UN: Opium prices in Afghanistan skyrocket to $750 per Kg

March 13, 2025
Khaama Press

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has reported a significant rise in the price of opium, reaching $750 per kilogram in 2024, ten times more than in 2022. Despite a reduction in production, high prices continue to benefit major drug traffickers.

According to the UN, the reduction in drug production following the Taliban’s ban on opium led to a decrease in heroin and opium trafficking, with seizures of these substances dropping by about 50% since 2021.

The UNODC stated that the high price per kilogram still generates large profits, mainly benefiting high-level traders and exporters within organized criminal groups.

The UN’s report estimated Afghanistan’s opium stockpiles at approximately 13,200 tons by the end of 2022, enough to meet demand for Afghanistan’s opium until 2027.

Ghada Waly, Executive Director of the UNODC, emphasized that the rising price of opium and substantial reserves indicate that drug trafficking in Afghanistan remains a highly profitable illegal business.

Waly added that the profits from drug trafficking flow to transnational organized crime groups, contributing to instability in Afghanistan, the region, and beyond. Addressing this issue requires a coordinated strategy that targets trafficking networks while investing in sustainable economic alternatives for farmers.

The UN highlighted that before the reduction in poppy cultivation, Afghanistan’s opium reserves could have been worth between $4.6 billion and $5.9 billion, representing 23-29% of the country’s GDP in 2023. This could help mitigate some of Afghanistan’s economic problems following the Taliban’s return to power.

UN: Opium prices in Afghanistan skyrocket to $750 per Kg
read more

EU: Access to Healthcare Services crucial for women and girls in Afghanistan

March 13, 2025
Khaama Press

The European Union (EU) delegation in Afghanistan has stated that access to healthcare services for Afghan women and girls is essential.

The EU delegation in Afghanistan emphasized on Thursday, March 13, that ensuring access to healthcare services for Afghan women and girls is crucial, especially amid ongoing challenges they face.

The delegation mentioned that, in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO), over 95,000 Afghan women have received outpatient care for infectious diseases, and more than 7,700 of them have received inpatient services.

The statement emphasized: “Strengthening Afghanistan’s healthcare system is vital for an effective response to disease outbreaks. The EU supports enhancing diagnostic and treatment services for infectious diseases nationwide to improve patient health outcomes.”

The EU delegation also noted that its programs have contributed to training healthcare staff, with over 581 women gaining new skills in mental health, 41 in infection prevention and control, and laboratory techniques, thus improving the quality of healthcare services.

The EU’s five-day campaign on International Women’s Day focused on supporting Afghan women, especially in the face of significant challenges posed by the Taliban’s restrictions. These restrictions have severely impacted women’s access to healthcare services, pushing the situation toward collapse.

The Taliban’s restrictive policies on women have significantly affected their access to healthcare services, pushing the healthcare system to the brink of collapse and causing widespread distress.

EU: Access to Healthcare Services crucial for women and girls in Afghanistan
read more

They crossed the world to reach the US. Now deported under Trump, they’re stuck in Panama

March 13, 2025
By  MATÍAS DELACROIX and MEGAN JANETSKY
Associated Press
March 12, 2025

PANAMA CITY (AP) — They crossed oceans to get to the U.S., fleeing conflict, religious persecution, poverty and government crackdowns in countries such as Afghanistan, Somalia, Cameroon, China, Pakistan and Iran.

After flying to Central and South America, they bused through countries where they didn’t speak the language and walked through unfamiliar jungle to get to the U.S.-Mexico border.

Within days, they were detained and put on military aircraft that flew nearly 300 of them to Panama as U.S. President Donald Trump sought to accelerate deportations to more complicated destinations.

Panama was supposed to be a stopover. But for those unwilling to return home — mostly out of well-founded fear — Panama sent them to a guarded camp without access to lawyers in the same Darién jungle many had crossed months earlier on their way north.

