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Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
Human Rights Office Spokesperson Jeremy Laurence urges Afghanistan’s de facto authorities to protect media freedom
“A joint report issued this morning by the UN Human Rights Office and the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) paints a disturbing picture of the media landscape in the country since the Taliban takeover. UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk says measures introduced by the de facto authorities fly in the face of international human rights treaties to which Afghanistan is party,” UN Human Rights Office spokesperson jeremy laurence said.
“The report, which covers the period from the 15th of August 2021 to the 30th of September 2024, details a range of human rights violations, as well as worrying trends for media freedom in Afghanistan. Journalists, media workers and media outlets are operating under a worsening environment of censorship and restrictions in accessing information. Women journalists and media workers face particular restrictive and discriminatory measures profoundly limiting their ability to do their work,” Laurence told the bi-weeky press briefing.
“Media workers deemed to have crossed so-called ‘red lines’ imposed by the de facto authorities have been arbitrarily detained for periods ranging from several hours to multiple months, without due process, and in certain cases were convicted and imprisoned,” he said.
The report states that since August 2021 many media outlets have been forced to cease their operations, whether as a result of direct pressure on them or the country’s general economic decline and the withdrawal of much donor funding. Furthermore, many media professionals have sought futures outside, creating an increasing dearth of experience in the media sector.
“On the 19th of September 2021, the de facto authorities issued an “11-Point Guidance” to media, forbidding, among other things, the publication of content deemed contrary to their own assessment of Islam and Afghan culture, or more broadly deemed to be against vague notions of “national interest”. Other restrictions include a prohibition on broadcasting music or movies deemed against Sharia religious law, including those showing women. At offices of media outlets, men and women must work in segregated workspaces, and men and women broadcasters cannot appear in a programme together. In some provinces, women are not even allowed to call into radio programmes, the only exceptions being for those on health or religious issues,” the spokesperson said.
“Some representatives of the de facto authorities have reportedly refused to be interviewed or speak to women. They have favoured the attendance of male journalists at press conferences, while female journalists were either not invited, barred from entering the events upon arrival, or, if present, asked to move to the back of the room. On the 3rd of May 2023, in Nili city in Daikundi province, the de facto authorities commemorated the World Press Freedom Day with an event to which women journalists were reportedly not invited. On the 19th of March 2024, the de facto ministry of education invited journalists to attend an event marking the start of the new academic school year. No women were invited, due to alleged lack of space,” Laurence said.
“The High Commissioner says such all-encompassing control of the public space – or what is left of it – is suffocating, not just for the journalists who try to do their essential work at great risk, but for all the people of Afghanistan,” Laurence said.
“The High Commissioner stressed that the Taliban de facto authorities must uphold Afghanistan’s State obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights to ensure the right to freedom of expression without distinction of any kind, including gender. Central to this is respecting the vital role of journalists and media workers, including women, and facilitating the exercise, in safety, of their essential profession,” he said.
ENDS
For more information and media requests, please contact
In Geneva:
Liz Throssell + 41 22 917 9296 / elizabeth.throssell@un.org
Jeremy Laurence - + 41 22 917 9383 / jeremy.laurence@un.org
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STORY: UN Human Rights Spokesperson Jeremy Laurence UN urges Afghanistans de facto authorities to protect media freedom
TRT: 04:55
SOURCE: OHCHR / UNOG
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: English/NATS
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
DATELINE: 26 November 2024 GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
SHOTLIST
- Exterior shot: Palais des Nations
- Interior shot : briefing room
- SOUNDBITE (English)— Jeremy Laurence, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR): “A joint report issued this morning by the UN Human Rights Office and the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) paints a disturbing picture of the media landscape in the country since the Taliban takeover. UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk saysmeasures introduced by the de facto authorities fly in the face of international human rights treaties to which Afghanistan is party. ”
- Cut aways: briefing room
- SOUNDBITE (English)— Jeremy Laurence, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR): “The report, which covers the period from the 15th of August 2021 to the 30th of September 2024, details a range of human rights violations, as well as worrying trends for media freedom in Afghanistan. Journalists, media workers and media outlets are operating under a worsening environment of censorship and restrictions in accessing information. Women journalists and media workers face particular restrictive and discriminatory measures profoundly limiting their ability to do their work ”
- Cut aways: briefing room
- SOUNDBITE (English)— Jeremy Laurence, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR): “Media workers deemed to have crossed so-called ‘red lines’ imposed by the de facto authorities have been arbitrarily detained for periods ranging from several hours to multiple months, without due process, and in certain cases were convicted and imprisoned ”
- Cut aways: briefing room
- SOUNDBITE (English)— Jeremy Laurence, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR): “On the 19th of September 2021, the de facto authorities issued an “11-Point Guidance” to media, forbidding, among other things, the publication of content deemed contrary to their own assessment of Islam and Afghan culture, or more broadly to be against vague notions of “national interest”. Other restrictions include a prohibition on broadcasting music or movies deemed against Sharia religious law, including those showing women. At offices of media outlets, men and women must work in segregated workspaces, and men and women broadcasters cannot appear in a programme together. In some provinces, women are not even allowed to call into radio programmes, the only exceptions being for those on health or religious issues. ”
- Cut aways: briefing room
- SOUNDBITE (English)— Jeremy Laurence, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR): “Some representatives of the de facto authorities have reportedly refused to be interviewed or speak to women. They have favoured the attendance of male journalists at press conferences, while female journalists are either not invited, barred from entering the events upon arrival, or, if present, asked to move to the back of the room. On the 3rd of May 2023, in Nili city in Daikundi province, the de facto authorities commemorated the World Press Freedom Day with an event to which women journalists were reportedly not invited. On the 19th of March 2024, the de facto ministry of education invited journalists to attend an event marking the start of the new academic school year. No women were invited, due to alleged lack of space.”
