Adopted with 116 votes in favour, 12 abstentions and 2 against (Israel and United States), the resolution highlighted the multifaceted crises confronting Afghanistan nearly four years after the Taliban’s return to power, calling for greater international support for the Afghan people and a renewed push for human rights, peace and stability.

It emphasised the need for a coherent approach among humanitarian, political and development actors, and raised alarm over the “grave, worsening, widespread and systematic oppression” of all women and girls in Afghanistan, calling on the Taliban to swiftly reverse policies that exclude them from education, employment and public life.

The text further called for adherence to Afghanistan’s obligations under international law, including human rights and humanitarian principles.

Security and economic concerns

The 193-member General Assembly reiterated its “serious concern” over continuing violence and the presence of terrorist groups such as Al-Qaida, Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL/Da’esh) and their affiliates ISIL-Khorasan and Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, and “demanded” that Afghanistan not be used as a safe haven for terrorist activity.

Beyond security, the resolution stressed Afghanistan’s severe economic collapse, widespread poverty and spiralling humanitarian crisis, urging Member States and donors to scale up principled, sustained assistance.

It also highlighted the growing threat of natural disasters such as floods and droughts, which worsen food insecurity and economic fragility.

“Sustainable and lasting peace can be achieved only through long-term social, economic and political stability, which requires full respect for civil, political, social, economic and cultural rights as well as commitment to inclusive and representative governance,” the resolution stated.

Needs surge amid refugee returns

The resolution comes at a time of intensified strain on Afghanistan’s overstretched humanitarian system.

According to UN agencies, waves of returns from Pakistan and Iran – including both refugees and those in refugee-like situations – have increased pressure on services, especially in border provinces ill-equipped to absorb new arrivals.

These returns, many of them involuntary or under duress, have heightened protection risks and left thousands of families in urgent need of food, shelter and basic services.

The 2025 Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan for Afghanistan – which seeks $2.4 billion to assist nearly 17 million people – is only 22 per cent funded as of early July, raising concerns among aid officials about maintaining life-saving programs in the months ahead.

The resolution called on all donors and stakeholders to “reconsider any decisions that may lead to reductions in such assistance, taking into account the potential adverse humanitarian consequences for the most vulnerable populations.”

Governance and accountability

The Assembly also reiterated concern over the lack of political inclusion since the Taliban takeover in August 2021.

It raised alarm over extrajudicial punishments, such as reprisals and summary executions, enforced disappearances and arbitrary detentions, including those targeting former members of the security personnel.

While the Assembly acknowledged the Taliban’s limited steps to reduce opium cultivation, it stressed the need for comprehensive counter-narcotics measures and efforts to combat organized crime and illicit arms trafficking.

UN General Assembly votes on the draft resolution on Afghanistan.

A call for collective responsibility

The resolution expressed appreciation to major refugee-hosting countries – particularly Pakistan and Iran – and called for more equitable burden-sharing and international cooperation to support displaced Afghans and the communities that host them.

It underlined the importance of creating conditions for the safe, dignified and voluntary return of refugees and internally displaced persons, as well as their sustainable reintegration.

“I have survived a genocide,” said Munira Subašić, whose youngest son – her favourite – and 21 other family members were murdered in the July 1995 Srebrenica massacre.

“And the world and Europe was just watching in silence.”

Now president of the Mothers of Srebrenica and Žepa, Ms. Subašić spoke at a special commemoration, urging global leaders not to forget the past and to deliver justice for the victims and survivors.

“When you kill a mother’s child, you have killed a part of her,” Ms. Subašic said.

Europe’s worst atrocity since World War II

The 1995 genocide, perpetrated by the Bosnian Serb army, led to the killing of at least 8,372 men and boys, the displacement of thousands and destruction of entire communities in Srebrenica – which had been designed a “safe area” by the UN Security Council.

A small and lightly armed unit of Dutch peacekeepers under the UN flag were unable to resist the large Bosnian Serb force, which overran the town of Srebrenica.

The massacre has been formally recognized as genocide by both the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY).

Last year, the General Assembly designated 11 July as the International Day of Reflection and Commemoration for the 1995 Genocide in Srebrenica.  

