Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR)

10/05/2023

Last quarter, Taliban interference with NGO work escalated, leading to a steady decline in humanitarian access in 2023, with a 32% increase in incidents between January and May 2023 as compared to the same period in 2022. According to USAID Bureau of Humanitarian Affairs (BHA), Taliban interference in humanitarian assistance is the main barrier to beneficiaries accessing aid in 2023.

BHA reported to SIGAR that specific instances of Taliban interference, including attempted aid diversion and bureaucratic roadblocks, disrupted UN aid provision in Daykundi, Ghor, and Uruzgan Provinces this quarter. The most recent publicly available data from BHA show there were a total of 110 access incidents related to Taliban interference in April 2023 alone.

According to analysis from USIP, the Taliban are comfortable accepting foreign support insofar as they can closely monitor the organizations, including restricting and controlling them, and claim some credit for the provision of the benefits.

Since December 2021, the UN has tracked 173 Taliban directives concerning humanitarian assistance, including 37 related to restrictions on female participation in aid provision. Directives are enforced haphazardly, and humanitarian actors rely on fragile verbal exemptions at the local level, but Taliban interference persists. The UN tracked 299 incidences with the Taliban between February and May 2023 alone.

BHA told SIGAR that as of June 2023, four UN partners continue to partially suspend operations due to the Taliban directive barring women from humanitarian work.

Continue reading here: https://www.sigar.mil/pdf/quarterlyreports/2023-07-30qr.pdf =88

For daily updates, follow SIGAR on Twitter

09/28/2023

A new Table (Table F.2) in the Status of Funds section provides a more detailed look at funds remaining for possible disbursement. The table breaks down these funds into two categories:

- Funds that have been appropriated and allocated for Afghanistan programming but have not yet been obligated for these purposes;

- Funds that have been obligated for Afghanistan programming but not yet disbursed under the obligated contract (“unliquidated obligations”). The second category also presents active projects and inactive/expired awards, balances reserved for close-out.

https://www.sigar.mil/pdf/quarterlyreports/2023-07-30qr.pdf =39

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09/21/2023

This quarter, the number of people in need of life-saving assistance in Afghanistan increased by an estimated 500,000, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

Although Afghanistan is experiencing the world’s largest humanitarian crisis, with 28.8 million people in need, Taliban policy has made aid provision in Afghanistan more difficult than ever. The Taliban continue to bar Afghan women from working with NGOs and the UN, which UN Secretary-General António Guterres said is putting the lives of women in jeopardy and undermining Afghanistan’s socioeconomic development.

Although the UN has said the Taliban’s directives conflict with its founding principle of nondiscrimination, on May 2, Secretary-General Guterres announced the UN’s decision to stay in Afghanistan to continue aiding the Afghan people. “Humanitarian aid is a fragile lifeline for millions of Afghans,” he said. However, the UN humanitarian effort is shifting in response to difficult operating conditions and waning donor support.

In June, the UN reduced the funding goal for their 2023 Humanitarian Response Plan by over $1.3 billion, a nearly 30% cut. According to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the economy and the level of poverty in Afghanistan are very sensitive to humanitarian assistance. In a recent report, UNDP predicted that even a 30% cut in aid this year would ensure the economy continues to decline. Moreover, with a rising population outpacing economic growth, Afghanistan will be locked into a poverty trap “for the foreseeable future” unless the Taliban change their policies and prioritize sustainable growth.

https://www.sigar.mil/interactive-reports/sigar-quarterly-report-2023-07-30/

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09/14/2023

USAID continues to implement programs in in areas such as agriculture, economy, education, health, and democracy, gender, and rights.

For example, USAID continues to implement public health initiatives in Afghanistan valued at over $295 million (shown in Table E.5). The status of these programs’ services remained precarious, in part due to the Taliban ban on Afghan women working for the UN.

USAID also continues to manage several democracy, gender, and rights programs in Afghanistan focused on providing support to civil society organizations, media sector, Afghan women and girls, and conflict-affected civilians (shown in Table E.6).

https://www.sigar.mil/interactive-reports/sigar-quarterly-report-2023-07-30/

For daily updates, follow SIGAR on Twitter

09/07/2023

$3.5 billion in Da Afghanistan Bank (DAB) assets are being held in the Afghan Fund in Switzerland, but according to the Treasury and State Departments, the long-term goal is for the funds to be returned to DAB. State and Treasury have indicated that they will not support a return of funds until, at minimum, certain criteria are met. Specifically, DAB must demonstrate that it is independent from political influence and interference, and that it has adequate controls in place to prevent money laundering or terrorism funding. It must also undergo a third-party needs assessment and retain a “reputable” third-party monitor.