“It feels like the whole world is crushing down on me. It’s like everything is stopping,” said Isha Len, a 29-year-old from Cameroon. “I risked everything, my life, everything, crossing the Darién Gap, just to be sent back.”

Here are the stories that some of the deportees told The Associated Press:

Isha Len, 29, Cameroon

After conflict broke out in her small town, Len crossed Cameroon by car and minibus, then a fisherman friend carried her four hours by boat to Nigeria.

Len, a schoolteacher, flew to Sao Paulo, Brazil, where she said authorities detained her for a month in the airport. From there, she wound north through South America by bus, following other migrants until they reached the Darién Gap.

She walked days through the dangerous jungle that divides Colombia and Panama before boarding buses that carried her through Central America. After being kidnapped for days by a gang in Guatemala, she crossed into southern Mexico, where she took a boat along the Pacific coast to evade authorities. After she landed, she rode eight hours to Mexico City, continuing on by bus and car to Tijuana.

She crossed the U.S. border and presented herself to American authorities.

Artemis Ghasemzadeh, 27, Iran

Artemis Ghasemzadeh left her country in January, fleeing after converting from Islam to Christianity – something that could cost Ghasemzadeh her life in Iran. She flew to Dubai, where she stayed two weeks and then took a flight to South Korea.

From there she flew to Mexico City, staying there for three weeks before going to Tijuana. She crossed the U.S. border on Feb. 9, and was detained for five days, including her birthday.

“For changing your religion, your punishment is death,” she said. “We don’t know what will happen.”

Wang Qiu, 53, China

Wang Qiu said he left home after he was imprisoned for three years for speaking out about democracy and human rights issues.

He flew from Beijing to Cuba, then to the small South American country of Suriname. From there, he traveled by land: through Guyana, Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador and Colombia, before trekking through the Darién Gap.

He moved up through Central America and Mexico before being detained after crossing into the U.S. in San Diego.

Qamar Abdi, 19, Somalia

Qamar Abdi, left for the U.S. on Aug. 17, due to warfare between the government and militants of al-Shabab, which the U.S. recognizes as a terrorist group.

She hopped from buses to shared cars for nearly a month until she reached South Africa. From there, she flew to Sao Paulo, Brazil, and spent the next six months riding buses north.

When she arrived at the northern tip of Colombia, she traveled six days through the Darién Gap, landing in Panama on New Year’s Day.

She took buses to the southern Mexican border city of Tapachula, where she was temporarily kidnapped and robbed by a gang. To avoid immigration authorities, she traveled hours packed on a boat with other migrants along Mexico’s Pacific coast, then took a bus to Mexico City. She spent two weeks there before driving to Tijuana, where she crossed into the U.S.

Ebrahim Ghezelgechi, 36, Iran

Ebrahim Ghezelgechi fled Iran with his wife, Sahar; 10-year-old daughter, Aylin; and 11-year-old son, Sam, on Nov. 21.

The family flew to Brazil, then to Panama and finally Nicaragua. From there, they took buses north to Guatemala, then crossed into southern Mexico by boat. They rode on top of trains and in buses and vans to get to Tijuana.

After Mexico authorities sent them back to the southern part of the country, they took a plane to the resort area of Los Cabos. There, they were detained, had their passports taken and were sent back south again.

They tried getting north a number of times, punted back by Mexican authorities, before eventually paying a driver to take them to Tijuana.

After crossing into the U.S., they were detained in San Diego for a week.

Samin Haider, 21, Pakistan

Samin Haider left for Dubai in 2023 after violence surged in his region of Parachinar, which borders Afghanistan and has been plagued for decades by conflicts between Shi’ite and Sunni Muslim communities.

Haider was there for 1 1/2 years before the United Arab Emirates canceled visas for Pakistanis.

Haider then flew to Mexico and traveled to the U.S.-Mexico border with the hopes of seeking asylum.

