Roza Otunbayeva, currently the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Afghanistan and Head of the United Nations (UN) Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, previously the third President of the Kyrgyz Republic, and the first woman in Central Asia to become head of state, spoke to Princeton students in Robertson Hall on Thursday, Feb. 27.
The discussion was hosted by the Liechtenstein Institute on Self-Determination (LISD) and facilitated by Wolfgang Danspeckgruber, the Founding Director of LISD.
On the UN’s issue of priority for Afghanistan, Otunbayeva emphasized that “the most important thing right now is to feed the nation.”
“We are trying to mobilize all of the donor community to provide seeds to farmers, not to the Taliban,” she continued. “There is a lack of everything.”
Otunbayeva highlighted the challenges posed by the Taliban that limit the UN’s extension of humanitarian aid to the Afghanistan population.
“To do our work is getting to be more and more difficult,” said Otunbayeva. “It is not just because Trump came to power, but it is also because of the Taliban [which] exercises such a harsh policy towards women [and] to former politicians.”
When questioned further by Danspeckgruber about issues faced by Afghan women, Otunbayeva discussed how “the situation is very, very bad.”
“[The] birth rate is high, mortality of children and mortality of women … is very high,” said Otunbayeva. She touched on Taliban policies that were implemented during her current tenure as UN Head of Mission, mentioning how “the latest absolute decision of the Taliban government is that windows should be built in such a way that [people cannot] see what neighbors and women in the windows [look like].”
Danspeckgruber went on to ask Otunbayeva about the influence of Pakistani-Afghan geopolitical tensions over the UN’s work. “For the economy of Afghanistan, [there are] too many [incoming returning Afghans in Pakistan],” Otunbayeva responded. “[Afghanistan] is [already] full of jobless people, plus the poorest of the poor [are] coming back. They don’t have places to live, they don’t have jobs, they can’t earn money.”
Otunbayeva was also questioned by Said Reza Huseini, a postdoctoral research associate, as to why Afghanistan has repeatedly undergone “break-down[s]” over the past century. Huseini’s question referenced historical interventions by foreign powers. In response, Otunbayeva said, “I’m not a historian.” However, she mentioned that “the country is landlocked” and has been geographically important at the center of trade routes.
Regardless, Otunbayeva infused her commentary on Afghanistan with a positive note. “Today, we have about, let’s say, 20 embassies based in Afghanistan … all the countries … have an interest to be there, to stay.”
Towards the end, the talk shifted to a different topic: the impacts of Afghan-Chinese relations on her native country, the Kyrgyz Republic. The subject transition was prompted by a question from Khoa Sands ’26, who inquired about Otunbayeva’s thoughts on increased tensions over the Wakhan Corridor, a territorial strip that hundreds of ethnic Kyrgyz nomads fled after the Taliban sent envoys in hopes of converting the Wakhan Corridor into a road that connects to China.
Otunbayeva commented on how, despite efforts by the Kyrgyz government, nomads were unable to “adjust.”
“The Kyrgyz [nomads] want to go back [to the Wakhan Corridor] … we [the Kyrgyz government] welcomed them, and we started to offer them university courses and so on,” she remarked. “But they couldn’t adjust to our situation … they couldn’t fight for this new situation, for [a] good life.”
Otunbayeva was invited by Danspeckgruber as part of his Program on Religion, Diplomacy, and International Relations (PORDIR). In addition to PORDIR fellows, International Policy Associates (IPA) also play a role in inviting speakers, according to Kunsel Subrahmanyam ’26, who is part of the 2025 IPA cohort.
“We don’t only leverage our own interests and our own personal networks in getting speakers here, but we also work quite extensively with LISD’s program and our faculty,” Subrahmanyam explained. “It’s generally quite a long process.”
Overall, LISD’s efforts seem to have paid off, as students in attendance shared positive reflections on the talk. “The discussion today was absolutely fascinating,” said Olivia Porter ’28. “It was inspiring and mobilizing to see a global female changemaker in action.”
According to Subrahmanyam, LISD is hoping to expand the scope of regions its speakers hail from. “We have an Africa program, and increasingly, we’re trying to look at underrepresented areas such as Central Asia … Latin America is also becoming a subject of focus,” he said.
“We welcome students to come up to us with any creative ideas,” Subrahmanyam concluded.
Eojin Park is an assistant News editor for the ‘Prince.’ She is from Seoul, South Korea, and typically covers town politics.
Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
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