A third-party assessment of the Afghan Central Bank (completed in March) found that the bank improved but is deficient and is not politically independent. According to the State Department, the assessment did not adequately capture DAB’s deficiencies.

Continue reading here:https://www.sigar.mil/pdf/quarterlyreports/2023-07-30qr.pdf =111

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08/31/2023

As part of the 2023 Humanitarian Response Plan issued in March, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs originally sought $4.6 billion to assist 23.7 million Afghans with lifesaving and protection assistance in 2023.

On June 5, the UN revised downward its request to $3.2 billion due to donor fatigue and constraints in providing aid after the Taliban banned Afghan women from working for the UN. In a statement on the funding decrease, the UN said, “[t]he recent bans on Afghan women working for… NGOs and the UN have added yet another layer of complexity to what is already an incredibly challenging protection environment, and further constrained the operational capacity of partners.”

As of June, the 2023 Humanitarian Response Plan was only 14% funded.

Read here:https://www.sigar.mil/pdf/quarterlyreports/2023-07-30qr.pdf =61

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08/24/2023

On June 25, Taliban supreme leader Haibatullah Akhundzada announced that illicit o***m poppy cultivation had been eradicated in Afghanistan as a result of the Taliban’s April 2022 o***m poppy cultivation ban. Afghan op**te industry expert David Mansfield said there was a preliminary, but noticeable cultivation reduction across southern Afghanistan, leading to the lowest levels of poppy cultivation since the Taliban’s 2000–2001 ban.

However, Mansfield reported that it was too early to assess the Taliban’s narcotics ban’s efficacy across all points in the production chain and the cultivation decrease reflected farmers voluntarily not planting poppy crops in the 2022 planting season (October and November), following Taliban warnings; he also noted that the 2024 season will better show the 2022 ban’s effects, as farmers still have their 2022 o***m crop to sell this year.

https://www.sigar.mil/.../quarterlyre.../2023-07-30qr.pdf...

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08/17/2023

Despite Taliban promises made since gaining power in August 2021 to be more inclusive, counter terrorism, respect human rights, and not pose security threat to region, UN says Taliban “shows no signs of bending to pressure for reform or compromise…They are unchecked by any meaningful political opposition.”

UN Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team recently issued a report that, in part, blames the “absence of any internationally agreed multilateral strategy on how to deal with the Taliban, and to what common ends” for the acceleration of the regime’s consolidated power and reneging on governance promises.
https://www.sigar.mil/pdf/quarterlyreports/2023-07-30qr.pdf =99

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08/08/2023

🚨 Today, SIGAR released its 60th Quarterly Report to Congress and the American people. The report tracks ongoing U.S. aid to the people, new information on Taliban interference with NGOs delivering aid, and updates on the deteriorating humanitarian situation.

📍 Read the full report here:https://www.sigar.mil/pdf/quarterlyreports/2023-07-30qr.pdf

📍 Status of Funds Section:https://www.sigar.mil/pdf/quarterlyreports/2023-07-30qr-section2-funding.pdf

📍 U.S. Assistance Section:https://www.sigar.mil/pdf/quarterlyreports/2023-07-30qr-section2-assistance.pdf

📍 Recent Developments Section:https://www.sigar.mil/pdf/quarterlyreports/2023-07-30qr-section2-developments.pdf

For daily updates, follow SIGAR on Twitter

Photo by Wakil KOHSAR/AFP

08/03/2023

Since its creation in 2008, SIGAR has raised serious concerns about weaknesses in the U.S. reconstruction effort in Afghanistan that could lead to failure. While Afghanistan and Ukraine are very different countries with a history of facing very different threats, many of the challenges U.S. agencies faced in Afghanistan—coordinating efforts, dealing with corruption, and effectively monitoring and evaluating projects and programs—will be the same as the ones they will face in Ukraine.