Now deported to Panama, he still hopes to reach the U.S.

Elham Ghaedi, 29, Iran

Elham Ghaedi left on Oct. 21, flying to Brazil and then to Venezuela’s capital Caracas.

She traveled to Colombia, where took a bus north and then walked five days through the Darién Gap.

She stayed 15 days in a migrant camp in southern Panama before taking a bus through Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala and to Mexico’s southern border. There, migration authorities detained her for six days.

She traveled north to Mexico City, where she spent a month, before boarding a flight to Tijuana. U.S. authorities detained her when she crossed to San Diego.

Hayatullah Omagh, 29, Afghanistan

Omagh fled Afghanistan in 2022 after the takeover of the Taliban because he identified as an atheist and was part of an ethnic minority, something that could put his life in danger.

He first went to Pakistan, where he got a visa for six months, and struggled to get a new one due to his Afghani passport.

He then went to Iran and worked there for 1 1/2 years. But the country wouldn’t accept him as a refugee.

He managed to get a visa to Brazil, which offered a number of Afghan people refuge after the rise of the Taliban and flew to Sao Paulo in 2024.

Hoping to reunite with friends and family in the U.S., Omagh paid smugglers to move him north through Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador and Colombia. He trekked through the Darién Gap, then took buses north through Central America to southern Mexico.

Mexican authorities detained him and dropped him back in southern Mexico a few times before he managed to take a flight to Mexico City and later to the U.S., where he was detained.

“After so much time, I’ve lost hope,” he said.

 

They crossed the world to reach the US. Now deported under Trump, they’re stuck in Panama
read more

USAID cuts could be ‘death sentence’ for Afghan women studying abroad

March 13, 2025

By Dan De Luce

NBC News

March 12, 2025

More than 80 Afghan women studying in Oman say they face deportation and persecution by the Taliban after the Trump administration canceled their scholarship.

A group of more than 80 Afghan women who fled the Taliban regime to study in Oman say they are at risk of imminent deportation to Afghanistan after their U.S.-funded scholarship was canceled as part of the Trump administration’s cuts to foreign aid.

The female students received an email on Feb. 28 informing them that the scholarship program administered by the U.S. Agency for International Development at the Middle East College of Oman had been terminated along with thousands of other foreign aid initiatives, according to the email obtained by NBC News.

The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The plight of the Afghan students was first reported by the BBC.

In a letter to aid groups, the Afghan women are appealing for urgent help to allow them to continue their studies abroad and avoid returning to a country where, they say, they will face certain persecution and life-threatening risks.

“The situation is catastrophic,” the letter says. “Being sent back to Afghanistan would mean the permanent loss of our education and exposure to severe risks, including oppression, insecurity, and a future without opportunities. This is a life-or-death situation for many of us.”

The Afghan students were pursuing undergraduate and graduate degrees in Oman under the Women’s Scholarship Endowment, one of numerous programs eliminated in the Trump administration’s effort to drastically scale back USAID.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Monday that 83% of USAID programs had been canceled after a six-week review and that the remaining programs would be merged into the State Department.

“Please don’t let our dreams be shattered and the Taliban decide our fate,” the students’ letter reads. “We have fought very hard to get out of their hands, we won’t be living anymore if we have to go back to Afghanistan.”

The program for female scholars was launched in 2019 with a $50 million endowment from USAID, according to Brian Le, deputy legislative director of With Honor, a nonprofit group that works with veterans in Congress from both parties on bipartisan initiatives. Interest from the endowment has covered the cost of the program, which was administered by USAID, without requiring additional annual funding from the U.S. government, Le said.

Nonprofit groups are in discussions with the government of Oman to try to resolve the situation, he said.

“What we’re trying to avoid is their return to Afghanistan, which would functionally amount to a death sentence for these women who have been aided by the United States in pursuing higher education opportunities,” Le said.

