The outgoing UN special envoy for Afghanistan, Deborah Lyons, in a farewell statement said that “Afghanistan is too important to the international community to be forgotten.” 

Lyons mentioned and assessed some of the events that took place during her tenure as the UN special envoy for Afghanistan.  

“First, we have a historical legacy. The United Nations has had a political, human rights, humanitarian, and development presence in Afghanistan since the late 1980s. We have had some successes and some failures and as a result of the latter we have a moral responsibility to remain,” the statement said. “Second, we need to address the needs of the most vulnerable Afghans through humanitarian assistance and support to their basic human needs. Third, Afghanistan is too important to the international community to be forgotten.”  

The statement said that UNAMA will remain as a "credible observer and reporter" on events on the ground and a reliable link between the Afghan people, the de facto authorities, and the international community. 

She also expressed frustration over the lack of schooling for Afghan girls.

“I could not have imagined, when I accepted this job, the Afghanistan that I am now leaving. My heart breaks in particular for the millions of Afghan girls who are denied their right to education, and the many Afghan women full of talent who are being told to stay at home instead of using those talents to rebuild a society that now experiences far less conflict but in some ways as much fear as before,” Lyons said.  

The UN special envoy said that a “system that excludes women, minorities, and talented people will not endure, and that at the same time it is possible to construct a polity that is both inclusive and Islamic.”  

Lyons was appointed by the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres as his special envoy for Afghanistan on March 24, 2020.