In response to a letter by Senators Kennedy, Cramer, Braun, and Sinema, SIGAR identified seven lessons applicable to Ukraine, each accompanied by a brief discussion of assistance to Ukraine, followed by recommendations to ensure that lessons from Afghanistan benefit similar efforts in Ukraine. These lessons were learned the hard way as part of a massive U.S. government effort that ultimately ended in failure. The recommendations presented here can help policymakers and program implementers avoid some of the pitfalls of the past and focus on efforts that have the greatest chance of leading to better outcomes.

Read the letter here:https://www.sigar.mil/pdf/spotlight/2023-07-07-SIGAR-Letter-to-Sens-Kennedy_Sinema_Cramer_Braun-Re-Lessons-Learned.pdf

For daily updates, follow SIGAR on Twitter

07/27/2023

Happening Now: 🚨Watch IG Sopko speak at the Quincy Institute on Lessons Learned from Oversight of War and Reconstruction Efforts in Afghanistan:

Join us for a discussion of lessons to learn in Ukraine from Afghan reconstruction, featuring Special Inspector General John Sopko.

07/26/2023

Happening tomorrow:🚨 IG Sopko to speak at the Quincy Institute on Lessons Learned from Oversight of War and Reconstruction Efforts in Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR)

Register here:

Join us for a discussion of lessons to learn in Ukraine from Afghan reconstruction, featuring Special Inspector General John Sopko.

07/20/2023

In May, Senator Chuck Grassley sent a letter to SIGAR asking for lessons learned from conducting Afghanistan reconstruction oversight that is applicable to other reconstruction efforts. SIGAR responded to the letter:https://www.sigar.mil/pdf/spotlight/2023-06-15%20SIGAR%20Response%20to%20Sen%20Grassley%20Regarding%20Lessons%20Learned%20from%20Afghanistan.pdf

Question 1: What are the key challenges and obstacles to successful reconstruction in a war zone? How have you addressed these issues in Afghanistan?

Lesson 1: Corruption is a key obstacle to success and in Afghanistan undermined the U.S. mission by enabling predatory behavior, exacerbating local conflict, and channeling support directly to the insurgency.

Lesson 2: Lack of effective coordination—both within the U.S. government and across the international coalition—was a major obstacle to success and resulted in a disjointed patchwork of ineffective efforts, rather than a united and coherent approach.

Lesson 3: Pervasive insecurity continuously undermined every effort to rebuild government and security institutions, and efforts to improve security often resulted in new or worse problems.

Lesson 4: Poor U.S. personnel policies—both civilian and military—meant that U.S. efforts were rarely overseen by trained and qualified staff.

Lesson 5: The U.S. needs to understand the host country’s social, economic, and political systems to successfully tailor its reconstruction efforts.

Lesson 6: U.S. government agencies rarely conducted sufficient monitoring and evaluation to understand the impact of their efforts.

To read the full response and for more details, click the link above.

For daily updates, follow SIGAR on Twitter

07/13/2023

SIGAR’s Lessons Learned Program identifies and preserves lessons from the U.S. reconstruction experience in Afghanistan, and makes recommendations on ways to improve efforts in current and future operations.

This week, Special Inspector General John Sopko discussed lessons learned at the Parliament of the United Kingdom, and with the U.K.'s Independent Commission for Aid Impact (ICAI) at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI). The recorded video event is available at the rusi.org link below.

https://www.sigar.mil/pdf/speeches/2023-07-10%20SIGAR%20RUSI%20Remarks_FINAL.pdf

https://rusi.org/events/open-to-all/learning-aid-spending-afghanistan-other-fragile-conflict-states

07/10/2023

Happening Now🚨: IG Sopko speaks at Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) event in London with the Independent Commission for Aid Impact (ICAI).

Topic: Lessons Learned from applicable to other contexts around globe

Partnering with the Independent Commission for Aid Impact (ICAI) and the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), we look at lessons learned from aid to Afghanistan and how these might be applied to other contexts.

07/07/2023

Happening Monday 🚨 IG Sopko to speak at a public event hosted by the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) in London. The Independent Commission for Aid Impact (ICAI) and SIGAR will discuss lessons learned from applicable to other contexts around globe.

Partnering with the Independent Commission for Aid Impact (ICAI) and the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), we look at lessons learned from aid to Afghanistan and how these might be applied to other contexts.