Remember and honour the victims 

Speaking on behalf of UN Secretary-General António Guterres, Chef de Cabinet Courtenay Rattray paid tribute to those who lost their lives and to the courage of their families. 

“Today we remember and honour the victims. We pay tribute to the strength, dignity and resilience of the survivors,” he said.      

Mr. Guterres, in his message, said the international community must continue to stand against hatred, division, and denial.

“Only by recognizing the suffering of all victims can we build mutual understanding, trust, and lasting peace,” he said. “We must ensure the voices of Srebrenica survivors continue to be heard – countering denial, distortion and revisionism.”  

The dangers of forgetting  

UN officials expressed concern over ongoing efforts to deny the genocide and glorify those convicted of war crimes. They warned that such narratives can fuel division and hinder reconciliation.

“Education remains our strongest defence against the erosion of memory,” said Philémon Yang, President of the General Assembly. “We must not only remember history, but learn from it so that tragedies like Srebrenica are never repeated.”

Learning from the past is especially important today – the Secretary-General noted that the same “dangerous currents” which led to the genocide in Srebrenica are present again in the world today.  

“After Srebrenica, the world said – once again – ‘Never Again.’ Yet, hate speech is on the rise again, fuelling discrimination, extremism and violence,” Mr. Guterres said.

A family scattered

Mirela Osmanović, a young professional at the Srebrenica Memorial Center, was born after the genocide but lives with its impact. Two of her brothers were killed. Some of their remains were found, but parts of their bodies are still missing. Their absence, she said, weighs on her family daily.

“My parents forbade themselves any joy while their sons, my brothers, lay somewhere in the ground, incomplete, scattered across mass graves – as if every smile would be betrayal, as if happiness might mean forgetting.”

The pain of this loss is always with her family even as the world promised that Srebrenica would never happen again.  

“We were given words, resolutions, statements, solemn promises of ‘never again,’” she said. “And yet, 30 years later, we are still asking what does ‘never again’ mean?”

A new generation, still asking questions

Ms. Osmanović speaks frequently with young people around the world who ask what happens when violence ends.

“What happens when the headlines fade, when the graves are found and facts are clear? Does justice follow?”

Her answer is that justice does not follow often enough.  

“Justice if it comes too late or only on paper cannot restore trust. And peace without dignity is not peace at all.”

Years of commemoration

In 2015, UN News spoke to Adama Dieng, the Secretary-General’s special advisor on the prevention of genocide, who underlined the importance of remembering the Srebrenica genocide. 

Office spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani cited Kenyan police reports of at least 11 deaths, 52 injured police officers, and 567 arrests. The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights reported slightly different figures: at least 10 fatalities, 29 injuries, 37 arrests, and two abductions.

Protests erupted in 16 counties, with police reportedly using live ammunition, rubber bullets, tear gas and water cannons.

Ms. Shamdasani also noted reports of looting and destruction of public and private property in several locations.

Crisis escalation

This week’s violence follows the deaths of 15 protesters and hundreds of injuries during demonstrations on 25 June in Nairobi and elsewhere.

Those protests were initially triggered by the anniversary of last year’s anti-tax demonstrations, which left at least 60 deaths and dozens allegedly abducted by the police.

The protests on Monday marked the 35th anniversary of the 1990 Saba Saba protests, which paved the way to multi-party democracy in Kenya.

Call for accountability

Ms. Shamdasani said that UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk, “repeats his call for all reported killings and other alleged violations and abuses of international human rights law, including with respect to use of force, to be promptly, thoroughly, independently and transparently investigated.”

She noted that Kenyan police announcement of an investigation into the 25 June incidents and added that the UN human rights office stands ready to support national authorities in their efforts, including on the investigations.

She stressed that under international law, law enforcement may only use lethal force when strictly necessary to protect life from an imminent threat.

High Commissioner Türk also renewed his call for calm, restraint, and full respect for the rights to freedom of expression, association, and peaceful assembly.

“It is essential that legitimate grievances at the root of these protests are addressed,” Ms. Shamdasani said.