KABUL, Afghanistan — The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) on Thursday convened the first meeting of its Counter-Narcotics Working Group in Kabul, part of efforts to engage more effectively with the Taliban authorities on pressing issues, the organization announced.
The working group’s creation stems from recommendations outlined in an independent assessment presented to the U.N. Security Council earlier this year (S/2023/856), UNAMA said.
It added that the report emphasized the need for a more coordinated and structured approach to address challenges in Afghanistan, benefiting both its citizens and regional stability.
“Counter-narcotics is an issue of critical importance for Afghanistan, impacting both rural communities and regional peace and stability,” said Roza Otunbayeva, the U.N. Secretary-General’s Special Representative and head of UNAMA, following the online meeting.
The UN agency has not provided details on the participants of the meeting.
The initiative follows the third Meeting of Special Envoys on Afghanistan, held in Doha, Qatar, in June, where counter-narcotics was identified as a key priority for international cooperation.
This comes as according to recent U.N. data, opium production in the country rose by 30 percent in 2024 compared to the previous year. Despite the increase, overall production remains 93 percent lower than pre-2022 levels, when the Taliban implemented a sweeping crackdown on opium cultivation.