06/29/2023

A sustained drop in demand for labor has had a pernicious effect on income for most Afghans. The World Bank reports current labor demand at just 1.75 and 1.5 days of work per week respectively for skilled and unskilled laborers.

The average income per person per day is 33 AFN ($0.38), more than 50% below the poverty line of 88 AFN ($1.02). As of January 2023, 88% of Afghans surveyed reported reduced access to food and 82% reported taking on debt to cover basic expenses.

Financial constraints continue to affect traders’ ability to procure goods; the UN reports that 91% of survey respondents had difficulty procuring commodities in 2022. Despite financial challenges, most monitored food and non-food items are still widely available in markets. World Bank data reports 98.8% of non-food items and 97.2% of food items are available as of February 2023. Demand for non-food products decreased, as Afghans now spend 75% of their income on food at the expense of other basic goods.

https://www.sigar.mil/pdf/quarterlyreports/2023-04-30qr-section2-developments.pdf =17

For daily updates, follow SIGAR on Twitter

06/22/2023

The Taliban face increasing challenges to their authority primarily from IS-K and various anti-Taliban resistance groups, most notably the National Resistance Front that emerged in Panjshir Province in August 2021, although experts do not believe any group is capable of toppling the Taliban.

In February, the UN Security Council also warned that “Afghanistan remains the primary source of terrorist threat for Central and South Asia,” with several terrorist groups—including al Qaeda, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), and IS-K—enjoying a “greater freedom of movement in Afghanistan owing to the absence of an effective Taliban security strategy.”

The Taliban have claimed there are no terrorist groups in Afghanistan that can pose a threat to other countries, a key provision of the 2020 Doha Agreement. Yet, the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan reportedly emboldened Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and its affiliated groups to step up their attacks against Pakistan while using Afghanistan as a base of operations.

Read more here:https://www.sigar.mil/pdf/quarterlyreports/2023-04-30qr-section2-developments.pdf =20

For daily updates, follow SIGAR on Twitter

06/15/2023

The U.S. war and reconstruction efforts in Afghanistan depended on tens of thousands of Afghans who partnered with U.S. officials to secure the country, establish rule of law, and build democratic institutions. The U.S. promised to resettle its allies in safety, but the United States is failing.

Twenty months after the withdrawal, many are in hiding in Afghanistan, trying to escape Taliban retaliation. Others have already been arrested or killed. As part of a broader trend since the Taliban takeover, multiple SIGAR whistleblowers received arrest warrants for the “crime” of undermining the Taliban during the previous government.

There are multiple avenues to resettle these vulnerable individuals in the United States. However, bureaucratic dysfunction and understaffing have undermined U.S. promises that these individuals would be protected in a timely manner, putting many thousands of Afghan allies at high risk.

https://www.sigar.mil/pdf/spotlight/2023-High-Risk-List.pdf =28

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01/05/2023

The Taliban’s repressive actions and its inability to effectively govern or provide services threaten to return Afghan civil society to where it was when the Taliban were in power in the 1990s: “…worse off than almost any country in the world.”

Read summaries of the condition of women and girls, journalists and media, education, health care, and NGOs in Afghanistan under Taliban rule from 1996 to 2001, as well as the reported U.S. investment and improvements in those areas from late 2001 to August 2021 here: https://www.sigar.mil/pdf/evaluations/SIGAR-23-02-IP.pdf =11

For daily updates, follow SIGAR on Twitter

12/29/2022

International donor funding has been pivotal in preventing a collapse of the Afghan health sector by ensuring essential staff continue to be paid. UNOCHA reported that the Afghanistan Humanitarian Fund and Central Emergency Reserve Fund helped ensure that some 7.7 million people received sustained health services in 2022, including three million women and girls who
received primary, reproductive, and maternal health support, contributing to reduced excess maternal, neonatal, and child deaths.

While humanitarian actors have kept Afghanistan’s fragile health care system afloat, UN and NGO reports note that this cannot be not a long-term solution. “Humanitarian organizations and funding mechanisms will never be a substitute for a well-functioning public health system. Afghans urgently need a health care system that meets their needs,” wrote Médecins Sans Frontières.

Continue reading here:https://www.sigar.mil/pdf/quarterlyreports/2022-10-30qr.pdf =133

For daily updates, follow SIGAR on Twitter

UNHCR Afghanistan photo: Student midwives in UNHCR’s two-year training program in Daykundi Province.

