RASC News Agency: The Secretary-General of the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) has issued a stark warning about the worsening humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan, stating that the country remains unsafe and that the Taliban have effectively imprisoned its citizens under oppressive conditions. Jan Egeland condemned the international community for abandoning Afghanistan following the Taliban’s return to power, asserting that global attention has all but disappeared, leaving millions to suffer in silence. “The world has turned its back on Afghanistan,” Egeland declared, emphasizing that despite widespread human rights abuses, Afghanistan no longer commands the urgency and engagement it desperately requires.
Since the Taliban’s takeover, Afghanistan has witnessed an unprecedented deterioration in civil liberties, with the regime imposing severe restrictions on daily life. Poverty and unemployment have skyrocketed, forcing many to flee the country, while others crippled by economic despair have tragically resorted to suicide. Egeland urged European diplomats to engage directly with Afghanistan rather than relying on symbolic meetings in Western capitals. “There is no need for another conference in Paris, Copenhagen, or Oslo. Afghanistani women need us on the ground, standing alongside them, advocating for their rights, and resisting gender discrimination,” he told Agence France-Presse (AFP).
He further denounced the Taliban’s rule as a suffocating regime, describing Afghanistan as a living hell where repression is the norm, and citizens are deprived of fundamental freedoms. Speaking on Thursday, January 30, Egeland also underscored the dire plight of Afghanistani refugees, highlighting that Iran and Pakistan are systematically deporting thousands while simultaneously diminishing their willingness to host new asylum seekers. Having recently traveled across multiple Afghanistani provinces, he painted a bleak and deeply concerning picture of the humanitarian landscape, warning that the situation demands immediate global intervention.
The Norwegian Refugee Council has previously cautioned that Afghanistan already devastated by decades of war, economic collapse, and climate disasters is in no position to accommodate the millions of forcibly returned refugees.