While the letter from the Afghan students said 83 women were affected, Le said it now appears more than 120 Afghans had their scholarship funding cut off.

Since the Taliban returned to power in 2021 following the withdrawal of U.S.-led forces from Afghanistan, they have reimposed draconian restrictions on women, including banning them from secondary school and higher education, prohibiting them from most employment and limiting their freedom of speech and movement, according to human rights groups.

Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Mass., said the elimination of the scholarship program was “shameful” and called on the Trump administration to reverse course.

“The Trump administration thinks it’s politically advantageous to villainize USAID, but Americans need to realize that behind the cancelled contracts and mass layoffs are innocent lives now put at risk,” he said in an email.

“In this case, these bright young women with the world ahead of them could receive what could amount to a death sentence in a matter of days — simply because they were relying on a US-funded scholarship to get their education abroad.”

Dan De Luce is a reporter for the NBC News Investigative Unit.

USAID cuts could be ‘death sentence’ for Afghan women studying abroad
read more

Veterans Race to Bring Afghan Allies to U.S. Before Trump Travel Ban

March 13, 2025

The New York Times

The nonprofit No One Left Behind has raised millions of dollars for flights and other assistance to prevent Afghans from being stranded abroad and face retribution from the Taliban.

The fate of thousands of Afghans waiting to reach the United States after serving with American troops was thrown into limbo after President Trump took office. Now military veterans are scrambling to bring as many of them as possible to the country before the administration introduces a travel ban that could restrict their entry.

In an executive order on Jan. 20, Mr. Trump instructed cabinet members, including the secretary of state, to compile a list of countries “for which vetting and screening information is so deficient as to warrant a partial or full suspension on the admission of nationals from those countries.”

The order called for the list to to be completed within 60 days. As that deadline nears, supporters of the Afghan allies have accelerated efforts to bring those eligible to the United States.

Amid the chaotic pullout from Afghanistan in August 2021, the U.S. military helped evacuate 78,000 Afghans who worked as interpreters and in other capacities during the war. Tens of thousands of others who aided U.S. forces are still trying to reach the United States.

The wartime allies can apply for a Special Immigrant Visa, which allows them to travel to the United States with their families and receive permanent residence. Many have been waiting for months or longer in neighboring Pakistan and in Albania and Qatar to complete processing by U.S. authorities.

In his first term, Mr. Trump barred nationals from seven majority Muslim countries — Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen — from entering the United States. This time, Afghanistan is among the countries whose citizens could be categorically blocked, according to U.S. officials. The officials said that Cuba and Venezuela could also be added.

If Mr. Trump includes Afghanistan in a new travel ban, Afghans who helped the United States could be stranded indefinitely.

After his inauguration, the president also signed an executive order that paused funding for refugee resettlement, suspending travel to the United States for thousands of people around the world who had been screened and approved for entry.

Afghans who had obtained Special Immigrant Visas were not barred from relocating to the United States. But in shutting down refugee admissions, the State Department canceled the contracts that had also covered the costs of transporting the Afghan allies. Suddenly they had to pay their own way, and many could not afford the cost.

“People with visas in their passports saw their pathway to safety stripped away overnight,” said Sonia Norton, advocacy director for No One Left Behind, which is based in Arlington, Va.

The organization’s main role had been to supplement government support by providing Afghan families with loans to buy cars, further their education and adjust to the United States. After the executive orders, it quickly pivoted to an emergency fund-raising campaign.

About 37,000 Afghans, and their families, have been issued Special Immigrant Visas since 2009, when the program began. The Taliban, which rules Afghanistan, regards those Afghans as traitors. Thousands have faced retaliatory violence and hundreds have been killed for assisting the United States, according to a 2022 report by No One Left Behind.

At the time that Mr. Trump signed the executive orders in January, some 1,000 Afghans and their family members had visas to come to the United States. Returning to Afghanistan is not an option for them, Mr. Sullivan said.

