VANCOUVER, CANADA – The European Parliament has called on the Taliban to respect the rights of women and girls and to halt public executions.
The European Parliament passed two resolutions concerning human rights in Afghanistan and Venezuela today, March 14. The resolution on Afghanistan was approved with 513 votes in favour, 9 votes against, and 24 abstentions.
Through the resolution, the EU parliament asks the ruling regime in Kabul to respect the rights of women and girls, whom the Taliban have nearly fully erased from public life.
Members of the European Parliament expressed concern about the humanitarian crisis and human rights in the country. They say that the Taliban’s decision to dismantle the judicial system and order judges to fully implement Sharia law is worrying.
According to a statement from the European Parliament, citing members of the institution, the Taliban’s removal of women and girls from public life amount to sexual harassment and gender apartheid.
The European Parliament has demanded that the Taliban immediately restore full and equal participation of women and girls in public life, particularly in access to education and employment.
International human rights organizations around the world and UN experts have joined activists from Afghanistan in trying to rally support for codifying gender apartheid as a crime against humanity. The UN is currently reviewing its relevant legal instruments on crimes against humanity, which activists argue opens a strategic opportunity for including gender persecution such one by the Taliban as a form of apartheid.
Additionally, the Parliament’s resolution has called on the Taliban to immediately cease public executions and punishments, as well as “the barbarous persecution and discriminatory policies in particular against women, LGBTIQ+, ethnic and religious minorities.”
The European Parliament emphasized that any interaction between the European Union and the Taliban can only continue under strict conditions determined by the Council and in accordance with the recommendations of the UN Special Rapporteur.
The UN Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in Afghanistan, Richard Bennett, has highlighted the worsening human rights conditions in the country, emphasizing the erasure of women and girls from public life, suppression of dissent, and the use of violence with impunity by the Taliban.
He has called for urgent action from both the Taliban and the international community to address these issues.
He recently cautioned against the normalization of relations with the Taliban without significant improvements in human rights, stressing that human rights are crucial for sustainable peace in Afghanistan.
The EU Parliament expressed support for the comprehensive call by Afghan civil society for the Taliban to be held accountable for their crimes through investigations by the International Criminal Court, establishing an independent investigation mechanism by the United Nations.
On October 5, 2023, the European Parliament issued a similar resolution strongly condemning the severe human rights violations in Afghanistan, highlighting the oppression of women and girls, gender apartheid policies, and targeting of civil society organizations and human rights defenders.
European Parliament in its previous resolution urged the Taliban to enforce their commitment to a general amnesty for former government officials and security forces, and to reverse restrictions on women’s rights. The Parliament also denounced the Taliban’s persecution of religious minorities and called for increased EU support for Afghan civil society, including funding for human rights defenders.
The Taliban, however, are yet to be moved by any potential leverage the outside world might assume it has against the regime. If anything, the group’s grip on power and its brutality has only increased.
