Mr. Speaker, the ruling Taliban in Afghanistan took over the offices of the United Nations in Kandahar, in the southern part of the country, and seized all of the UN's communications equipment in Kabul, on Friday. While some of the UN's activities have been maintained, most of them have been disrupted or stopped.
According to a UN spokesperson, the Taliban also took over the offices of certain non-governmental organizations in Kandahar and uttered death threats to the employees found on site.
Such acts of aggression must be considered as attacks against the entire international community. These attacks heighten the climate of uncertainty and tension that exists in the region.
We condemn the Taliban action, as this hateful behaviour toward NGOs will diminish the services to local populations that are already so poor.