“There’s a very real chance that they could get kicked back to the Taliban with a U.S. visa in their passport, and that could be deadly to these allies,” Mr. Sullivan, 38, who was an Army infantry company commander in Afghanistan, said in an interview from Doha, Qatar, where his team was on the ground in recent days.

“If we don’t know what’s going to happen with immigration policy, we’re not going to sit idly by,” he said. “We’re going to come and support them.”

No One Left Behind, established in 2014, has raised millions of dollars in a matter of weeks from veterans and other Americans to buy airplane tickets for Afghan families who had already been cleared to travel to the United States from Albania, Qatar and Pakistan.

Several veteran groups, including Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, have voiced concern for the fate of the Afghan allies.

Three Republican members of Congress said in a letter to President Trump that his executive orders had resulted in the “immediate shutdown” of Afghan relocation efforts. “These are not random applicants or illegal migrants who’ve crossed the southern border,” said the March 4 letter signed by Michael Lawler of New York, Michael McCaul of Texas and Richard Hudson of North Carolina.

“For many Afghans in the pipeline, staying in Afghanistan is a death sentence,” they said.

The White House did not respond to request for comments on the impact of the executive orders or the effects of a potential travel ban on Afghans who supported the U.S. mission.

Aman Jafari, who interpreted for U.S. Navy Seals, arrived in Portland, Ore., from Albania on March 5 with his wife and four young children.

“When Mr. Trump canceled flights, we didn’t have money to book our own flights to America,” said Mr. Jafari, 33. ”We just worried terribly what would happen next.”

Then No One Left Behind stepped in, he said.

On Tuesday, Mr. Sullivan arrived in Los Angeles from Doha to meet potential donors.

Evelyn Moore, 67, who has no military connections, said she had donated to the organization’s effort because Mr. Trump’s policies could have “dire consequences” for those who risked their lives for the United States.

“We must keep our allies on a path to the U.S., as promised,” she said.

By the end of this week, No One Left Behind hopes to have flown to the United States every Afghan who already has a visa.

It must also help them get on their feet in their adopted country.

Mr. Trump’s executive order halted funding to nonprofits like the International Rescue Committee and HIAS, which used to provide services such as rental assistance and job placement to refugees and Afghan allies for at least 90 days after their arrival.No One Left Behind has partnered with community organizations and volunteers in cities like Portland, Rochester, N.Y., and Sacramento to fill the void.

Mr. Jafari’s family is living in an Extended Stay America hotel outside Portland while he waits for an apartment to be leased for his family. Rent will be paid by No One Left Behind and a local group, the Afghan Support Network, until Mr. Jafari becomes self-sufficient.

“I am so glad that I arrived in America,” he said. “I want to work hard for my family to have a good and bright future.”

Alain Delaquérière contributed research.

Miriam Jordan reports from a grass roots perspective on immigrants and their impact on the demographics, society and economy of the United States

Veterans Race to Bring Afghan Allies to U.S. Before Trump Travel Ban
read more

Save the Children: 18 Health Centers Closed in Afghanistan

March 13, 2025
TOLOnews
TV Network
13 March 2025

In a report, the organization stated that it has also suspended life-saving programs for malnourished children due to funding cuts.

Save the Children has announced the closure of 18 health centers in Afghanistan and added that 14 more will be shut down in the coming month due to a reduction in foreign aid.

In a report, the organization stated that it has also suspended life-saving programs for malnourished children due to funding cuts.

The report reads: “In Afghanistan, the loss of funding has already led to the closure of 18 health facilities supported by Save the Children and its partner. Only 14 Save the Children clinics have enough funding to remain open for one more month, and without new financial support, they will be forced to close. These 32 clinics supported over 134,000 children in January alone.”

Save the Children has urged world leaders, partners, and people across the globe to financially invest in children and their future.

Meanwhile, families of malnourished children are deeply concerned about the situation.