- Cut aways: briefing room
- SOUNDBITE (English)— Jeremy Laurence, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR): “The High Commissioner says such all-encompassing control of the public space – or what is left of it – is suffocating, not just for the journalists who try to do their essential work at great risk, but for all the people of Afghanistan,”
- Cut aways: briefing room
- SOUNDBITE (English)— Jeremy Laurence, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR): “The High Commissioner stressed that the Taliban de facto authorities must uphold Afghanistan’s State obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights to ensure the right to freedom of expression without distinction of any kind, including gender. Central to this is respecting the vital role of journalists and media workers, including women, and facilitating the exercise, in safety, of their essential profession. ”
- Cut aways: briefing room
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The key findings from WMO’s State of Global Water Resources 2025 report covering the hydrological cycle and extreme events in the five-year period to last year:
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Groundwater reserves are equally stretched and have been in decline since 2014, WMO’s report states, with nearly two-thirds of monitored wells worldwide showing levels lower than the historical norm and indicating a shift “further toward deficit…not recovery”.
“At the same time, we are seeing more water-related disasters,” Ms. Saulo said, while also stressing that the currently strengthening El Niño “will increase the risk of drought in some areas, and flooding in others”.
Glaciers disappearing
In 2025, for the fourth consecutive year, every major glaciated region on Earth lost ice mass, leading to short-term hazards including floods and long-term water insecurity, according to WMO.
Responding to a question about whether the changing global water cycle might have contributed to the deadly Nepal-China flooding disaster, Ms. Saulo explained that melting ice and rock was just one factor in the chain of events that ultimately sent a massive and deadly wall of water and debris downstream on 26 August, killing at least 1,367 people.
“You asked if it could happen again? Absolutely; the problem in this region is that there’s 63,700 glaciers at the last count,” she told a Press Conference in Geneva. “Even if you’re looking with remote sensing with satellites at these glaciers, you might see some faults, you might see some slight shifting, that does not mean necessarily catastrophic collapse. So, in order to plan for this, it’s very, very difficult. But the international community is looking very hard at ways in which we can bring people together to solve some of these monitoring issues.”
Data indicates that glaciers shrank between 2023 and 2025 with cumulative losses of 1,400 gigatonnes of water – or about one third of annual fresh water needs.
Every major glacier region on Earth lost ice for the fourth consecutive year.
“All 19 glacier regions around the globe lost ice; in Central Asia, Iceland, the Russian Arctic and western Canada and the United States, it was among the three worst years on record,” said Wayne Jenkinson, WMO’s Director of Hydrology and Cryosphere.
Some regions with smaller glaciers such as Central Europe, the Caucasus, the western Canada and the United States may already have reached “peak water”, Mr. Jenkinson warned.
“After this point, the glacier gives less meltwater each year simply because there is less ice left to melt. That matters for every community downstream that relies on water during hot, dry summers,” he explained.
Narelle van der Wel, WMO’s Head of Cryosphere Monitoring, Predictions and Services, stressed that while some further glacier loss is unavoidable, the eventual scale of the decline is not predetermined.
“Some glacier loss is inevitable, but total loss of glaciers is not yet inevitable,” she said, pointing to emissions reductions as central to limiting future losses.
Preparing for moving baselines
The report does not attribute every observed change to climate change alone. WMO says pressure on water resources and natural variability also contribute.
Mr. Jenkinson said governments need to prepare for “moving baselines” as historical patterns become less reliable.
“The situation 30 years ago is not where we are today,” he said. Countries, he added, need to prepare “for those changes that have really already arrived”.
ends