In the aftermath of Taliban practises that violate the human rights of Afghan women and children, a senior UN envoy for Afghanistan has urged for a concerted reaction from the international community.
According to UN News, Roza Otunbayeva, the United Nations’ Special Representative for Afghanistan, spoke before the Security Council in a closed-door session on Friday. Otunbayeva stressed the need of maintaining an united front within the United Nations Security Council in order to combat policies that discriminate against women and girls in Afghanistan.
“The Special Representative also went through the possible adverse effects of such choices, including the most immediate effect, which would be on the distribution of humanitarian aid to Afghans who are in a very precarious situation. She emphasised how important it was for the Council to remain together in the face of these choices “During a press conference on Friday, the spokesman for Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Stephane Dujarric, made the following statement.
Roza Otunbayeva reiterated to ambassadors in a private meeting that decisions made by the Taliban, such as the prohibition on girls attending high school, the prohibition on women attending university, and the prohibition on women performing humanitarian work, are all “grave violations of fundamental rights.”
During the press briefing in New York, UN Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told reporters that the Taliban had “contradicted assurances” given about the role that women would play in the country under their fundamentalist rule. These assurances were given after the Taliban had taken control of the entire country of Afghanistan.
According to what Dujarric has stated, “The Special Representative also emphasised the possible detrimental effect of such choices, particularly, most immediately, on the delivery of humanitarian assistance to Afghans who are in critical need.” “She emphasised how important it was for the Council to remain together in the face of these choices.”
Last month, the Taliban placed a ban on women working for non-governmental organisations as well as other jobs in the aid sector. In response, several non-governmental organisations (NGOs) suspended their efforts to save lives, citing the fact that it would be impossible to distribute aid and staff operations without the participation of local women.
Several countries have written to the Taliban with the request that they “immediately remove all restrictive actions against women and girls” and keep the pledges that they have made to the Security Council.