12/21/2022

UNICEF estimates that over three million girls who previously attended secondary school have been denied their right to education in the year since the Taliban took power. Close to half, they said, are unlikely to return should schools reopen. In 2019, girls made up 38% of the estimated 9.2 million Afghan students. Even before the political transition, 4.2 million children were out of school, 60% of them girls.

UNICEF estimates that the Taliban ban on girls’ secondary education
may end up costing the Afghan economy up to $5.4 billion in lifetime earnings potential.

Continue reading here:https://www.sigar.mil/pdf/quarterlyreports/2022-10-30qr.pdf =130

For daily updates, follow SIGAR on Twitter

UNICEF photo by Mohammad Haya Burhan.

12/15/2022

All 34 provinces in Afghanistan are facing crisis or emergency levels of acute food insecurity.

An estimated 18.9 million Afghans faced potentially life-threatening levels of hunger—including nearly six million facing near-famine conditions—from June to November 2022.

Citing the most recent Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) study, World Food Program reported in September that 4.7 million children and pregnant and lactating women are at risk of acute malnutrition in 2022, and 3.9 million children are acutely malnourished.

According to these reports, nearly half of the population suffers from high levels of acute food insecurity—food insecurity at the Crisis, Emergency, or Catastrophe (famine) levels—requiring urgent action to save their lives, reduce food gaps, and protect livelihoods.

Continue reading:https://www.sigar.mil/pdf/quarterlyreports/2022-10-30qr-section3-economic.pdf =5

For daily updates, follow SIGAR on Twitter

12/12/2022

Stability Policing in Afghanistan: A missed opportunity?

Watch IG Sopko discuss the Police in Conflict report tomorrow at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice.

Date: Tuesday, December 13th
Time: 1:40pm – 3:00pm EST
Register for the event in-person or online here:

Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction and NATO Stability Policing Centre of Excellence discuss "Police in Conflict"

12/08/2022

🚨 IG Sopko signed a cooperation agreement with leadership of NATO’s Stability Policing Centre of Excellence ( ), marking continued partnership. Past efforts led to Police in Conflict: Lessons from U.S. Experience in .

IG Sopko signed the agreement with Col. Giuseppe De Magistris, Director of , based in Vincenza, Italy, during a meeting at SIGAR headquarters in Arlington, Virginia, on December 5th.

On Tuesday, IG Sopko and Col. De Magistris discussed policing in conflict-affected settings at the event, Filling the Security Gap: International Approaches to Policing in Conflict. Watch here:
https://www.usip.org/events/filling-security-gap-international-approaches-policing-conflict

12/06/2022

🚨 Happening Now: Filling the Security Gap: International Approaches to Policing in Conflict.

IG Sopko is speaking at the United States Institute of Peace ( ) to discuss past international policing and reform efforts and how they can be applied to current and emerging conflicts.

Watch here:

Join USIP for a conversation that will explore how past international policing and reform efforts make the case for specialized policing interventions, what these specialized models look like in practice, and how they could be applied to current and emerging conflicts.

12/05/2022

🚨 Happening Tomorrow: IG Sopko to speak at the United States Institute of Peace ( ) to discuss past international policing and reform efforts and how they can be applied to current and emerging conflicts.

Event: Filling the Security Gap: International Approaches to Policing in Conflict.

Date and Time: Tuesday, December 6th from 10:00-11:30 am EST

For more information and to register for the event, click here:

Join USIP for a conversation that will explore how past international policing and reform efforts make the case for specialized policing interventions, what these specialized models look like in practice, and how they could be applied to current and emerging conflicts.

12/02/2022

🚨 U.S. Navy Reserves Officer Indicted on Conspiracy, Bribery, Money Laundering Charges related to Alleged Visa Fraud Scheme.

The Indictment alleges that Jeromy Pittmann, currently serving as officer in U.S. Navy Reserves, was paid bribes to write, sign, and falsely verify letters of recommendation to for Afghans seeking Special Immigrant Visas (SIVs).

“This indictment alleges crimes that disregarded the thousands of Afghan translators who helped the United States and are still trying to get out of Afghanistan," said John F. Sopko, Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction. “His abuse of his position of trust shows no regard for qualified Afghans asking for help, or national security implications when vetting foreign nationals.”

