New York: Europe and Arabs
Members of the Security Council condemned in the strongest terms the "persistent systematic discrimination" between the sexes and the repression of women and girls practiced by the Taliban in Afghanistan. They expressed their grave concern over the so-called "morality code" recently announced by the Taliban.
This came in a joint statement read by Ambassador Kazuyuki Yamazaki, Permanent Representative of Japan to the United Nations, on behalf of Ecuador, France, Guyana, Japan, Malta, Mozambique, the Republic of Korea, Sierra Leone, Slovenia, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States. According to the UN daily news bulletin, which we received a copy of this morning, Saturday, which added, "In addition to the existing decrees, the members of the Security Council said that this new directive "affirms and expands the scope of the wide-ranging and far-reaching restrictions on personal conduct and gives inspectors broad enforcement powers, thus deepening the unacceptable restrictions on the enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms by all Afghans," according to the statement.
They added that the new law raises further serious concerns among all Afghan citizens because it will negatively affect many areas of their lives.
A necessary condition for the stability of Afghanistan
The statement stated that the Security Council has discussed the dire human rights situation in Afghanistan since the Taliban seized power three years ago, and raised a unified voice on multiple occasions. "Among other things, the Council unanimously adopted resolution 2681 in April 2023 to call for the full, equal, meaningful and safe participation of women and girls in Afghanistan." The statement of the members of the Security Council added: "We once again urge the Taliban to swiftly reverse all policies and practices that restrict the enjoyment of women and girls of their human rights and fundamental freedoms. The Taliban need to listen and respond to the voices of Afghan women and girls by respecting their rights to education and work as well as freedom of expression and movement. This condition is essential for the stability, peace and prosperity of Afghanistan.”
The statement urged all states and organizations to use their influence, in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations, to press for the immediate abolition of these policies and practices. It stressed that this type of Taliban action would only undermine the efforts of the international community to engage with it, as demonstrated during the meeting of special envoys in Doha two months ago, in order to build an Afghanistan at peace with itself and its neighbors, fully reintegrate it into the international community and fulfill its international obligations.
The need to fulfill Afghanistan’s obligations
The members said that Afghanistan has committed to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and is a party to a number of human rights treaties, in particular the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. “Afghanistan’s obligations under international law must be fulfilled.”
The members reaffirmed their full support for the Special Representative of the Secretary-General, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, and the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan in addressing this issue.
The members said that the Taliban’s ban on the Special Rapporteur entering Afghanistan was “concerning” and stressed the need to enable him to fully implement his mandate.
“The Afghan people, especially women and girls, have suffered for far too long,” the Security Council members concluded. “Day after day, Afghan women and girls are losing their opportunities and their hope for their future. This is unacceptable. We are committed to doing everything we can to comprehensively address their plight and will continue to monitor the situation closely.”