Afghan student made a plea for his uninvited homeland at U.N. climate summit

https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2023/12/19/ [login to see] /afghan-student-made-a-plea-for-his-uninvited-homeland-at-u-n-climate-summit
Hamidullah Nadeem was a lonely figure at COP28, the U.N. climate summit that just ended.

He was of only a handful of people from Afghanistan who attended.

Afghanistan is, according to the U.N., one of the ten countries most affected by climate change, with repeated droughts and flash floods taking a toll on local communities and the agrarian economy.

But the U.N. has not invited representatives from Afghanistan to its climate summits since the Taliban took power in 2021 — and in 2022 deferred a decision on future Afghanistan representation. U.N. representatives have not responded to journalists who've asked for an explanation.