“We took our child to the doctor. The doctor said he is severely underweight and in the red zone. Later, they provided some supplies for our child, and now he is slightly better,” Lalagul, the father of a sick child, told TOLOnews.

“This situation will lead to an increase in infectious diseases, worsening malnutrition, and a severe decline in maternal and newborn care. Ultimately, these factors will heighten the risk of maternal and infant mortality in the country,” said Rohullah Haris, a doctor in Kabul.

This comes as the US President has signed an executive order suspending US foreign aid for three months. Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced on Monday that 83% of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) budget has been revoked following a six-week review.

Save the Children: 18 Health Centers Closed in Afghanistan
read more

Remarks by Ambassador Dorothy Shea, Chargé d’Affaires, at a UN Security Council Briefing on Afghanistan

March 12, 2025
Ambassador Dorothy Shea
Chargé d ’Affaires ad interim
New York, New York
March 10, 2025

 

AS DELIVERED
Thank you, Madam President, and thank you SRSG Roza Otunbayeva for your briefing. I would also like to thank Ms. Azadah Raz Mohammad for your remarks and I welcome the representative of Afghanistan.
We recognize the work of the UNAMA team, in very challenging conditions, to support the people of Afghanistan. UNAMA coordinates the provision of humanitarian assistance to the Afghan people; promotes good governance; and reports on the political and social developments in Afghanistan, including on human rights.
The security threat emanating from Afghanistan is a continuing driver of regional instability. The United States notes that, in February, the UN’s 1267 Monitoring Team echoed these concerns.
We are also concerned about the transnational threat posed by ISIS-K. We call on the Taliban to abide by their counterterrorism commitments.
The Taliban must ensure Afghanistan can never again be used as a safe haven for terrorist groups to threaten the security of the United States, our allies, or any country.
Madam President, colleagues, Afghanistan cannot achieve self-reliance and stability so long as the Afghan people remain subject to oppressive Taliban restrictions that strangle the economy. The situation for Afghan women and girls is particularly devastating given the over 80 edicts directly targeting their access to education, commercial activities, and overall participation in the economy. Furthermore, the December ban on women attending medical institutes will have dire consequences for all Afghans. The UN must be a stronger voice of the international community in pressing the Taliban to change course.
Over 22 million Afghans rely on emergency humanitarian assistance, making Afghanistan one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world. The Taliban’s repressive policies and Afghanistan’s struggling economy are drivers of human displacement, which strains the region’s limited resources and contributes to further destabilization.
The United States is skeptical of the Taliban’s willingness to engage in good faith in the Doha Process. We cannot build confidence with a group that unjustly detains Americans, has a long history of harboring terrorist groups on its soil, and ignores the basic rights and needs of its own people.
We look forward to working with members of this Council to maintain consensus on our collective demand that the Taliban act responsibly.
I thank you.

 

Remarks by Ambassador Dorothy Shea, Chargé d’Affaires, at a UN Security Council Briefing on Afghanistan
read more

Iran Ready to Cooperate on Afghanistan’s Security

March 12, 2025
Bibi Amina Hakimi
TOLOnews Reporter
11 March 2025

While he did not provide further details, Baghaei emphasized in a press conference that discussions with the Islamic Emirate on this matter are ongoing.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Esmail Baghaei, said that Tehran is ready to collaborate with the Islamic Emirate to ensure Afghanistan’s security.

While he did not provide further details, Baghaei emphasized in a press conference that discussions with the Islamic Emirate on this matter are ongoing. He expressed hope that these talks, based on a shared understanding of the importance of bilateral relations, would lead to tangible and effective outcomes.

“We are ready to cooperate in achieving lasting security and stability in our neighboring country, Afghanistan. A country’s foreign policy is not determined or changed by the replacement of one or two individuals. Foreign policy, including relations with neighbors, is formulated within well-defined frameworks and clear processes,” Baghaei told reporters.

