Afghanistan: UN will ‘continue to work’ with Taliban after threat to withdraw cooperation
According to media reports, the Taliban “morality police” said earlier in the day that they would no longer cooperate with the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) because of criticism of the law passed last week.
UNAMA – together with other parts of the United Nations system – condemn the new lawdescribed it as a “sad prospect” for the country’s future.
“I think we have been very vocal about the decision to continue to completely eliminate the presence of women in Afghanistan,” UN spokesman Stéphane Dujarric said in response to a question at a regular press briefing in New York.
Will continue to participate
He added that the Organization “will continue to engage with all relevant parties in Afghanistan, including the Taliban” and will continue its work at the request of Security Council.
“We have always carried out our duties in a fair and I think fair manner, in good faith, always in line with the United Nations standards, promoting the messages of human rights and equality,” he said.
He continued to urge the de facto Taliban government to “let go.” In fact, it opens up more avenues for diplomatic engagement.”.
Terms of repression
The law, officially titled the “Law on Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vices,” was passed last week.
The act imposed a long list of repressive provisions on women, including a requirement that they wear clothing that covers their entire body, a ban on expressing their opinions in public, and further restrictions on their movement unless accompanied by a male relative.
Even the sound of a woman’s voice outside the house seems to be considered a moral violation.
It also requires men to grow beards, bans drivers from playing music, and restricts the media from publishing people’s photos. State officials are given broad powers to arrest individuals and impose fines.
Rights experts condemn measures
The enactment of laws, the United Nations’ independent human rights experts stressmarked a significant deterioration in human rights in Afghanistan, reminiscent of the oppressive Taliban regime of the 1990s.
“These measures are very similar to the harsh rule of the Taliban in the 1990s. and provides further evidence that the group has not softened its stance since returning to power,” the experts said.
Experts have also voiced concerns about the broad authority of Taliban morality inspectors to arbitrarily arrest and punish individuals for alleged moral crimes, often based solely on suspicion without any evidence or due process.
They called on international stakeholders, in particular United Nations Member States, to develop a strong, principled and coordinated strategy for Afghanistan that prioritizes human rights, with a special focus on women’s rights and gender equality.
Appointed by Geneva headquarters Human Rights CouncilExperts are tasked with monitoring and reporting on specific human rights situations, both thematically and country-by-country.
Independent of the government and the United Nations, they are not UN employees and do not receive salaries.
