. Their voices must be heard whatsoever levels of the humanitarian response. Which means high levels of transparency from humanitarian partners on the challenges they are facing in making certain women are able to access and participate in the delivery of assistance. The Taliban’s organized attempts to erase ladies from society will have crystal clear costs on Afghanistan’s economy, stability and security. We have been clear there can be no motion on recognition until the Taliban meets the expectations from the international community which have been placed repeatedly in successive Protection Council resolutions. Female humanitarian workers play a critical role in accessing Afghan communities in need: they reach populations their male counterparts cannot. So Martin, to close, the UK calls on the Taliban to reverse their harmful edicts and take action to ensure all communities have access to help and basic services.