Meanwhile, some political analysts believe that although Iran has not yet officially recognized the Islamic Emirate, it has strengthened diplomatic relations with the caretaker government. Iran is among the countries that have handed over Afghanistan’s diplomatic mission to the Islamic Emirate.

Political analyst Sayed Akbar Sial Wardak told TOLOnews: “Iran’s economic, political, commercial, and diplomatic ties with Afghanistan are moving in a positive direction. However, its decision not to recognize the Islamic Emirate so far is linked to global politics and US influence. Regional countries fear that recognizing the Taliban could lead to international pressure.”

Previously, Iran’s Foreign Minister visited Kabul and met with senior officials of the Islamic Emirate to discuss border issues, water rights, counterterrorism efforts against ISIS, economic cooperation, drug trafficking, and shared security concerns.

Iran Ready to Cooperate on Afghanistan’s Security
read more

Greenland and Afghanistan: Frontiers in race for critical minerals

March 11, 2025
By Alex Gendler

Voice of America

March 07, 2025

Critical minerals are seen as strategically crucial for modern economies, and Greenland and Afghanistan are believed to be rich in untapped reserves.
Critical minerals are seen as strategically crucial for modern economies, and Greenland and Afghanistan are believed to be rich in untapped reserves.

Where mineral resources are located and extracted has often played a major role in geopolitical and economic relations. Today, the world’s attention is turning to two places believed to be rich in untapped reserves — but accessing each of them comes with unique challenges.

Afghanistan

Sitting at the intersection of multiple tectonic plates, Afghanistan’s geology has resulted in extensive and diverse mineral deposits. Historically, its territory was a primary source of copper and gold as well as gems and semiprecious stones, particularly lapis lazuli, a stone prized for its intense blue color.

Today, Afghanistan is estimated to hold nearly $1 trillion worth of mineral reserves. This includes 60 million tons of copper, 183 million tons of aluminum and 2.2 billion tons of iron ore. Gold is mined on an artisanal scale in the northern and eastern provinces, while the mountainous north contains valuable marble and limestone deposits used in construction.

The China National Petroleum Corporation also pumps oil in the north, though Afghanistan has no domestic refining capability and is reliant on neighbors such as Turkmenistan, Iran and Kyrgyzstan for fuel.

Most of the international focus, however, is on Afghanistan’s other metal deposits, many of which are crucial to emerging technologies. These include cobalt, lithium and niobium, used in batteries and other electronics. The country’s unexplored lithium reserves may even exceed those of Bolivia, currently the world’s largest.

Afghanistan also holds major deposits of rare earth metals like lanthanum, cerium and neodymium, which are used for magnets and semiconductors as well as other specialized manufacturing applications.

One obstacle to extracting Afghanistan’s minerals is its terrain, considered the eighth most mountainous in the world. But security has been a much bigger impediment. Amid the political instability that followed the first fall of the Taliban in 2001, many gemstone and copper mines operated illegally under the command of local militants. With workers paid very little and the product smuggled out to be sold in neighboring Pakistan, the Afghan people saw little benefit from these extraction operations.

Since retaking power in 2021, the Taliban, who have been eager to make use of the country’s mineral wealth and increase exports, are hampered by a lack of diplomatic recognition and their designation as a terrorist group by multiple nations. This is, however, beginning to change, as some countries establish de facto diplomatic ties.

In 2024, the Taliban government’s resource ministry announced that it had secured investments from China, Qatar, Turkey, Iran and the United Kingdom. China, which was the first nation to accredit a Taliban-appointed ambassador, is expected to be a major player in Afghanistan’s extractive industries as part of its Belt and Road Initiative.

However, as newly discovered deposits require an average of 16 years to develop into operational mines, harnessing Afghanistan’s mineral potential will take a great deal of investment and time — if the political and security issues can somehow be worked out.

