UN: Taliban has plunged Afghanistan into `dire’ conditions

By EDITH M. LEDERER
Associated Press

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N. General Assembly has adopted a resolution accusing the Taliban of violating the human rights of Afghan women and girls. It also says the Taliban have failed to establish a representative government and plunged the country into “dire economic, humanitarian and social conditions.” The resolution also points to persistent violence in the country since the Taliban takeover 15 months ago and the presence of terrorist groups such as al-Qaida and the Islamic State. Germany facilitated the resolution and had hoped the 193-member assembly would approve it by consensus. But a vote was requested and it was adopted 116-0, with 10 countries abstaining — Russia, China, Belarus, Burundi, North Korea, Ethiopia, Guinea, Nicaragua, Pakistan and Zimbabwe.