KABUL, 30 – The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) calls on Afghanistan’s de facto Taliban authorities to immediately and fully restore nationwide Internet and telecommunications access.

The cut in access has left Afghanistan almost completely cut off from the outside world, and risks inflicting significant harm on the Afghan people, including by threatening economic stability and exacerbating one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.
Such a ban has immediate and far-reaching consequences, including severely impacting the functioning of critical banking and financial systems, further increasing the isolation of women and girls, limiting access to emergency services and medical care, disrupting the aviation sector, and limiting access to remittances for dependent families. The current blackout also constitutes a further restriction on access to information and freedom of expression in Afghanistan.

Telecommunications systems are also vital during times of disasters. They facilitate early warning and the dissemination of information and are a crucial resource for first responders and humanitarians.

Afghanistan has just experienced major earthquakes in the east of the country, with women and girls making up more than half of victims, while the country is also grappling with large-scale forced returns from neighbouring countries. In addition to violating human rights and freedoms, Internet shutdowns have been shown to put lives at risk.

Since 16 September, Internet access has been interrupted or cut in many parts of Afghanistan, with Internet access and mobile access also cut in the capital Kabul and nationwide on the evening of 29 September, without prior notice.

As mandated by the UN Security Council, UNAMA continues to actively engage with the de facto authorities in support of the Afghan people.