The worsening security situation in Afghanistan is reducing the ability of humanitarian agencies to deliver life-saving assistance to vulnerable communities, according to a report by IRIN. Some 1.5 million people need urgent humanitarian assistance to respond to a severe drought. The French agency Action Contre la Faim (ACF) suspended operations in Afghanistan after 2 staff were kidnapped on 18 July. ACF has 250 staff in the country, and delivered assistance to 35,000 people in 2007.

Abductions of NGO staff have been increasing, according to the Afghanistan NGO Safety Office (ANSO). In total, 12 NGO staff were abducted between January and March 2008, exactly twice the number during the same period last year. The majority of these abductions have been carried out by armed opposition groups (such as the Taliban) as part of the escalating conflict. There has also been an increase in the number of civilians killed in violence, including NGO staff:

Armed attacks were responsible for 9 of the 11 NGO staff killed. The widespread availability of guns in Afghanistan has also led to high levels of armed criminal violence, not directly connected with the conflict. Over 100 of the civilian deaths listed above were due to 'criminal homicide'.

Gun-related insecurity does not stop at the borders of Afghanistan. Blue Veins, an IANSA Women's Network member, reports frequent kidnappings at gunpoint and armed violence in Pakistan's North-West Frontier Province.

From 14-18 July, UN member states met to develop recommendations for implementing the 2001 Programme of Action on Small Arms. They agreed measures to cooperate more effectively to reduce small arms proliferation.