12/01/2022

Exclusion from U.S.-Taliban talks and the subsequent signing of the February 2020 agreement was a blow to the credibility of the Afghan government. Despite these developments, the Afghan government insisted during intra-Afghan negotiations that the Taliban be integrated into the Republic. As Fatima Gailani, a member of the Republic’s negotiating team told SIGAR, after 6 months of negotiations, it was clear to her that not everyone, but most people close to President Ghani, were delusional because they were unwilling to compromise.

President Ghani was isolated from voices and opinions beyond his handpicked inner circle of confidants. Eventually, this circumstance contributed to the unraveling of Afghanistan’s loosely knit government.

Continue reading here:https://www.sigar.mil/pdf/evaluations/SIGAR-23-05-IP.pdf =25

For daily updates, follow SIGAR on Twitter

11/17/2022

NEW 🚨 SIGAR released its latest evaluation report, Why the Afghan Government Collapsed.

The United States sought to build stable, democratic, representative, gender-sensitive, and accountable Afghan governance institutions. It failed.

SIGAR identified six factors that contributed to the collapse of the Afghan government:
- The Afghan government failed to recognize that the United States would actually leave;
- The exclusion of the Afghan government from U.S.-Taliban talks weakened and undermined it;
- Despite its weakened position, the Afghan government insisted that the Taliban be effectively integrated into the Republic, making progress on peace negotiations difficult;
- The Taliban were unwilling to compromise;
- Former Afghan President Ashraf Ghani governed through a highly selective, narrow circle of loyalists, destabilizing the government at a critical juncture;
- The Afghan government’s high level of centralization, endemic corruption, and struggle to attain legitimacy were long-term contributors to its eventual collapse.

Read here:https://www.sigar.mil/pdf/evaluations/SIGAR-23-05-IP.pdf

For daily update, follow SIGAR on Twitter

11/10/2022

Restrictions on girls’ education have economic costs, too, and are likely to deepen Afghanistan’s economic crisis and lead to greater insecurity, poverty, and isolation, according to the UN.

UNICEF estimates that the Taliban ban on girls’ secondary education
may end up costing the Afghan economy up to $5.4 billion in lifetime earnings potential.

Continue reading here:https://www.sigar.mil/pdf/quarterlyreports/2022-10-30qr.pdf =130

For daily updates, follow SIGAR on Twitter

11/02/2022

🚨 Today, SIGAR released its 57th Quarterly Report to Congress, examining the effects of a contracting economy and the continuing humanitarian crisis; the Taliban’s international relations; and the impacts of restrictions on the rights of women and girls, and on the media.

📍 Read the full report here: https://www.sigar.mil/pdf/quarterlyreports/2022-10-30qr.pdf

📍 Status of Funds Section: https://www.sigar.mil/pdf/quarterlyreports/2022-10-30qr-section3-funding.pdf

📍 Security and Governance Section: https://www.sigar.mil/pdf/quarterlyreports/2022-10-30qr-section3-security.pdf

📍 Economic and Social Development Section:https://www.sigar.mil/pdf/quarterlyreports/2022-10-30qr-section3-economic.pdf

For daily updates, follow SIGAR on Twitter
AFP Photo

10/28/2022

Grazie to the Carabinieri Officer’s School for hosting the report conference by SIGAR and the Stability Policing Centre of Excellence last week.

IG Sopko: “This report is unique since it is the only one of our 12 lessons learned reports where we partnered with another agency to examine U.S. and international police assistance activities, including conducting joint fieldwork in Afghanistan”
https://www.sigar.mil/pdf/speeches/SIGAR_Stability_Policing_Conf_Remarks_2022-10-20.pdf

10/20/2022

With women and girls largely excluded from employment opportunities and access to education, local media reported more forced marriages, including the marriage of underage girls last quarter. UNAMA’s June human-rights report noted several instances of women and girls being beaten and jailed by Taliban authorities for resisting forced marriage, despite a December decree allowing women the right to refuse marriage.

UNAMA said in July that domestic violence victims face a similar lack of legal protection, as the Taliban have not processed any charges of r**e, assault and battery, forced marriage, or child marriage through a formal court system.

Read more here:https://www.sigar.mil/pdf/quarterlyreports/2022-07-30qr.pdf =18

For daily updates, follow SIGAR on Twitter