UN: UN Says Taliban Treatment of Women and Girls Will Be ‘Red Line’ in Afghanistan | International

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet said on Tuesday that the Taliban’s treatment of women and girls in Afghanistan will be a “red line” in terms of respect for human rights by the insurgents. During an urgently called UN Human Rights Council session to address the situation in Afghanistan, Bachelet in turn confirmed that his office had received “credible reports” of summary executions of civilians and members of the Afghan security forces they had surrendered at the hands of the Taliban, among other serious human rights violations.

“I demand that the Taliban work to restore social cohesion and reconciliation, respecting the rights of all those who have suffered so much during decades of conflict,” Bachelet said during the session, whose objective was to decide how it can act to prevent an escalation of human rights violations against the population following the withdrawal of Western military forces and the return to power of the Taliban.

Among the human rights violations in the country that Bachelet has referred to as being committed by fundamentalists also include the violent repression of peaceful protests and expressions of dissent, the recruitment of children to fight and the imposition of movement restrictions on them. women and girls. , who are prevented from going to school.

The high commissioner also called for the thousands of human rights defenders, “who have contributed to the well-being of Afghans”, not be subjected to reprisals or sanctions under the new regime, and demanded that the Independent Human Rights Commission in Afghanistan is respected. The Taliban have assured that they will respect the human rights of women and ethnic minorities, but in accordance with their interpretation of Islamic law, and that they will exercise no revenge against those who have collaborated with the governments of other countries, statements that go against the data of those who ordered by the high commissioner headed by the former Chilean president.

The complaints Bachelet alluded to were corroborated in the same special session by the chairman of the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission, Shaharzad Akbar, who intervened from Kabul. Akbar stressed that the UN must go beyond statements of regret or good intentions and create a mechanism to investigate and document violations of the human rights of the Afghan population by the Taliban. “We are calling for a commission of inquiry to monitor and report, to gather evidence of violations and abuses, and to promote justice. The human rights of women and girls are suppressed in every village, town and city across Afghanistan. Please take this opportunity, don’t act as usual and make sure this session has a meaningful outcome, ”Akbar said.

Bachelet said he supports the creation of a preventive mechanism within the body he heads to monitor human rights developments in Afghanistan and whether or not the Taliban’s promises to honor them are fulfilled. and called on countries that influence the Taliban to encourage them to respect the human rights of all. “Unambiguous and unambiguous action by member states will be an important signal to the Taliban that a return to past practices will not be acceptable to the international community, now or in the future,” he warned. . This Tuesday, the G7 meets to discuss the positioning of the seven richest countries in the world against the Taliban.

In her speech, Ms. Bachelet called on states to support the creation of exit corridors for Afghan migrants and refugees, and to expand asylum and resettlement programs. In addition, he called for an end to the expulsion of Afghans who had come to other countries in search of protection.

A group of European countries told the United Nations Refugee Agency last week that they had agreed to temporarily suspend all deportations of Afghans whose asylum claims had been rejected. The countries that make up the group are Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Sweden, Switzerland, Denmark, Ireland, the Netherlands and Norway.

Bachelet also recalled that the neighboring countries of Afghanistan, which are most likely to experience the influx of refugees of this nationality, will need logistical and financial means to provide them with protection and assistance. There are currently over 2.6 million Afghan refugees in other countries, but 90% of them are in neighboring Pakistan and Iran.

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