Officials from the United Kingdom meet with Taliban representatives to discuss the humanitarian catastrophe in Afghanistan | Hot News

According to a statement released by Ugochi Daniels, the International Organization for Migration's (IOM) Deputy Director-General for Operations, "the ongoing crisis in Afghanistan is intensifying humanitarian needs and increasing displacement risks both inside the country and across borders to countries in the region."

British representatives returned to Afghanistan on Thursday, according to a UK government spokesperson, for talks on how to respond to the country's increasing humanitarian catastrophe.

Nick Dyer, the UK's Special Envoy for Famine Prevention and Humanitarian Affairs, Hugo Shorter, the UK Mission to Afghanistan's Charge d'Affaires ad Interim, and Hester Waddams, the UK Mission to Afghanistan's Deputy Head of Mission and Political Counsellor, met with senior Taliban officials, including Mawlawi Amir Khan Muttaqi and Abdul Haq Wasiq.

"In addition to discussing the terrible humanitarian situation, officials made clear to the Taliban the UK's profound concerns about human rights, particularly those of women, girls, and minorities, as well as the treatment of women's rights campaigners," the UK spokesperson noted.

Separately, Hugo Shorter claimed both parties discussed the humanitarian crisis, terrorism, and the UK's severe concerns about the country's human rights situation, notably women, girls, and minorities, in a Twitter post.

"We emphasized that the bad trend, which includes the arrest of female activists for long periods of time, reprisals, and extrajudicial deaths, is profoundly alarming. We emphasized the importance of all females returning to school in the spring "Added he.

Last year's conflict drove more than 700,000 Afghans to flee their homes, adding to the 5.5 million people who had already been displaced in previous years, according to the UN migration agency.

According to Ugochi Daniels, the International Organization for Migration's (IOM) Deputy Director-General for Operations, "the protracted situation in Afghanistan is raising humanitarian needs and increasing displacement risks both inside the country and beyond borders to countries in the area."

Afghans, particularly women and children, are becoming increasingly vulnerable to security threats, according to the UN agency.