Rabab Fatima, the UN secretary-general’s special representative for Afghanistan, has arrived in Kabul and formally begun her work leading the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan.
Fatima arrived Saturday and assumed leadership of UNAMA, the mission’s chief of strategic communications told Amu TV.
Soon after beginning her mission, Fatima met with Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi, according to the Taliban Foreign Ministry.
The ministry said Muttaqi welcomed Fatima to Afghanistan and wished her success in her new role. Fatima is also head of UNAMA.
Her arrival fills the top UNAMA post after it had been without a permanent chief for more than a year following the end of former U.N. envoy Roza Otunbayeva’s tenure. The mission had been led on an acting basis.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres appointed Fatima, a Bangladeshi diplomat with more than three decades of diplomatic experience, as his special representative for Afghanistan on July 7.
Fatima has held senior diplomatic positions, including within the United Nations, and previously served as Bangladesh’s permanent representative to the UN.
Her arrival comes as UNAMA faces competing demands over how it reports on conditions in Afghanistan, particularly the human rights situation.
On Fatima’s first day in the role, Taliban deputy chief minister for economic affairs Abdul Ghani Baradar called on UNAMA not to focus on what he described as “negative aspects” in its reporting.
Taliban authorities have repeatedly criticized UNAMA reports documenting human rights violations and restrictions. Following the mission’s latest report, Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid described UNAMA as “biased.”
Afghan women who spoke to Amu TV, however, called on the U.N. mission to continue documenting what they described as widespread and systematic human rights violations, particularly restrictions on women and girls.
They also called for increased pressure on Taliban authorities to hold officials accountable for violations of women’s rights.
The contrasting demands highlight one of the challenges facing Fatima as she begins her tenure more than five years after the Taliban returned to power.
Taliban authorities have imposed sweeping restrictions on women and girls since August 2021, including barring girls from education beyond the sixth grade and women from universities. Restrictions have also sharply limited women’s employment and participation in public life.
Fatima is also taking over UNAMA as the mission faces potential budget reductions.
Guterres’ proposed UN budget for 2027 includes the elimination of 60 UNAMA posts as part of broader cost-cutting measures. The reductions remain proposals and would require approval through the UN budget process.
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