Greenland

For millions of years, Greenland has been mostly covered by an ice sheet, habitable only along coastal areas. Despite some offshore petroleum and gas exploration, fishing and whaling have remained the primary nongovernment industries.

Now, as ice recedes amid climate change, the large island’s frozen interior offers new opportunities in untapped mineral resources. These include more common metals such as copper and gold, as well as titanium and graphite. But as elsewhere, there is even greater interest in Greenland’s deposits of technology-critical minerals.

The autonomous Danish territory is estimated to contain deposits of 43 of the 50 minerals designated by the United States as crucial to national security. Among these are the sought-after rare earth metals, in addition to other metals with technological applications such as vanadium and chromium.

Currently, a majority of the world’s rare earth metals are mined in China, making Greenland’s deposits vital for countries seeking to reduce their dependence on Chinese imports. This strategic importance is one of the factors that led U.S. President Donald Trump to propose buying Greenland from Denmark.

Greenland’s government has issued nearly 100 mining licenses to companies like KoBold Metals and Rio Tinto. But these have mostly involved exploration, with only two mines currently operating in the country. Getting a mine to production can take as long as a decade, because it involves several unique challenges.

One such hurdle is Greenland’s strong environmentalist movement, which has successfully shut down mining projects for safety concerns. Rare earths pose a particular issue, because they must be extracted from other ores — a process that can cause waste and pollution. At the Kvanefjeld site in the south, metals were to be extracted from uranium ore until the fear of radioactive pollution led to a ban.

The receding ice and warming climate have made extraction easier not only by revealing more territory but also by extending possible working hours and easing ship navigation. However, the environment remains harsh and inhospitable, and the island suffers from a lack of infrastructure, with few roads or energy facilities outside major settlements. Nevertheless, Greenland’s government considers the mining industry to be an important means of developing the economy.

Conclusion

Shaped by both politics and geography, Greenland and Afghanistan have become two major frontiers in the global scramble for critical minerals. Which parties will have the opportunity to benefit from their resources will depend on the interplay of military power, economics and diplomacy.

Greenland and Afghanistan: Frontiers in race for critical minerals
read more

UK backs referring Taliban to International Court, urges progress on women’s rights

March 11, 2025
Khaama Press

11 March 2025

The United Kingdom has expressed support for referring the Taliban to the International Court of Justice for accountability on their actions.

James Kariuki, Deputy Permanent Representative of the United Kingdom to the United Nations Security Council, expressed the UK’s support for referring the Taliban to the International Court of Justice for addressing concerns about their actions.

On Monday, March 10, Kariuki reiterated the UK’s opposition to the restrictions imposed on Afghanistan’s women and girls, highlighting the importance of upholding their rights and freedoms in Afghanistan.

Kariuki emphasized that the international community should address the issue of gender-based violence, and that the Taliban must respond to concerns raised by human rights organizations regarding their treatment of women.

He shared these remarks during a United Nations Security Council meeting on Afghanistan, stressing the need for international cooperation in addressing the challenges faced by the Afghanistan population under the current regime.

The statement also included that, for the Taliban to be integrated into the international community, they must demonstrate a commitment to human rights, political participation, and counterterrorism measures.

Meanwhile, Roza Otunbayeva, the UN Special Representative for Afghanistan, mentioned that the Taliban has not shown significant political progress, which continues to hinder Afghanistan’s potential for broader engagement on the world stage.

The UN Security Council meeting ended with strong expressions of concern regarding the ongoing situation in Afghanistan, highlighting the international community’s desire for progress on human rights and political inclusion. The lack of substantial political advancements under the Taliban’s leadership remains a key issue.

Meanwhile, the international community seeks continued dialogue and cooperation to support the Afghanistan population, while encouraging the Taliban to take tangible steps toward fulfilling their international obligations and fostering a more inclusive governance model.

UK backs referring Taliban to International Court, urges progress on women’s rights
read more

Recent Posts