KABUL, AFGHANISTAN - Richard Bennett, the UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Afghanistan, and other UN human rights experts have warned against the growing international push to normalize relations with the Taliban, saying such engagement risks legitimizing the group’s systematic repression. In a joint statement issued ahead of the fifth anniversary of the Taliban’s return to power, the experts said they were repeating their warning from a year ago with greater urgency, as efforts to normalize relations with the Taliban have increased while the conditions that could justify such a move have not changed.
Terrorism in Europe
Europe today faces a challenge that may seem small in scale, but its political and social impact is profound. Newly released reports from Europol, examining the state and trends of terrorism in Europe for 2024, show that jihadist attacks have not only failed to decrease, but their very nature is also changing.