One day after unveiling sweeping humanitarian proposals in the General Assembly Plenary, the Representatives from Afghanistan returned with an even more forceful message-this time in a joint press conference led by General Assembly Plenary Representative Tarik Alduri joined by General Assembly Representatives Sid Allen and Mya O’Connell. Their warning was blunt. The Taliban is systematically stealing humanitarian aid and millions of Afghans are now on the edge of starvation.

Representative Alduri opened with statistics so devastating that the room fell silent. “Between 9 and 15 million Afghans are at risk of starvation,” he said. “Five million of them are children. Nearly 80 percent of our hospitals are at risk of closure.” He made it clear that these are not the byproducts of conflict but the result of deliberate Taliban sabotage. “The aid meant for our people is being seized to sustain their soldiers,” Representative Alduri said. “Women and children are left with two choices; Slow death or suicide.”

Responding to those who suggest Afghanistan should coordinate with the Taliban on aid delivery, Representative Alduri asked the question that defined the briefing: “If it were your parents, your children, your siblings, would you trust their murderers with their care? The answer is obviously no.”

General Assembly Third Committee Member States added their own warning. Representative Sid Allen argued that humanitarian systems worldwide become dangerous when controlled by actors who cannot be held accountable. “Do not give oppressors one more weapon,” he urged. Representative Mya O’Connell spoke directly to the suffering of Afghan women and girls. “The Taliban does not represent the Afghan people,” they said. “Millions have had their rights stripped away. Aid must reach people directly, not the Taliban.”

Representative Alduri confirmed that Afghanistan has secured signatures for working paper T, which would bring Taliban aid diversion before the Security Council. He thanked some Member States, stating “Our amazing partners, the United States, Russia, Israel and many others” for supporting what he called “a fight for the survival of millions.”

When challenged on whether bypassing the Taliban is realistic, Representative Alduri delivered the briefing’s defining line: “The Taliban have lost before, and they will lose again. It is not a question of if, but how. We will starve their regime economically. Deny them legitimacy. Deny them access to aid.”

Representative Alduri pushed back against criticism that draft resolution T (TBG: Taliban Be Gone) is too narrow, arguing that targeted solutions are often the only way to address specific atrocities. Representative Allen agreed: “Narrow solutions show what works. They can be replicated.”

Representative Alduri also described Afghanistan’s growing coalition, including a partnership with Sudan, built around shared struggles against illicit arms flows. “No one likes the Taliban,” he said. “That made collaboration easier.”

Representative Alduri ended with a plea that Afghanistan has repeated from committee to committee: “Our people are singing for freedom. Today, we ask you to listen.” Then came the message that has become the movement’s rallying cry: “Get the Taliban out of Afghanistan.”

Even in a conference full of competing crises, the Afghanistan delegation across all committees made one thing unmistakably clear. They are not here for symbolism; they are fighting for the lives of millions of people.