VANCOUVER, CANADA – Josep Borrell, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, says that the status of women in Afghanistan under Taliban rule is unparalleled globally and that pressure must be exerted on the ruling group.
Borrell made these remarks on Tuesday, March 12, during a joint meeting of the United Nations and the European Union at the UN Security Council in New York.
Mr. Borrell emphasized that women and girls have effectively been removed from all aspects of life, a situation that is unprecedented and intolerable worldwide. The EU official reminded the world community of the need to focus on Afghanistan:
“We must not forget Afghanistan. There is a de-facto gender apartheid in Afghanistan.”
The EU Foreign Policy Chief said that the UN’s strategy of engagement with the Taliban should be supported. “We support the work of the [UN] Secretary-General and the meetings [among special envoys] in Doha. We need to push for the implementation of this [UN Security] Council resolution 2721 and continue being engaged.”
The UNSC resolution 2721 was implemented last December in which the council approved, albeit with abstention from Russia and China, findings of a previous independent UN assessment which called for the appointment of a new UN special envoy for Afghanistan.
In this assessment, Feraidun Sinirlioğlu, the UN Special Coordinator for Afghanistan who led the assessment, presented a roadmap for the reintegration of Afghanistan into the international community.
According to Mr. Sinirlioğlu’s recommendation, normalizing relations with the Taliban should be contingent upon Afghanistan’s fulfilment of international commitments, a condition the ruling regime appears unwilling and unable to meet.
Mr. Borell, who has recently taken positions different from most in the western foreign policy establishments, had before also called for a stricter approach in dealing with the Taliban in Afghanistan.
Europe, unlike the United States that worries about distant threats of terrorism emanating from Afghanistan, has far more immediate concerns. Chief among those are the refugee exodus from Afghanistan that if not controlled could overwhelm the continent’s immigration system similar to the Syrian refugee crisis a decade ago.
In his address, Borrel talked about the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan as well. “The humanitarian, economic, political, and human rights situation in Afghanistan is concerning.”
The Union also struggles to strike a balance between its pragmatic security interests and its ideals of human rights on which it is founded.
Inside the EU, member states are divided on how best to deal with Afghanistan. Some countries such as France and Ireland have been pushing for a more rigid opposition to the Taliban regime, particularly to its human rights records and oppression of women. France has also maintained its historical ties to the remnants of the Northern Alliance who now lead feeble armed resistance to the Taliban.
Others such as Norway and the UK, although the latter is not an EU member, have appeared more amenable to continue engaging with the authorities in Kabul in the name of confidence building and mediation.
Some EU member states are divided on the issue even internally. In Germany, for example, the foreign minister Annalena Baerbock of the Green Party, who has adopted a feminist-oriented foreign policy, is tilting toward the more historically principled position of France. The development office, on the contrary, is more willing to engage the regime in Kabul to address Berlin’s national security interests. In fact, the German development office has increased its funding for Afghanistan, although under the banner of humanitarian aid, compared to before the Taliban’s return to power.
