UN says Afghan staff increasingly harassed, intimidated since Taliban takeover

Afghan staff of the United Nations are being increasingly subjected to harassment and intimidation since the Taliban came to power last month, the UN special envoy on Afghanistan Deborah Lyons said on Thursday.

Lyons told the Security Council that UN premises had largely been respected, although there were some exceptions.

"We are ... increasingly worried by the growing number of incidents of harassment and intimidation against our national staff. We will continue to do everything possible to support our staff and keep them from harm's way," Lyons said.

An internal UN security document seen by Reuters on Aug. 25 described dozens of incidents including veiled threats, the looting of UN offices and physical abuse of staff since Aug. 10, shortly before the Taliban swept to power.

"The UN cannot conduct its work - work that is so essential to the Afghan people - if its personnel are subjected to intimidation, fear for their lives, and cannot move freely," Lyons said on Thursday.

While the Islamist militants have sought to reassure Afghans and Western powers that they will respect people's rights, reports of reprisals have undermined confidence.

"We are outraged at reports that members of the Taliban have engaged in reprisals against UN staff throughout the country. This is simply unacceptable," senior US diplomat Jeffrey DeLaurentis told the Security Council.

He called on the Taliban to respect the independence and neutrality of the UN

He also said the United States had heard reports that some female UN staff and female staff of US aid partners had been prohibited from coming into the office or are being required to enter into their workplaces with a male chaperone.

"To call these reported incidents 'outrageous' would be an understatement. All UN staff members must be able to conduct their work without undue burden and without discrimination as to who they are," DeLaurentis said.