United Nations Strategic Framework for Afghanistan
UNITED NATIONS STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK FOR AFGHANISTAN
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Underpinning the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals, the principle of leaving no
one behind and reaching the furthest behind first will ensure that this Strategic Framework prioritizes
the needs of the most vulnerable and marginalized.
Given the rapid and severe deterioration in the rights of women and girls since August 2021, the UN
will endeavour to promote and mainstream international standards and principles on gender equality
and women's empowerment through its interventions. The UN recognizes that that Afghan women
and girls are not only beneficiaries of support, but necessary agents and catalysts for building an
inclusive, prosperous Afghanistan. As such, women must be central to the design and delivery of aid,
including through their meaningful participation as well as that of women-led and women's rights
organizations to ensure that women and girls across the country can safely and equitably access
support. It is therefore imperative that women aid workers across all organization types are not
replaced by men in the design and delivery of basic needs and services interventions. For its part, the
UN in Afghanistan remains committed to the continued employment of female Afghan staff, as well
as ensuring a diverse workplace representative of Afghan society.
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Interventions must strive to 'do no harm' or at least to minimize potential unintended harm when
implemented, particularly those that may inadvertently contribute to further human rights violations
and systemic discriminatory and harmful policies and practices, including those affecting women and
girls and other vulnerable and marginalized groups. Accountability to do no harm principles also
requires that basic needs support does not exacerbate inequalities between men, women, boys, and
girls. To this end, the centrality of protection will be applied so that protection principles are placed
at the centre of all actions, including through mainstreaming across all sectors and activities.
Cost-effectiveness in delivery must be considered in all interventions, especially considering the
current economic challenges and dwindling aid resources. The UN will strive to optimize available
resources to meaningful impact for the Afghan people, while ensuring transparency and
accountability to the people of Afghanistan and to the international community through improved
measurement and reporting on results of interventions undertaken in support of this Strategic
Framework.
Furthermore, climate resilience must also be emphasized in interventions, given Afghanistan's
vulnerability to climate change and natural disasters. The UN will aim to prioritize interventions that
promote climate-resilient livelihoods and services and ensure that climate risks are systematically
integrated into all project designs and implementation plans. This will contribute to building the
resilience of Afghan communities. Assistance will continue to be delivered in a manner that minimizes
the legitimization or benefit to the de facto authorities.
The UN will provide support based on the principle of inclusion and participation of all relevant
stakeholders across geographical locations, particularly those most marginalized, in the spirit of
equity, equality, diversity, fairness, and non-discrimination. However, as a consequence of the
unprecedented attack on the rights of women and girls by the de facto authorities, the ACG will
redouble its efforts promoting gender equality and women's empowerment in Afghanistan in a ‘by
women for women and girls' approach, including by redirecting support for the direct benefit of
women and girls. There will also be a focus on identifying and achieving durable solutions toView entire presentation